The Viking World: A History in ObjectsMain MenuGallery viewA galleryTag Cloudtag cloud pageThemesA path of thematic categoriesAuthor IndexExplore the collection by authorWorks CitedReferencesAdam Bigelow3afa9c7ecebf516bba6609664b1b12f79c54bf77Caitlin Donahue61b7e986e7c71d400e5c803912ed83c0cf65252fCaroline Harvey1783f21a5882b5b4d3d0b6c174d058052a5ff7eaEdward Hershewee701ef220480b51ca728fc9c719bc094cf813655Martin Hoffmana1fd203afd9a84ee8db567e188cf6ed1d269386eTyler Hruby23493f763b312110686cfafc62578fd0ab5f3833Brittany N. Johnsonc1c1763339f8fa953e3c907c6bb8a3bad0c28b2cCarlos Lua Pineda0a28cc23b0aa00b4f24a9e205aeb57fbdb07ff01Moira McConnell710633400590ea38533ea3412c01fc5056288180Clara McCurdy9aec76477d0b55f9c685c47330d6786ec98182e1Elise McIlhaneyef48481634ff342c8b43c9d56f678b2d3562fb69Cameron Meikle669a5682bfbfd603130a26e25628f24eb07e6295Alexander Christopher Newkirk019c2f5b38c043507251d1789e2fdf47e61c3b7fBenja Reilly816c23aa0d444213fb2d1ef33555a15617e08228Oliver Statenc625ae8c3926f5e1a4268bc91d6a6f4cdb1e7fb6Liam Sullivanaa3a1dccb90c7fe4646b61c4af594abbb0c5574aRead Wilder31bf4715220144a665996f2e6cae80a1a8611eadAliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
Decorated Bone and Antler Comb
12017-05-17T19:39:48-07:00Caitlin Donahue61b7e986e7c71d400e5c803912ed83c0cf65252f164562A comb made from bone and antler, riveted together with iron, and decoratedplain2017-05-17T19:45:16-07:00Tromsø Museum — Universitetsmuseet. Kam. Still image, n.d. Ts4371. Universitetsmuseet. http://www.unimus.no/artefacts/Ts4371/6843/?f=html.800-1100Ts4371CC BY69.0486132,15.2357572Bone, Antler, IronTromsø Museum — UniversitetsmuseetAndøy Nordland, NorwayIron Age / early Iron Age / Viking AgeCaitlin Donahue61b7e986e7c71d400e5c803912ed83c0cf65252f
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12017-05-24T10:09:20-07:00Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707deaMap ViewAustin Mason2An interactive map of all the objects in the collectiongoogle_maps2017-05-24T11:39:30-07:00Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
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12017-05-21T20:19:35-07:00Decorated Bone and Antler Comb13object pageplain2017-09-15T13:52:53-07:00Despite the common depictions in today’s pop culture, hair and hygiene were surprisingly important to the norse people. This can be seen through the common finds of combs such as this, and their often intricate appearance. This viking age comb was found in Andøy, Norway.[1] The teeth are made from finely cut antler. This was common on combs, but required skill, pointing to the existence of craftsmen who made combs. The back of the comb is made from thin strips of bone that are held together by five iron rivets. This is a later style of construction, found from the mid-twelfth to thirteenth century.[2] The back of the comb is curved, with a simple, yet intricate pattern on it.
Not only were combs helpful when dealing with the lice that were continuously present at the time,[3] they also played an important part in the high standards of appearance and hygiene that the norse held. Women had long hair that could be intricately styled[4], while men held a variety of hairstyles, from neatly combed back,[5] to a “reverse ‘mullet’ hairstyle.”[6] Men also usually sported beards that were generally well kept.[7] Norse men were known to bathe every Saturday, which was frequent by medieval European standards, and were received as “clean and pleasant smelling” by English women.[8] We can see this standard of cleanliness in a verse from Reginsmál:[9]
"Combed and washed | shall the wise man go, And a meal at morn shall take; For unknown it is | where at eve he may be; It is ill thy luck to lose."
The importance of hair can also be seen in many of the nordic sagas. Virtually any time a character is introduced, their hair plays an important part in their physical description, usually described in aesthetically pleasing ways. Examples from Njal’s Saga include “Her hair came down to her breasts, and was both thick and fair,”[10] and “her hair was as soft as silk; it was so long, too, that it came down to her waist”. Of course, women were not the only ones with luxurious hair, as can be seen in the following passages from the Laxdale Saga: “He had a great deal of hair as fair as silk, falling in curls; he was a big man, and strong,” and “This man had yellow hair, waving down over his shoulders [...] he had his hair cut across his forehead.”[11]
Looking back, we often see the norse as a barbaric, dirty people. One contributing factor to this is the observations by Ibn Fadlan, who calls them “The dirtiest of all Allah’s creatures.”[12] Fadlan was a Muslim though, which probably colored his descriptions as cleanliness was very important in the religion. Despite this, we know from that this is not the case due to evidence from other texts, the large number of combs found, and the findings of other preening instruments, such as ear spoons. By the standards of most of their European contemporaries they were quite clean.