Abstract
IN 2003 AND 2007, TWO UNUSUAL VIKING-AGE BROOCHES were discovered during metal-detector surveys on Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. The brooches depict a horseman killing a serpent-like animal with his spear. The stylised beast is clearly associated with the Urnes style, dating to c ad 1050–1100, and the meaning of the motif is discussed in the context of early medieval dragon-slayer narratives and imagery. The acceptance and transformation of Classical and Byzantine iconographic traditions of equestrian saints has a long history in continental Germanic and Scandinavian art. In the Migration and Merovingian periods these images were incorporated into a pagan iconography, but the Urnes style was used in contexts which were definitively Christian, and it is possible that the two Danish brooches represent a very early depiction of Saint George in Scandinavia. Together with other finds, they add new perspectives to our understanding of the adoption of Christian iconography and narratives in Scandinavia.
Published Version
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