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
Hnefatafl Gaming Piece
12017-05-15T18:12:23-07:00Clara McCurdy9aec76477d0b55f9c685c47330d6786ec98182e1164562A conical game piece used in a popular board game.plain2017-05-15T18:24:26-07:00Foreman, Martin. Gaming Piece. Still Image, October 2015. NLM-B9350A. Portable Antiquities Scheme. https://finds.org.uk/images/mforeman/medium/NLM30928.jpg.800-1000NLM-B9350ACC BY53.611606, -0.826869lead and copper alloyPortable Antiquities SchemeNorth Lincolnshire, EnglandEarly MedievalClara McCurdy9aec76477d0b55f9c685c47330d6786ec98182e1
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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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12017-05-21T19:29:55-07:00Hnefatafl Game Piece5object pageplain2017-09-20T18:52:42-07:00When considering people and societies that existed long ago, it is easy to forget about fun and games. Especially with the “Vikings,” a people often portrayed as violent seafaring raiders, it may seem hard to imagine the same men sitting around and playing board games. However, this artifact is evidence of exactly that. The Norse played several different board games on their sea voyages; game pieces have been found in many ship burials, including the Salme ships. Their portability helped the games spread throughout the areas where Norse traveled.
This object is a game piece from a game called Hnefatafl. The piece is conical shaped, with a flat bottom and a notch running along the bottom. It is made of lead and copper alloy and is only a couple centimeters tall. Found in North Lincolnshire, England, the piece is a light color, consistent with the rules of the game that determine two opponents, one light and one dark.[1] Its suggested date is late early medieval period, between 800 and 1000, which makes sense because the first viking raids in England started in the late 700s. These game pieces are relatively common, but the board on which it is played is much less so. The board is a square grid of varying number of boxes (sometimes 7 x 7, 11 x 11 or 13x13) and boards made of stone and wood have been recovered. [2] However, wood breaks down more easily over time so game pieces are found more often than the boards are and thus are used to track the expansion of the game.
Interestingly enough, Hnefatafl has been mentioned in viking sagas a couple of times, indicating it was an important and probably highly prevalent game, especially among higher class individuals. In the sagas, both board games and outdoor games such as wrestling and play-fighting often led to violent outcomes. In one saga, a man kills his mother after she scolds him for playing the game and poking his eye out with a playing piece.[3] These sagas tell us about the importance of the game in that it wasn’t a ‘game’ as we traditionally think of one. Instead, these games had very real outcomes and consequences and, in the sagas at least, they weren’t to be taken lightly. Therefore, though widespread, these games were in fact very important to the elite ruling class. Hnefatafl, in particular, was a way to prove possession of mental toughness and prowess in battle as it relied on players being on an offensive or defensive side.[4] Thus, games had a ritual aspect to them; they represented values important to Norse in this era of expansion.