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
Mount
12017-05-10T09:46:11-07:00Aliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10164563A copper-alloy mount of Carolingian make with gold gilding. The mount was discovered in England.plain2017-05-10T09:55:42-07:00Ashley, Steven. Mount. Still, March 3, 2017. NMS-95A204. Portable Antiquities Scheme. https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/834142.800ad-900adNMS-95A204CC BY52.495373,1.370665,494Copper AlloyPortable Antiquities SchemeWoodton Parish, England20160302173926+0000Viking AgeAliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10
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
This page is referenced by:
1media/60901_95A204_MED_Mount.jpg2017-05-18T18:16:22-07:00Frankish Mount Found in Norfolk11Object pageplain2017-09-17T14:02:05-07:00This mount was made in Carolingian style but was found in Britain.[1] Scholars believe that the Scandinavian raiders would attack one country, usually drawn there by the country or region’s internal conflicts, and exploit the turmoil. Then, when they met difficulties in that land, the Nordic warriors would go elsewhere. This mount supports this line of thinking, suggesting that its owner gained possession of it in France before his (or her) raiding party turned their focus on England where the mount was lost. This would imply that the same groups of viking raiders attacked both France and England. An alternative, but perhaps less likely, possibility is that the mount was simply traded to the English by the French.
Because of its gilding, the mount would have been considered valuable. Gilded Frankish sword mounts, popular in the Carolingian era, were often taken by Norse raiders as loot or spoils and then adapted into brooches or made part of a sword or a horse harness.[2] This object was then brought by either a viking raider or settler to England, where it may have been lost or discarded. The object’s origins are dated circa 800 ce. to 900 ce. The vast majority of Scandinavian raids on France were within this time frame, as was the reign of the Carolingians, so it is difficult to narrow down the time range for this object any further without scientific dating.
The location in which the mount was found supports the argument that the same groups of Norse raiders were attacking France one year and England another, or simply that some individuals were active on both sides of the English Channel. This additionally supports the idea that the Nordic invaders ran extortion rackets, getting paid to leave or to stop attacking, either in addition to or as an alternative to looting and pillaging. Evidence suggests that the vikings found this method to be successful in France and often returned just to be paid to leave again. The style of this mount and its location being within the Danelaw supports this idea.
The fact that this Carolingian mount was found within the Danelaw is important because it shows that the same Scandinavian groups could have been active in both France and Britian. It lends support to the claim that when the Norse did not raid one place, they were likely off raiding another, rather than staying at home.
The mount itself is made of copper alloy, but its gilding appears to be gold. The decoration is simplistic with multiple curvilinear, wiggly, transverse lines on one side. The opposite side is undecorated. The style appears Carolingian, as the design is very similar to that seen in the Ebbo Codex, with black lines and gold highlights that arose under Louis the Pious.[4] It was is likely a piece of a trefoil mount attached to a Carolingian shield.