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
12017-05-17T16:55:16-07:00Munnharpe6object pageplain2017-09-17T13:45:25-07:00Thismunnharpe, an instrument initially developed in Asia, gives insight into the musical and cultural tastes of Norse people and shows the how the Norse were connected to other parts of the world.
The munnharpe is less than ten centimeters in length.[1] Made from a single piece of iron, the munnharpe has two long thin offshoots connected at one end. At this end, the two offshoots bend away from each other forming a circular end. This object was recovered north of Oslo in Norway, but the time that it was made and used is not certain. The munnharpe, more widely known as a Jew’s Harp or Jaw Harp, is an instrument that is played by hitting a thinner piece of metal that sits between the two parts of the frame of the instrument.[2] A person would hold it against their teeth, and by shaping their mouth differently, would be able to make different tones. The instrument is thought to have originated in Asia and unsurprisingly the sounds that it makes are very similar to ones heard in steppe music. It produces an almost guttural sound, and does not have many similarities to medieval European music. The presence of this object in Scandinavia indicates that as raiders and traders the Norse had access to many other different cultures, and at some point incorporated this foreign instrument into their own music and culture.
The discovery of a musical instrument also provides insight into Norse life and helps to present the vikings as people who had their own cultural identity rather than as barbaric raiders. Many texts, including the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles in years such as 787 and 793 CE, describe only viking raids because that was what the writers were exposed to, but in doing so neglected to describe everyday life for a Norse person and especially life in Scandinavia.[3] Due to the lack of written information, historians turn to objects such as this one to get a broader picture of vikings to show them as more than just raiders. This munnharpe shows the interconnectedness of the Norse people to the rest of the world and helps to soften the image of a barbaric viking raider by providing insight into the culture of Scandinavia.
