Exquisite tapestries found in a grave from the 9th century give a unique glimpse into a distant world of imagination and expression. Their figurative motifs probably represent myths and collective histories well known in the Viking Age society. How were they used, and for what purpose? In 1904, a large burial mound was excavated in Vestfold, eastern Norway. Among the findings, there were more than 80 fragments of narrow tapestries patterned with figural motives. Part of the symbolism of these images can be linked to the warrior ideology and the myths surrounding it during the Viking era. We can see battle scenes, warriors in animal form and hanged men.
The tapestries from Oseberg are narrow, measuring only 16-23 cm in height. Both medieval poems and folk traditions suggests that tapestries were used as wall-hangings in the hall and near the high seat. For some reason, the wall-hangings grow higher as time goes by. Where they used as “memory sticks” for stories to be told at special occasions or are they just decorations? Several poems exist, written down during the Middle Ages, which describe the significance of tapestries when it comes to preserving and passing on collective narratives. There are long traditions for the narration of collective stories through textile images in Norwegian and European history. There are obvious reasons for considering the Oseberg tapestries and the well-known Bayeux Tapestry as parts of a long tradition of creating textile imagery with a significant narrative role. They might have had a function as rhetoric tools in the game of power, telling the story as the owner wanted it to be told.
Author(s): Vedeler, Marianne (Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo)