Viking embroidery

Background

The Vikings did not take up embroidery until late in their cultural development, prefering other methods of decorating clothing.

Materials Used

• wool thread and ground
• linen thread and ground
• gold thread/wire

Stitches and Techniques

• stem stitch
• Surface Couching
• chain stitch
• vandyke stitch
• herringbone

Design

During various periods, Viking work was influenced by Byzantine design. There are also examples of floral and figurative work.

Extant Pieces

• Mammen Cloak
• Oseberg hangings and garments
• Mid-ninth century Viking: Embroidery on the tunics of the queen and servant buried in the Oseberg ship: partly applique work. Details still unpublished.
• Mid-tenth century Viking: gold embroidery thread found with the garment materials of the man buried in the Gokstad ship.
• Late tenth century (?) Viking: Valsgarde Grave 15, Sweden, embroidered edging for cloak in spun silver thread.
• Early eleventh-century Jorvik (York): clumsy chain stitch on small samite "relic bag."

Links

• Carolyn Priest-Dorman - http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikembroid.html