The Skrydstrupgirl /Skrydstruppigen

The Skrydstrupgirl at exhibition, National Museum.

 

 

After being buried in her coffin completely undisturbed in her grave hill for more than 3000 years the grave with the Skrydstrupgirl was found and opened in 1935.

 

The expectations were not great, the hill had been digged earlier, but after some days work it was obvious that this was one of Denmark's most important grave finds from Bronze Age.

 

The Skrydstrupgirl, National Museum.

Skrydstruppigen is a famous Danish grave find from Bronze Age. The Skrydstrupgirl was excavated in 1935 at the village Skrydstrup in South Jutland. She lived in ab. 1300 before our time. She was found in a gravehill by the "Hærvejen" 1 km southwest of the town Vojens. Her oakcoffin was placed upon a bed of stones and covered by a turf hill, measuring 13 meter diameter and 1,75 meter high. Two male persons were in similar coffins at the edge of the gravehill. All was covered by a larger turf hill, measuring 24 meter diameter and 4 m high.

The Cap, National Museum

At her death the girl was only 17 years old. She was buried in an oakcoffin in the middle of the hill, covered by stones. The oakcoffin was almost dissolved. She lay upon a cowskin, and by her head was a cap made in sprangteknik. (a special made cap for women). She rested upon a layer of sorrel and other plants, which tell us that she was buried in summer. She was buried in her dress: a short-sleeved blouse, made by woven wool with embroideries upon the sleeves and around the neck, a long woolen skirt covered her from waist to feet , belt and shoes; fastened to the belt was a decorated horn comb. Her clothes were wool from dark, redbrown sheep. Her only jewelry was large spiral ear rings in 24 karat gold. She had 60 cm long, ashblonde hair, set in a special hairstyle, which she could not have done without assistance. Over the hair was a fine hairnet of horse's hair. The hairstyle was very difficult to wear and much indicates it might have been some kind of burial hair style. She was 170 cm tall which was rather tall in comparison to her contemporaries at that time.

Example of her hairstyle, wikipedia.

When her hair was arranged it was first combed flat back from the forehead, then a valk (a lump of soft material, evt. filled with human hair) was put over the forehead-hair, and the hair was combed forth above a thin layer. The tips of the hair were divided in some little tufts which were braided in front, forming a  braid across the forehead, and all of it was kept on place with  a woolen string. Over the hair was put a fine hairnet, braided by horse's hair in front and back. It was fastened upon an almost 5 m long woolen string.  The string was twined several times around the head, so it was like a headband, and it kept the hairstyle and the hairnet on its place.


The hairstyle and the goldrings, the oak coffin and the gravehill tell us that the Skrydstrupgirl belonged to a socially rich family. Her teeth witness that she from child had nutrient food. This could be a sign of high social status. The people who lived along "Hærvejen",  had the far away trade with the southern countries in Europe, with fur and amber and with bronze and gold.

The cause of her death is not known. The study of the skeleton did not reveal any kind of disease.

Skrydstrupgirl and Egtvedgirl

Her teeth were in good condition; they had a thick layer of enamel and not the slightest sign of caries. Obviously she had not missed anything in her diet during her upbringing. Her dress and her hair also witness about surplus and at the same time a great concern for the diseased. Her high position in society is underlined by the grave form itself , a gravehill of 13 meter diameter and 1,75 in height demanded lots of ressources to build, and the gathering of about 6000 peats was a common task for the local society.



New Knowledge.

Groundbreaking Danish research shows that the distinguished Skrydstrupgirl who was found in a gravehill in South Jutland in 1935 was not born or grew up in Denmark. The news were revealed in the TV- broadcast "Historien om Danmark" in April 2017. A unique recording in the TV-programme shows the moment in the laboratory when the discovery is obvious. The Skrydstrupgirl came from south of Denmark. This is a discovery which will change the understanding of much material from the Bronze Age, said professor Karin Margarita Frei from the National Museum of Copenhagen, who was the in the head of the examination.

It was also a sensation worldwide in 2015 when another grave find from antiquity revealed , that the iconic Egtvedgirl was not from Denmark, but was born and grew up in the southern Germany. This makes the discovery of the same result for the Skrydstrupgirl even more interesting. The result is important, because it shows that the Egtvedgirl was no special case; it seems to be a pattern, which tell us how humans, and in this case women, travelled and moved around in Bronze Age.

Karin M. Frei was also behind the examination of the Egtvedgirl, but contrary to the Egtvedgirl the examination of the Skrydstrupgirl shows all her life from childhood till death. This is the first time this has happened. Contrary to the Egtvedgirl who did travel several times during her life the Skrydstrupgirl was only out on one travel,  the travel from her birthplace to the region at Skrydstrup. The young woman came to the region at Skrydstrup when she was 13-14 years old, until then she had lived in a place many hundred kilometers away from this neigbourhood. She might have lived in the northern part of the Czech Republic, in France or in Mid Germany. After her arrival to Denmark she lived in South Jutland for almost 4 years before she died, ab.17 years old, around 1300 BC. She moved from south to north, possibly to create an alliance between two powerful families by marriage.

The Skrydstrupgirl's hairstyle /wikipedia

In order to map the ways of the Skrydstrupgirl professor Karin Frei has examined a 6-year tooth, a wisdom tooth, an about 50 centimeter long lock of hair  and some bones. Those things tell about food, upbringing  and geographical location through her life. Her grave has told us that she belonged to the elite of the society both before and when she came to Denmark. Her teeth tell us that she from child had nutritious diet,  which can be a sign of high status.

According to professor of archaeology at Gøteborg University , Kristian Kristiansen, the result has a significant importance for our understanding of Bronze Age. The Skrydstrupgirl emphasizes that Bronze Age was a time of globalization. People went from south to north in connection to marriage, and they went on long trade travels. Now there are scientific proofs that this is the case.

It is strange the Egtvedgirl died young too, there are no sign of disease in the bones and no sign of violence. It seems special that she died that young. Examinations shows that the Skrydstrupgirl was healthy, and the scientists have wondered what might have killed her. It was not possible to see from the bones if she had had any children, and if her death might be because of a childbirth. Much indicates that the Skrydstrupgirl migrated to Denmark when she was 13-14 years of age , an age where women were considered ready to marry in Bronze Age. 

 

National Museum exhibition:" Danmarks Oldtid." 

Karin Frei and the National Museum continue mapping other grave finds from Bronze Age. The investigation of the Skrydstrupgirl was only the first in a series. By mapping the origin of several Bronze Age women they hope to achieve a deeper insight in Bronze Age. 

The research project named: Bronzealderkvindens fortællinger. (The tales of the Bronze Age women) has its own web site.

The Skrydstrupgirl from ab. 1300 bc , the Egtvedgirl, who was buried in the summer 1370 BC and the other oakcoffin graves with dresses and jewelry are on the exhibition: "Danmarks Oldtid".

The Skrydstrupgirl's  oakcoffin was almost dissolved, only a small part was preserved around her head. At the exhibition she lies in a coffin from another hill, Mølhøj. At Haderslev Museum is a copy of her dress, and a bronze statue of the Skrydstrupgirl is set up in the town Vojens.

Bronze Age House in Thy, North Jutland (wikipedia) 

The Skrydstrupgirl's House.
During  Bronze Age arose in the region of Vojens a wealth center  ab. 1800-1000 bc. This is seen by the building of a number of grave hills and impressive houses. The Skrydstrupgirl's family was one of the strong parts in the building of this center. This period is often named Denmarks first Golden Age.

Much gold ended as grave equipment in the gravehills.  An important explanation  why a wealth center arose just at this place is the geography of the region. Here lies Hærvejen and it was via this road the precious metal came to the north.

In 1993 gravel was extracted in South Jutland. Museum Sønderjylland  examined the area and found several houses from Bronze Age; especially two houses were interesting.

One house was a more than 50 meter long and 10m broad hall, more than 500 square meter was under roof. It is the largest house from Bronze Age from this period in Scandinavia. The region was an important area with a great activity. The house was divided in three rooms, the living room, the barn, the stable. The dating of the house was 1500-1330 BC. Charred corn (mostly wheat) and mold residues show that the lord of the house both mastered the hard bronze casting and was able to get hold of the coveted metal. 

Another huse was under a small gravehill, the house was 30 m long and a little more than 7 m broad. Rooms were divided like in the big house. The dating of this house was between 1320 and 1220 BC. The house lay here upon the hillside at the same time as the Skrydstrupgirl lived (she was buried in one of the great Bronze Age hills only 600 m southwest of this house). Maybe she lived in this house, if so it might have been her grandfather or great grandfather who built the great hall.



Source: National Museum, Copenhagen; professor Karin M. Fre;  professor Kristian Kristiansen, Gøteborgs Universitet, and wikipedia. 
photo: National Museum and wikipedia. 

The Egtvedgirl / Egtvedpigen

Egtvedpigen is a famous Danish grave-find from Bronze Age and one of the best preserved,especially for her wellkept dress, which brought new knowledge about Denmark's past. She was considered a Danish girl from the beginning, but new knowledge and analyses have shown that she was born and grew up in south western Germany.

Egtvedgirl, National Museum.

yarrow from the hill, july 2010/gb

A Jutland farmer wanted in 1921 to remove the rest of a great hill, named "Storehøj", in his fields to make room for sowing, but while he was digging he hit a two meter long oak coffin. "Storehøj" was at that time outdigged and almost flat , but the wellkept grave with the oak coffin and a young girl's  body was placed in the eastern part of the hill. The coffin was an outhollowed barked oak trunk, one half was the coffin, the other a lid. The oak coffin is dated to year 1370 BC. Everything was found placed in the coffin as it were almost 3500 years ago. The coffin was lined with cow skin and the body of a young girl was placed carefully on the soft skin surrounded by her grave goods and covered with a woolen blanket -  and the coffin was closed . A little yarrow flower was put on the edge of the coffin before the lid was put on. The yarrow reveals that she was buried on a summer's day.

Storhøj in july 2010/gb

The region of Egtved was at that time of Bronze Age a power center in Jutland. Southern Germany and Denmark were two dominating power centers in western Europe. The archaeological material reveals that there are many direct connections between the two regions. One theory is that the Egtvedgirl was a girl from southern Germany who was to marry a powerful chief in Jutland in order to seal an alliance between two strong families. She was buried in a hill of her own, she was a person of high status. On a summer's day in 1370 BC her body was carefully buried in an oak coffin and covered by a grave hill, later named "Storehøj", close to Egtved village west of Vejle city. Her story is a fascinating tale from Bronze Age, and only because of her early death and burial in the grave hill at Egtved we are now able to discover more about the Bronze Age people. 

bronze belt plate(from Langstrup)/ wikipedia

The Egtvedgirl's teeth tell us that she was about 16-18 years old when she died. Although her skin and body parts are gone the find is still exceptional, since her dress and grave goods are very well preserved. She was carefully wrapped in a cow skin and covered by a woolen blanket. Her dress was a short-sleeved blouse, a kneelong cord skirt and a woven belt, mounted with a circular bronze belt plate , decorated with a spiral pattern. The belt plate symbolized the sun, the most important element of the Bronze Age religion. Fastened at her belt was a comb made of horn,  and her feet were wrapped in pieces of cloth. She had a bronze arm ring on borth arms and a fragile ear ring in one ear. A little wooden bowl beside her contained the rests of a fermented fruit drink - some kind of beer - and in a small box made of linden barch were a bradawl and the rests of a hair net. At her feet was a bundle of cloth with the burnt bones of a 5-6 year old child, and at her head a small box of birch-barch bones from the same child.

In the coffin was a wooden bowl, which in the bottom had a layer of thick brown precipitation. When the content was analysed it was obvious that it had contained a fermented drink, probably honey-sweetened beer. The drink was made by lingonberry or cranberry. Besides this were wheatgrains, rests of sweet gale and large amounts of pollen from the lime tree. The Egtvedgirl's brew is now put into production after 3.300 years. 

National Museum /Egtved girl/wikipedia

The grave hill "Storehøj" is reconstructed today, and in attachment is a small museum with permanent exhibitions and alternate activities. The Egtvedgirl is considered one of the best kept Bronze Age finds i Danish history and she is one of the most famous persons from antiquity.  She is today at exhibition at the National Museum in Copenhagen, and she is one of more than 20 Danish grave finds from Bronze Age which is unique worldwide.


New knowledge.

Schwarzwald, wikipedia/gb

The Egtvedgirl was not born in Egtved. She was from the start considered a Danish girl but today we know that she was born and grew up many hundred kilometers from Denmark. Analyses by help of the isotope strontium of her hair, teeth and nails show that she was born and grew up , probably in southwestern Germany -  and that she came to Egtved shortly before her death. The analyses of her hair and a thumb nail show that she travelled back and forth during the two last years of her life. This new knowledge tells us that the Bronze Age people travelled long distances in a relatively short time. The people of Bronze Age lived in a cosmopolitic and dymamic world.

the small museum/wikipedia

belt plate and arm ring/museum/gb

barch box/ july 2010/ museum/gb

The wool from her dress, the blanket and the cow skin come from a region outside Denmark. The wool comes from sheep which grass in various places or in a relatively big area with a complex geology  - and this is found in South West Germany. A combination of various analyses point to that the girl, her dress and the cow skin come from Schwarzwald (800 km south of Egtved). The same goes for the cremated rests of a six year old child, who was buried with her.

medieval market, Egtved july 2010/gb

landscape Egtved, july 2010/gb

The dating of the Egtvedgirl's coffin is a summer's day year 1370 BC. It is possible that the Egtvedgirl left Germany and went to Jutland to marry a great man's son, but after a few months she went back home to fetch a child from her home region, maybe a little brother or little sister who should be fostered in Egtved.  The child got sick and died underway, and the body was burnt, which made it easier to transport. The Egtvedgirl's hair shows that she has either suffered from starvation or been sick on the tour. Maybe she was still sick when she arrived at Egtved where she died shortly after and was buried with the child. She is the only person from Bronze Age, who was buried with the burnt bones from a child. The child was too old to be her own, but it might be her brother or sister whom she brought to Denmark to be fostered by her family in law. The analyses say that the child and the Egtvedgirl came from the same region. 

Theories:

Human sacrifice?
In the grave was a bundle with the burnt bones of a 5-6 year old child. The child was too old to be the girl's own child.  Maybe it was her little brother or sister or maybe a child who was sacrificed. From another woman grave in Bronze Age from the southern part of Jutland  is known a possible human sacrifice. The grave was examinated in the 1980s. Here was the body of a woman with a very rich grave equipment. At her feet were the burnt bones from a grown human, maybe her personal slave who was killed and burnt when she died? Possible human sacrifices are known from some contemporary graves in Bronze Age.

Dance rituals?
The Egtvedgirl was dressed in a significant cord skirt which reached her knees, it was wrapped twice around her waist and was about 38 cm long. That kind of skirt was used through Bronze Age. Some small women figures in bronze, found at Zealand, are also dressed in cord skirts. It has been suggested that the figures depict rituals which was made at the cult-feasts. Maybe women dressed in cord skirts danced ritual dances, and maybe the Egtvedgirl took part in these dance rituals.

Storhøj july 2010/gb

 

Source:  Det Natur og Biovidenskabelige fakultet, Københavns Universitet. .

professor Karin Margarita Frei,  Københavns Universitet
professor Kristian Kristiansen, Gøteborg Universitet. 

photo: wikipedia
photo: grethe bachmann, july 2010.

The Scandinavian Woman in Viking Age

Viking grave site, Lindholm Høje, photo:GB

The Viking Age is often displayed as a violent time, dominated by  men who conquered countries and built kingdoms, but the image has changed during the latest 20 years. Archaeological finds from Scandinavia and the Continent bear witness  about the Viking women's daily activities, their power and status from slave to queen.





The daily Life of a Viking woman.

Hjerl Hede, photo:GB

Silkeborg Bymuseum, photo:GB

Most people in  Viking Age were farmers -  or they lived in farms. The management was maintained by a household: the family, some slaves, farm workers and servants, although the knowledge about a Viking household like this is limited today. The economy of the farm was (in Dk) based upon livestock, agriculture and production of textiles and other things for own use. All members of the house took probably part in the daily doings - the archaeological finds show that the production of textiles and metal objects and timber work were gender based for respectively women and men.

Textiles, Silkeborg Bymuseum, photo:GB

textiles, photo:GB

Women could work as craftsmen in the cities, often with the production of textiles for trade, and  they might also take part in doing the trade on behalf of the family. It seems that some women were specialized textile workers since the production- techniques were complicated. The production and trade of textiles were an important part of the economy.


The daily life in the city and on the farm was lived both inside and outside the house. Women took care of the children and of the elderly, they made food and conserved food, like dairy-products and other processing of raw products. The textile production included also processing of wool, spinning and weaving. Unfortunately the textiles from Viking Age are rarely preserved up till today, but some small fragments are found and they show a wide width in the techniques they used and in the quality of the textiles.

The gender roles via the burials of the Vikings tells something. Men and women were often buried in

Højstrup viking graves, photo: GB

their prettiest clothes with grave goods and eventually with sacrificed animals. During the 9th century and in the first half of the 10th century wealthy women wore a dress held together with two oval clamps on the shoulders and with more grave goods  like broches and pearl necklaces and spindle-things - often also with small chests containing textile equipment. Keys are also a common thing in women-graves - maybe marking the status of a house wife. But rich women-graves and rich men- graves were in general rather few. The rich graves seem reserved to the highest class in the social hierarchy. Common people were buried with one or two objects or nothing.

Silkeborg Bymuseum, photo:GB

The ideal Viking woman was a woman between 16-40 years of age. At 16 she was ready to marry and have children and she could take part in the physical hard life on the farm.She enjoyed to some extent more freedom than women in other parts of the medieval contemporary Europe. Written sources represent the Scandinavian woman of Viking age as independent and with rights. Runic inscriptions, especially from Mid Sweden, bear witness about the woman's right to dispose over her property and her rights to inherit. The married couple was jointly responsible for the household and had to trust the partner's willingness to cooperate. An apparently good relation was between a Swedish couple, Holmgaut and Odendisa, since Holmgaut let carve runes in a memorial after his wife "no better housewife will come to Hassmyra to look after the farm" This inscription describes the woman's role in the management of the farm, the organisation of the household and maybe the control of people, animals and ressources. If the husband was out on a Viking expedition the responsibility of everything at home fell to the woman.

                                                                                 

If a marriage did not work both husband and wife could get a divorce. The Spanish-Jewisch traveller At Tartushi visited Hedeby in the second part of the 10th century and was surprised by being told that women had a right to get divorced if they just wanted it themselves. The frequency of divorces in the Viking period is not known but the right to divorce and to inherit shows that the Viking woman had an independent social status.

Hägar, wikipedia

A permanent relation between a man and a woman could also happen outside the frame of marriage, since polygamy was a spread custom, at least in the higher levels of society. There are no informations about other groups. In Frankish sources are written about some Norman chiefs who had more than one woman in his household, which by the Franks was considered a special Danish and un-Christian custom.

Thyra Danebod, Lorenz Frølich, 1855,wikipedia

Some women achieved a special high status by family alliances or by their own skill. The best known might be queen Thyra, wife of Gorm the Old and mother of Harald Bluetooth. Her name is carved upon at least four runestones in Jutland, including two runestones from Jelling. Upon the small Jelling stone, raised by Gorm in the middle of 900s, Thyra is characterized as Danmarks pryd, while she upon the big Jelling stone, raised by her son Harald,  is mentioned as Gorm's wife and king Harald's mother. These inscriptions show her significance for the Danish kingdom.

Dejbjergvogn, National Museum

Fyrkat, Viking House, photo:GB

In the second part of the 900s aristocratic women had their own burial customs, where they were placed in a wagon. These graves correspond socially to the horseman's grave, where men of the elite were buried with weapons, equestrian equipment and in some cases also with a horse. One of the aristocratic  women was known from the burial place at the Viking site Fyrkat. She was nobly dressed in a robe with decorations of gold and silver, and she had exotic jewelry, seeds of hemlock which has expanding qualities of consciousness, and a chest with textile equipment etc. And a decorated iron staff among these grave goods  leads to the conclusion that this woman was a volve, a female ritual specialist.






                                                                       
                                                                             
 

 

Siege of Paris, painting Jean Pierre Franque/wikipedia

The Viking expeditions were not only a matter for men. The Anglosaxon Chronicle mentions for the 890s that Viking groups held both women and children, who stayed in a safe place during the men's attacks. A more doubtful source, a poem by Abbo from Saint Germain's kloster in Paris tells in 885-886  how Vikings during the Siege of Paris   were encouraged to go back fighting. Some cases are probably about getting slaves like in the Frankish annals, where it is informed for the year 837 that the Vikings captured women to sell them as slaves. Maybe some of these women were brought back to Scandinavia.

oval broches, wikipedia

Women were also with the Vikings when they settled permanently in the conquered areas in England and France. In Angers in France a group of Vikings arrived in 873 with women and children to settle down. It is not known if these women came from Scandinavia.

Oval broches, which were used by high status women in Scandinavia to hold their robe, were found in various parts of Europe, where the Vikings settled, like in England, Ireland, Russia and Iceland. This shows that Scandinavian women probably were a part of the Vikings' expansion -  and maybe some elements of the Scandinavian dress custom for women spread among the original inhabitants in these areas.

 The Viking age was a period where Scandinavia went from the before-Christian religion to Christianity. The new faith was in the beginning especially popular among women, which is seen from many runestones from Mid Sweden, where women raised stones. Some women had built bridges and the runestones were raised as a memory of a deceased, which was  considered a Christian benefaction. Women may have been attracted to the new religions because of  the wonderful paradise with place for everyone, peace and equality between men and women in the face of God, and the Christian prohibition of infanticide. There are also examples of  Viking women going on a pilgrimage.
(Left: one of Denmark's most important runestones (Sdr. Vissing church),  raised by Harald Bluetooth's wife, Tove Mistivojsdatter after her mother.

The new Christian social ideology had however in the long run a negative effect on women in society if they had part in the public cult in before-Christian time. The Christian practice with male priests made women passive spectators in the cult. Later in high Middle Ages Saxo expresses a clear disbelief in women whom he considers inconsistent, unreliable and a threat to the right scheme of the world. Women's dependence of men were thus promoted, and it is probable that women lost a part of the social freedom which they had earlier in the first couple of centuries of the new Millenium
after the introduction of Christianity in Scandinavia.

Bjørn Nørgaard, Gobelin: "Vikingetiden", Christiansborg.

Source: Danmarkshistorie.dk, Aarhus Universitet

The Famous Cat Maru on the Sofa

If you're stressed  and need to relax here in these busy Christmas preparations -  then look at Maru.
He knows how to relax...................

Maru on the Sofa 

JUL, JÓL, CHRISTMAS, WEIHNACHT, NAVIDAD................

Scandinavian Jul in the Viking period and in the early Middle Ages.
(source: Middelalderhistorie, Århus Universitet)

Candle in Vor Frue Kirke, Århus/ GB

The word Jul or the Old Norse Jól was used long before Christianity came to Denmark and Scandinavia. Jul was the term for the winter feasts when days of the year again began to grow longer - but today it is difficult to know what these ancient feasts really meant to people. 

Carl Larsson, Midvinterblót, (wikipedia)

The linguistic history of the word Jul are somewhat lost, but it has probably German roots. An early example of the use of the word is in the Gothic language spoken in Central and South Eruope in late Antiquity and in the early Middle Ages. The word Jul is first seen in the 300s. It was among others used in the form jiuleis which was the name for November or December. A few centuries later it is seen in Old English where it occurs as goiuli giulæi or youle  - as a description  of the period December-January. In Old Norse ( the language in Scandinavia in the Viking Age) the word seems to have had several meanings, but everything points to that the Old Norse Jól can be translated into feast. The word seems to have spread in Europe in Antiquity and early Middle Ages, the periods which in Denmark are named Iron Age and Viking Age. It was everywhere used about the same time of the year, but it is uncertain what the word actually covered -  also in the Nordic context.

Viking House, Fyrkat/ GB

There are no contemporary written sources which describe the before-Christian Jul. A few Nordic sources like scaldic verses and sagas, which use the word jul/jól, were written down in the Christian period, and they therefore reflect the world view of the Christian writer. In most source-cases where jul is mentioned, it is used about the Christian celebration, but a few Nordic sources indicate that the jul in Scandinavia  - also in the time before Christianity -  was a special event in December or January.

Harald Haarfager/ wikipedia

This is seen in the probably earliest Nordic source which mentions the word jul. It is a scaldic verse ( ab. year 900) by the scald Thorbjørn Hornklofi,  composed to king Harald Haarfager of Norway (king ca. 872-930). The  verse sounds like this: "the king will drink jul out ... and make Frej's play". The first words probably refer to how a ruler in the Viking Age had to move around a lot if he wanted to keep his power. It is not clear what is meant by Frej's play, but the drink sacrifice took a central role in the before-Christian religion, where the Vikings drank to honor gods like Frej and Odin. Maybe the verse refers to a sacrifice like this.

Odin, Hugin and Munin/wikipedia

Another scaldic verse pays tribute to king Harald Hardrada of Norway (king 1046-1066) for his victory at the battle field. It was said that the king prepared jul for Hugin's hird. Hugin was one of Odin's ravens, so the verse refers probably to the men killed in the battle and being food for the ravens. Maybe here is also referred to the unusual numbers of food taken in at the feasts of jul.

Hakon the Good/ wikipedia

The Icelandic Christian chronicle writer Snorri Sturlasson mentions jul in a saga about the Norwegian king Hakon the Good  (king ab.
933- 959). The saga was written down in ab. 1230. He describes that king Hakon decides to celebrate jul at the same time as the Christians. The saga also tells the story about a Viking chief, who after being a Christian, still held on to the tradition to celebrate three big feasts during each year, three yearly sacrifice feasts: one at the beginning of winter, one in midwinter and one in the start of summer.

Snorri Sturlasson,C.Krogh/ Wikipedia

When he became a Christian he continued celebrating three feasts each year, which were now named gæstebud (banquets): one in autumn, a jul-feast in winter and one at Easter. How the feasts were celebrated is told by Snorri: "the Christian king Hakon was invited to a jul-feast by some heathen farmers, who according to tradition wanted the king to take part in the sacrifice. (blót) The Christian king would not take part in this, but he needed to have the support of the farmers, so he found a compromise: he eat a little horse liver and drank some memorial cheers without crossing his drinking cup. Making the sign of the cross was a Christian custom which the farmers would never accept.

Jolagjafir/ wikipedia

The sagas holds also the first example e of the word julegave (Christmas gift). It is seen in a description of Norway's king Hakon (king 1093-1095). He was supported by a part of the Norwegian population if he refrained from filing the traditional taxes which the Norwegian people had to give the king, including julegaver/jolagjafir. In other parts of the sagas are examples of julegaver which remind of the phenomenon, known today. Scandinavian Viking chiefs gave gifts to their families around the turn of the year, and thus he followed a custom which had spread in the European courts. Princes also used gifts traditionally to attract important people and thereby establish or hold on to their social status. In time these gifts were connected to the jule feast.

Jul in Lejre, Zealand/ wikipedia

The German history writer Thietmar of Merseburg wrote in the beginning of the 1000s about a sacrifice feast which was held each year at Lejre in the Danish isle Zealand. Archeologists have here found a very important place, which probably functioned as the royal court of the Danes. According to Thietmar the Danes sacrificed humans and  animals in Lejre at a time where Christians celebrated the Holy three kings on 6 January, these sacrifices were held in order to please the underground people. Thietmar's descriptions reflects a Christian's negative view upon a heathen society -  and it is not certain if his description can be connected to the before-Christian jul, but it indicates that people of Scandinavia in December or January celebrated ritual blót-feasts.

Sacrifice place, reconstruction, DK/ wikipedia

After the introduction of Christianity in Denmark several sources mention how Danish kings kept magnificent feasts in order to celebrate the Christian jul. German history writers like Arnold of Lübeck describe in the 1100s how Danish kings had great drinking feasts. Similar descriptions are also seen in the Danish chronicles. The history writer Saxo wrote ab.year 1200 about a jule feast at the Danish court. The king invited the greatest men of the kingdom to magnificent feasts where they eat and drak for several days.

Sacrifice of food,reconstruction, DK/ wikipedia

Some are of the opinion that the before-Christian jul was at winter solstice, 21 or 22 December, others that it was at midwinter night between 19-20 January. Both suggestions could be true. There were probably several ritual feasts, which were held on various times in December or January. The feasts have varied from district to district, maybe even from family to family in some cases. There was probably a summer solstice feasts,  a feast at midwinter, and in other cases a fertility feast. The jól of winter was regarded as one of the intersection points of the year.

Feast in Middle Ages/ wikipedia

The jul was a ritual event, connected to the middle of winter. It seems that great men from the social elite often were the focal point of important feasts. Like the king the powerful men of the kingdom were often central in the ceremonies which were connected to the practice of the before-Christian religion - and they played undoubtedly an important role in marking the Jul. They drank, eat and sacrificed, and the sacrifice was probably held in one of the great halls where the elite resided. The jul-feast contributed to hold on to and to develop the social and religious structures of society.

Earliest Danish cross, Vor Frue kirke, Århus/ GB

In Scandinavia the word jul survived the introduction of Christianity, while other parts of Europe began to use words, which came from Christianity, like the English Christmas, the German Weihnacht and the Spanish Navidad etc. Likewise the considerable intake of food and drink seemed to live on in new forms. People did not cheer in the honor of Odin and Frej, but celebrated the birth of Christ. Although it immediately looks as if central parts of the before-Christian jul continued after the introduction of Christianity, it is important to say that the informations were written down by later Christian writers. They saw the past through a Christian lens and might therefore have transferred a part of their contemporary jul-celebration to their description of the past.





Source: Middelalderhistorie.dk, Århus Universitet.