The Vikings/Viking Art - The Jellinge Style

The Jellinge Style (ab. 900-1000)

The Jelling cup

The Jellinge style takes its name from the ornament on a silver cup found in the north mound of the Danish royal site at Jelling, in the burial chamber thought to be that of King Gorm (the Old), dated 958/59 from wooden fragments in the same site.







The small cup stands on a pedestral foot and is decorated only around its bowl with a pair of interlaced animals. These beasts are typical of the Jellinge style with ornament ribbons and heads shown in profile. The long pigtail and spiral hip joint are also characteristic of the Jellinge style animals. These animals are descendants of those of the Broa style, by way of Borre. It seems to have evolved during the ninth century and was in fashion for most of the tenth century.




 

Jellinge style brooch from Norway,

 

The Jellinge style was introduced to Britain by Scandinavian settlers. It was used by Anglo-Saxon carvers of Yorkshire, generally in a debased version. There were sculptors in the Isle of Man, where the finely ornamented brooches from Skaill of Orkney might have been made. They were buried around 950 or a little after. On these silver brooches are animals with the characteristics of the Jelling cup, but with the addition of tendril-like off shoots from their bodies, a sign of the metamorphosis into the beasts of the next style, the Mammen style.

Jellinge style harness bow

Upon a harness bow from Søllested on Funen is it evident that the Jellinge style metalworkers followed the Borre style, making cast ornaments imitate the filigree work. But real filigree work is also found on a disc brooch from Tråen in Norway. The Tråen brooch has these animals laid out in the same way as earlier Borre brooches, and the pattern can only be understood by reference to the Borre-brooches, since it looks rather chaotic.

As in the Jellinge style, the heads are shown in profile, the three large granules that form the eyes of the three animals are the clearest guide to the location of the heads. In the manner of the Borre-style brooches from Sweden, the heads are placed above the arched bodies. There are no gripping paws, however, but simply u-shaped feet.

Next: the Mammen style.(ab. 950-1000)

 Source: Moesgård Archaeological Museum, Århus