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
12017-05-22T14:44:58-07:00Vikingatid Scabbard4Vikingatid Bronze Scabbardplain2017-09-19T19:56:42-07:00Found in Gotland, this bronze scabbard fitting or ferrule dates back to the Viking Age.[1] The scabbard is in the shape of an antlered animal, possibly of a stag or moose. Its antlers make up the outer U shape and in the middle of the antlers sits a cross which also protrudes from the head of the animal.
The cross symbol in the scabbard is of importance because the stag was symbolic in Scandinavia as it was linked to royalty.[2] Most commonly however, the stag represents God in the Christian faith. Specifically, a stag depicted with a cross over its head was meant to symbolize Saint Hubert of Liege the patron of hunting.[3] This mostly likely means that the owner was Christian and could have used this specific design of the scabbard as a way to pay tribute to God and the Saint Hubert.
Despite its original production location being unknown, a possible reason for how this scabbard found its way to Gotland could have been through trade or raiding. The island of Gotland being situated in between Sweden and modern day Latvia in the Baltic Sea, made it a prime resting spot for traders and raiding parties moving through the Baltic. Because of this, Gotlanders faced a wide variety of cultural and religious influences[4] including Christianity.
