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GRIPPING BEAST
Acrobatic figures called gripping
beasts became popular in Viking art
in the 9th century. This playful
animal writhes and turns
inside out, gripping its
own legs and even
its throat.Gripping beast from a 9th-century
Danish broochCAROLINGIAN CUP
Craftsmen outside of Viking lands
based their decoration mainly on real
animals. This cup was made farther
south in the Carolingian Empire, in
modern France or Germany. It is made
of gilt (gold-coated) silver decorated
with the figure of a bull-like animal
and symmetrical leaves of the
acanthus plant. The cup must have
been traded or plundered, because it
was found in a Viking hoard at Halton
Moor, England, with a silver neck-ring
(p. 47) and a gold pendant (p. 46).LONE WOLF
The wolf roamed wild in the mountains of Scandinavia.
Then, as now, people were terrified of its eerie howl.
In Viking legend, the god Odin is gobbled up by a
monstrous wolf, Fenrir (p. 51). This is one of the
horrible events of Ragnarök, or the “Doom of the Gods.”
SNAKE
CHARM
Snakes were
common in
Viking lands and
are important in poems and sagas (pp. 50–51).
This silver snake pendant was worn by a Swedish
woman as an amulet, a good-luck charm.HORNED HELMET
The Manx Loghtan sheep goes
back to the Viking age. Now it is
only found on the Isle of Man, an
island between England and Ireland that
was colonized by Vikings in the 9th century.
Sheep were farmed all over the Viking world
(pp. 38–39). In mountainous areas, Viking
shepherds took their flocks to high pastures
for the warm summer months. The Manx
Loghtan was prized for its ability to thrive on
exposed hillsides, and for the softness of its
wool. It could grow two, four, or even six horns.Unlike deer, sheep
do not shed t heir horns
every year, so t he horns
get bigger wit h ageEach horn of an old
Manx Loghtan ram (male)
can weigh 12 oz (350 g) and
reach 1½ ft (45 cm) in lengt h