Today we are going to discuss a topic that not many people address in the Viking world.
For the vast majority of people, art is not the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning the Scandinavians. And how could they blame them? For many decades, shipbuilding, navigation, and warfare were the number one media topics when it came to the Viking era. But just because some Scandinavians of the medieval period were famous sailors does not mean we should divert attention from the Viking men who preferred to stay home creating works of art.
DID THE VIKINGS MAKE ART?
A common misconception about the medieval Nordic people is that they had little time to express their artistic abilities because they were often at war. This stigma also comes from the stereotypical idea that only delicate and gentle people can consider themselves artists. And as you know, Viking men were famous for everything except those traits. Today, we are delighted to put an end once and for all to these theories, as they have nothing to do with the truth. Not only did the Nordic people create art during the Viking age, but they were exceptional in this field.
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WHAT KIND OF ART DID THE VIKINGS MAKE?
Unlike today, most people did not believe in the expression "art for art's sake" during the Viking era. The proof is that there are practically no examples of Viking objects that had no other purpose than being aesthetic. For the most part, Viking art was practical. And the artists of the Viking age preferred to leave their mark by decorating objects already in use.
HOW DID THE VIKINGS AFFECT THE ART WORLD?
Many prominent artists have chosen to pay tribute to Viking art in various novels, poems, songs, comics, films, and TV shows. The German composer Richard Wagner was one of them. His major work titled The Ring of the Nibelung was almost entirely based on stories from Nordic mythology. At the time, Wagner did not realize that his cycle of musical dramas would be widely recognized by the public and would inspire a man named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien to write "The Lord of the Rings," one of the best-selling books ever written.
Besides classical music, Viking art has inspired many heavy metal musicians, who even created a whole genre called "Viking metal." Strongly influenced by art and Nordic mythology, the Viking metal style peaked in the early to mid-1990s but continues to inspire musical artists today.
Viking art has also strongly influenced the television world. The legends of the Prose and Poetic Edda served as inspiration for Marvel Comics, which published in 2006 a comic about a fictional villain named Ragnarök who used his supernatural abilities against the protagonist heroes of the Marvel universe. In 2017, Marvel Studios produced a film based on this comic and named it Thor: Ragnarök.
WHAT ARE THE SIX VIKING ART STYLES?
Over time, Viking art became increasingly elaborate.
When archaeologists noticed differences depending on the historical period during which the Scandinavians created certain artifacts, they decided to classify Nordic art history into six styles.
What should be remembered is that just because a particular artistic style was more widespread at a given time does not mean it immediately replaced the previously favored style. The most likely theory is that a new style began with a slight change that gradually evolved into a new form of Viking art.
The styles were named after the geographical sites where they were discovered, and today we know them as Oseberg, Borre, Jelling, Mammen, Ringerike, and Urnes.
THE OSEBERG STYLE
The Viking art style that appeared at the beginning of the 9th century and was used throughout Scandinavia for at least eight decades is called Oseberg.
The fundamental motifs developed by Viking artists during the Oseberg style period were designed in a carpet-like manner, and they set a precedent for the five following Viking art styles. The gripping beast motif was probably the essential feature of the Oseberg style, and its variations were found on most 9th-century objects used for religious purposes. Like the other five, this style is named after the archaeological site where the best-preserved object was found, namely the Oseberg mound. As its name suggests, the Oseberg ship was more a tomb than a boat intended to sail the seas, and inside, archaeologists found the skeletons of two women surrounded by a significant amount of funerary material.
Viking artists made sure to decorate the ship with carved wooden animal head statues, adding gripping beast motifs, the most striking feature of the Oseberg style. In his books on Viking history, English archaeology professor Graham Campbell states that the gripping beast motif had a deep meaning for the Nordic peoples in the medieval period, as it managed to remain relevant for more than 150 years.
THE BORRE STYLE
The Borre style is the second stage in Viking art history, and it was named after bridle mounts that archaeologists found in a Borre ship burial in Norway. What should be remembered about the Borre style is that it never completely replaced Oseberg; it only enriched motifs already existing in Viking art. Interlaced geometric shapes and ribbon animal motifs were the two most fundamental characteristics of Borre and could be considered innovations compared to Oseberg.
At Borre, it was all about filling the gaps. For example, if you saw a simple animal head post placed on a Viking ship, you could say its creator probably lived during the Oseberg period. Yet, if the animal motifs on that object were heavily decorated with chain circles or spiral hips around the central piece, you could say those wood carvings were the work of a Borre artist.
During their travels, Borre artists spread Nordic influence to the British Isles and the Baltic region. Moreover, they managed to perfect the already exquisite Viking wood carving techniques.
THE JELLING STYLE
The Jelling style first appeared in Northern Europe during the early years of the 10th century, and it remained the predominant art style for more than seven decades. During Jelling, Viking art began to develop further towards stone carving, and previously favored materials like wood quickly fell into oblivion. In the second half of the 10th century, the use of carved stone became essential for almost all religious rituals in medieval Norway. By the end of the 10th century, it was time for Jelling to say goodbye to the Viking world. Artists of the 11th century began adopting an entirely new art style, Mammen.
THE MAMMEN STYLE
Archaeologists discovered the first examples of the Mammen style near the village of Mammen in Jutland, Denmark, inside a mound of King Harald Bluetooth. Among many highly decorated stone objects, archaeologists found a piece of art worthy of any national museum - the Mammen axe. While one side of the axe head was decorated with motifs of various animals rounded with asymmetrical volutes and ornamental contours, the other side depicted a large ribbon-shaped bird, with its entire body, wings, crest, and circular eyes.
Despite the delicacy of its motifs and the unique place it holds in art history, in the 10th century, Mammen was replaced by Ringerike.
RINGERIKE STYLE
The Ringerike style is named after the Ringerike district of Oslo, Norway, where the famous Vang stone was discovered. While one face of the stone was decorated with commonly used animals like lions, birds, and snakes, the other was illuminated with runic inscriptions. In the early 11th century, art historians discovered significant differences between Viking styles in the representation of animals. Ringerike artists preferred their animals carved extremely thin and long, with almond-shaped eyes. In contrast, artists who chose some of the previous styles preferred the animal figures to be thick and round.
Some historians like to say that Mammen was just a transitional period between two styles. It slightly transformed the animal motifs of Jelling, preparing them to reach their definitive form in Ringerike during the first half of the 11th century. Unlike the gripping beast of Oseberg, the animals of the Ringerike style were presented very peacefully.
We leave you with this video that talks about this Viking art style.
URNES STYLE
The last of the six Viking art styles is called Urnes and reached its peak at the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th century, a time when most Vikings were undergoing Christianization. Although it was a long and slow process, Christianity not only strongly influenced religious practices throughout Scandinavia but also had a considerable impact on the artistic styles then in vogue. The art style born from Viking Christianization, called Urnes, is often characterized by fine animal images wrapped in narrow patterns. The artistic focus is now on Christian elements, and Nordic art is there to reinforce it. As time passes and Vikings become more inclined to the Christian faith, the stories of Nordic mythology begin to fade into oblivion. The animals carved on runestones and stave churches, presented in circular or open compositions, became increasingly fine until the day they transformed into line ornaments.
The Urnes style is named after the 12th-century stave church located in the village of Urnes, Norway. The Urnes stave church is decorated with Nordic and Christian ornaments and is therefore a precious museum protected by UNESCO.
Now you know everything about Viking art! We invite you to discover our other blog articles, such as the one on Viking beer to learn more about the Viking universe.
