Viking Age Shields : Things, images and texts as a field of association

Shields are among the most iconic artefacts associated with the Viking Age. Even though shields occur frequently in various archaeological and written sources, the function and meaning of shields have been sparsely researched and they have mainly been considered relevant as part of the warrior’s equipment. But when set at centre of attention shields appear in a wide range of contexts, hence it may be assumed that their functions and meanings reached beyond their use as defence weapons. This thesis develops a holistic approach and examines how shields in different source materials relate to each other and to the Viking Age society. Shields have been recovered from graves all over Scandinavia. The material remains of shields mainly consist of metal parts such as shield bosses, mounts and rivets. They are often combined with objects such as spears, swords, arrows and horse equipment. Many of the graves containing shields can be connected to an aristocratic sphere. Miniature shields used as pendants and amulets have mainly been recovered as part of richly furnished female burials, but they are also included as part of silver hoards. Furthermore, shields are represented on female figurines, often referred to as “Valkyries”. Images of shields appears on Gotlandic picture stones and on rune stones. The pictorial context of shield images consists of motifs depicting ships, warriors and riders. Shields are frequently described and mentioned in Old Norse sagas and myths. There are hundreds of kennings and heiti for shields, and many of them are connected to certain heroes or mythological characters. Material properties associated with shields, such as descriptions of shining or shimmering qualities reoccurs in the written sources. The study shows that shields in these different contexts are used in varied ways and have meanings that operates well beyond what is expected of a defence weapon. The concept “association” is pivotal when addressing how different types of shields may refer to each other as well as to aspects of the Viking age society. The thesis shows how shields in different source materials and contexts carry associations connected to aristocracy, warrior ideal and mythology. The spatial distribution of different types of shields (full-sized, miniatures, figurines and images) varies. This indicate that even though there were general values, norms, and beliefs within a large geographical area, the meanings and functions of shields was diversely expressed in different parts of Viking Age Scandinavia