Abstract
From the fifth century to the Viking Age in present-day Norway, certain women belonging to the upper strata of society were buried with high-quality ornamental bow-brooches. Although adjusting to changing styles of decoration, the practical function and basic form of the brooches - rectangular headplate, bow and rhomboidal footplate – remained more or less the same throughout the centuries they were in use. By exploring burials which include these ornamental accessories, I argue that the brooches functioned as an important factor in reproducing and continuously negotiating identity shared by certain women within the Scandinavian Iron Age elite.
Highlights
Decorated relief brooches and disc-on-bow brooches are characteristic finds from the Norwegian Migration Period
AD 550–790/800) respectively, the latter appear in Viking-Age burials as cherished heirlooms
The transition between the two types may be perceived as fluid, as some features occurred on both late relief brooches and early disc-on-bow brooches; the disc on the bow, the use of garnet inlays and the profiled bird heads
Summary
Ornamental Bow Brooches and the Negotiation of Elite Female Status and Roles in Iron Age Norway (c. 400–900 AD). Ornamental Bow Brooches and the Negotiation of Elite Female Status and Roles in Iron Age Norway From the fifth century to the Viking Age in present-day Norway, certain women belonging to the upper strata of society were buried with high-quality ornamental bow brooches. Adjusting to changing styles of decoration, the practical function and basic form of the brooches – a rectangular headplate, a bow and a rhomboidal footplate – remained more or less the same throughout the centuries they were in use. By exploring burials which include these ornamental accessories, I argue that the brooches functioned as an important factor in reproducing and continuously negotiating identity shared by certain women within the Scandinavian Iron Age elite
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