The Lokrume helmet fragment is a decorated eyebrow piece from a Viking Age helmet. It is made of iron, the surface of which is covered with silver and features an interlace pattern in niello or wire. Discovered in Lokrume, a small settlement on the Swedish island of Gotland, the fragment was first described in print in 1907 and is in the collection of the Gotland Museum.
Lokrume helmet fragment | |
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Material | Iron, silver, niello |
Created | c. tenth century |
Discovered | Lokrume, Gotland, Sweden |
Present location | Gotland Museum |
Registration | GF B 1683 |
The fragment is dated to around the tenth century AD, on the basis of its interlace pattern; similar designs appear on tenth-century swords. It is all that remains of one of five Viking helmets to survive in any condition; the others are the Gjermundbu helmet from Norway, the Yarm helmet from England, the Tjele helmet fragment from Denmark, and a fragment from Kyiv, Ukraine. These are all examples of the "crested helmets" that entered use in Europe around the sixth century, and derive from the earlier Anglo-Saxon and Vendel Period helmets.
The Lokrume fragment is the remnant of the eyebrow piece, and part of the nose guard, from a helmet.[1][2][3] The fragment is 13.2 centimetres (5.2 in) wide.[1][2][3] An iron core was either coated or inlaid with silver;[1][4][5][6][3] under the former method, a grid would be cut into the iron and the silver hammered on, whereas under the latter, the silver would be filled into purpose-shaped grooves cut into the iron.[7] The silver was then inlaid with niello or wire (possibly copper).[1][5][3][7] The inlaid pattern stretches the width of the fragment, though much of the sinister portion is now lost. The pattern is patterned with intertwined bands and circles.[8] Transverse bands further adorn the area around this pattern.[8]
The fragment was discovered in Lokrume,[1] a small settlement on the Swedish island of Gotland. The circumstances of its discovery are otherwise unknown.[8] It was first described in print in the academic journal Fornvännen in 1907;[7] the two-sentence mention, which included a drawing, stated that the piece was found in Lokrume, and held in the collection of Visby Fornsal—now known as the Gotland Museum.[1] As of 2024[update] the fragment remains at the museum, where it is catalogued as GF B 1683.[9][10]
The fragment's style of interlace pattern (a variation of the drakslingor motif[9]) dates to around the tenth century AD; similar patterns appear on tenth-century swords, including examples from Norway and one found near Lipiany in Poland.[8][5] This places the fragment squarely within the Viking Age, which lasted from the end of the eighth century to the middle of the eleventh.[8][11]
Beginning in the late sixth century, and continuing until around the tenth or eleventh, the predominant style of helmet used in Scandinavia and England was the "Nordic crested helmet"; these contrasted with the spangenhelm and lamellenhelm that typified continental wear.[12][13] Crested helmets were typically constructed from a brow band, a nose-to-nape band, lateral bands from ears to apex, cheek guards, and some form of neck protection; iron plates filled the gaps, with rivets holding the pieces together.[14][15] Frequent motifs included prominent brow pieces, and crests running along the nose-to-nape bands.[14] In addition to a decorative function, the crests likely helped deflect glancing blows.[16][17][18][19]
Remains of only four other Viking Age helmets (only two of which are from Scandinavia) are known: the Gjermundbu helmet from Norway and the Yarm helmet from England, as well as the Tjele helmet fragment from Denmark, and a fragment from Kyiv, Ukraine.[20][21][22][23] The Lokrume piece was the first of these to be identified;[1] the Tjele fragment was discovered in 1850, but mistaken for a saddle mounting until 1984.[20][24] Like the other four, the Lokrume helmet appears to have been a descendant of the earlier Vendel Period and Anglo-Saxon helmets from Scandinavia and England, respectively, and the final iteration of the Nordic crested helmets.[25][26][27]