Books by Marianne Vedeler
Víkingr. Journeys, War and Belief in a Time of Transition, 2019
Spartacus, 2023
Hvilke urter kunne kurere hjertesorg? Når kom surdeigsbrødet til Norge? Hva kokte i skomakerens g... more Hvilke urter kunne kurere hjertesorg? Når kom surdeigsbrødet til Norge? Hva kokte i skomakerens gryte på 1300-tallet, og hvordan fikk man maten til å holde seg helt til neste sommer?
Middelalderens kjøkken er en historie om hva folk spiste i en tid da kyr og geiter gikk på egne bein til torget i byen og båter seilte inn med eksotiske varer fra fjerne himmelstrøk. En tid da biskopen klaget på vinprisene og det var forbudt å drikke melk på fredag før Sankthans.
Boka gir ny innsikt i fortidens matkultur, basert på et mangfold av arkeologiske og historiske kilder. Med historiene følger rundt 70 oppskrifter med fremmede smaker og dufter fra middelalderens kjøkken.
Arkeolog Marianne Vedeler viser at det var mer enn grøt som kokte i norske kjeler i middelalderen, og gir oss et innblikk i nordmenns handel med utlandet gjennom krydder, vin og andre eksotiske varer. Fotograf Signe Marie Andersen har tatt underfundige bilder til boka, av både mat og gamle kjøkkenredskaper.
Oseberg. De gåtefulle billedvevene, 2019
I 1904 ble en stor gravhaug undersøkt på Oseberg i Vestfold. Blant funnene i graven var det mer e... more I 1904 ble en stor gravhaug undersøkt på Oseberg i Vestfold. Blant funnene i graven var det mer enn 80 fragmenter av vakre billedtepper overstrødd med figurative motiver. De skildrer myriader av fint formede dyr, mennesker, vogner og hus. Vi kan se kampscener, krigere i dyreham og hengte menn så vel som høytidelige prosesjoner. En del av symbolikken i disse bildene kan knyttes til vikingtidens krigerideologi og mytene som omgir den. Fortid og samtid, magi og politikk er vevd sammen til kraftfulle historier. De unike billedvevene fra Oseberg gir oss et glimt av vikingtidens verdensbilde som ikke finnes andre steder.
The Oseberg Tapestries, 2019
In 1904, a large burial mound was excavated at Oseberg in eastern Norway. More than 80 fragments ... more In 1904, a large burial mound was excavated at Oseberg in eastern Norway. More than 80 fragments of narrow tapestries patterned with figural motifs were among the unearthed artifacts. The exquisitely woven tapestries depict a myriad of finely shaped animals, humans, carriages, and houses. We can see battle scenes, warriors portrayed as animals, and hanged men as well as solemn processions. Part of the symbolism of these images can be linked to the warrior ideology and its surrounding myths during the Viking Age. Past and present, magic and poli- tics are woven together, presenting powerful stories. The unique tapestries from Oseberg give us a window into the Viking Age worldview that cannot be found elsewhere.
Open Access. Press link, 2018
Extraordinary objects, things that convey collective narratives as well as a record of conservati... more Extraordinary objects, things that convey collective narratives as well as a record of conservation evoke extraordinary feelings. Both the physical characteristics of the objects and the myths surrounding them may increase their meaning, lending them an inherent power. The design, language of form, as well as the materials used are essential elements in creating the objects’ charisma and in forming the stories that are told about them. The present volume explores the concept of charismatic objects and their material world through nine papers focusing on historical examples dating from the Roman Period to the late Middle Ages.
Press link to get Open Access
Papers by Marianne Vedeler
The Common Thread Collected Essays in Honour of Eva Andersson Strand. Eds:Ulla Mannering, Marie-Louise Nosch, Anne Drewsen , 2024
The textile material from Birka's graves is both well-known and often referenced. Not least, the ... more The textile material from Birka's graves is both well-known and often referenced. Not least, the cloth material in the burials has formed the basis for reconstructions of high-status fashion during the Viking Age. In addition to fine fabrics of high quality, these graves also include a variety of decorative elements interpreted as adornments consisting of glass and glittering stones that probably served as sequins. In some graves they have been found as cut glass pieces and loose stones, while in other graves they are still framed in a kind of passementerie work or as parts of embroidery. By considering these sequins and other bling in their context, both in relation to the costume but also to other objects in the grave, we want to give a more nuanced picture of how decorative elements such as these may have been used and perceived in their time.
Food & History, 2024
Pots made of soapstone were among the most commonly used kitchen equipment for many centuries in ... more Pots made of soapstone were among the most commonly used kitchen equipment for many centuries in Norway, widely assumed to be the basic cookware for daily porridge. New and improved biochemical methods of content analysis suggest that a variety of dishes were made in these vessels in the medieval period. We will discuss their role and function in a cultural historical context.
The soapstone vessels were used by a wide range of people from different social strata in Norway. We have studied vessels found at six different urban and rural find contexts. Preserved organic residues found on the inside of the vessels revealed biomarkers of fish, meat, fungi, fruits and fermented juice. Some of these have been found in archaeological samples for the first time. Even if these pots can provide only a limited insight into the town’s food culture, the results have the potential to throw new light upon early consumption.
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2024
Cattle and, to a lesser extent, sheep/goat and pigs, were crucial components of Norway's socio-cu... more Cattle and, to a lesser extent, sheep/goat and pigs, were crucial components of Norway's socio-cultural and economic dynamics in the Middle Ages. Zooarchaeological analyses of faunal samples from different urban sites reveal that changes in cattle husbandry practices occurred in Norway over the medieval period, and especially in its early phases. This is clearly demonstrated in the case of medieval Oslo, where an in-depth zooarchaeological study provides the first comprehensive review of cattle husbandry strategies. In the first centuries of the medieval period (11th-mid 12th c. AD), cattle were mainly raised for milk and meat production, while fewer young and more numerous older individuals, most of which probably oxen, were present from mid 12th-13th c. AD onwards. This hypothesis is supported by biometrical analyses of cattle postcranial bones, indicating changes in the sexual composition of cattle herds over time. Therefore, from ca. mid 12th-13th c. AD onward, cattle seem to have been more used for ploughing and, only once old, to have been culled for their meat. In turn, this evidence suggests that more arable lands had to be ploughed, especially in eastern and central Norway. Here, demographic growth and settlement expansion would have led to an increase in food demand; at the same time, more favourable climatic conditions might have contributed to an increase in the availability of arable fields. This article suggests that medieval Norwegian farming was not static as historically thought, but rather connected to wider-scale agricultural innovations characterising other parts of medieval Europe.
Norwegian Textile Letter, Vol. 29, No. 2, , 2023
An intriguing combination of tapestry weave, legend and myth arose in Gudbrandsdalen in the 17th ... more An intriguing combination of tapestry weave, legend and myth arose in Gudbrandsdalen in the 17th century. The legend about the conjoined twin master weavers is still living as a local story, and is now being conveyed to an international audience through novels written by Lars Mytting. The legend is tightly connected to a distinct form of tapestry weave, depicting biblical stories and narratives rooted in medieval poetry. The traditional interaction between visual and oral storytelling might be an important key to understanding the textiles. Visual stories told through tapestries have a long tradition in Norway, traceable from the 9th century tapestries from the Oseberg Viking ship grave on to the tapestries from Gudbrandsdalen. The legends about the extraordinary weavers that created tapestries in Gudbrandsdalen provide an extra dimension, linking the idea of conjoined twins as creatures of paradox with the pre-Christian tradition of natural signs that had to be decoded .
This article was originally
published as "Billedtepper fra Gudbrandsdalen
og sagnet om Heknesøstrene" (https://doi.org/
10.5617/viking.9860) in Viking: Norsk
Arkeologisk Aarbok [Viking: Norwegian
Archaeological Yearbook], Vol. 86, No. 1, 2022,
Translated by Katherine Larson
Viking, 2022
An intriguing combination of tapestry weave, legend and myth arose in Gudbrandsdalen in the 17 th... more An intriguing combination of tapestry weave, legend and myth arose in Gudbrandsdalen in the 17 th century. The legend about the conjoined twin master weavers is still living as a local story, and is now being conveyed to an international audience through novels written by Lars Mytting. The legend is tightly connected to a distinct form of tapestry weave, depicting biblical stories and narratives rooted in medieval poetry. The traditional interaction between visual and oral storytelling might be an important key to understanding the textiles. Visual stories told through tapestries have a long tradition in Norway, traceable from the 9 th century tapestries from the Oseberg Viking ship grave onto the tapestries from Gudbrandsdalen. The legends about the extraordinary weavers that created tapestries in Gudbrandsdalen provide an extra dimension, linking the idea of conjoined twins as creatures of paradox with the pre-Christian tradition of natural signs that had to be decoded .
Archaeological Textiles Review 63, 2022
Viking Age textiles with interwoven gold threads are rare in Scandinavia. Two such textiles were ... more Viking Age textiles with interwoven gold threads are rare in Scandinavia. Two such textiles were found in a Viking ship grave at Gokstad in Norway. Apart from brief overviews, the materials, techniques and find context of these textiles have not been described in detail before. The silk and gold embroidery was made with stem-stitch and simple laid-work. A madderdyed silk thread was used to make the flower pattern, in combination with a thread consisting of 80% pure gold lamella
with a core of silk. A similar gold thread was used in a narrow band found with the embroidery. The 4 mm to 4.5 mm wide
band is probably a remnant of tablet weaving. Both embroidery and band were found hidden inside a hollow ridgepole holding up the roof of a grave chamber. The precious gold and silk materials and the time-consuming and specialised technology used to make the gold thread suggests that these textiles were very valuable.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021
The last technological developments in chemical analysis with high resolution-mass spectrometry a... more The last technological developments in chemical analysis with high resolution-mass spectrometry allow a more precise, secure, sensitive, and accurate detection of markers preserved in archaeological vessels, even as trace or ultratrace level. We develop a new metabolomic-based approach and applied on a series of 19 soapstone vessels from Medieval Norway. The very nature of the ancient materials contained in the vessels could be identified from the fatty acids, sterols, phenolics composition. Aquatic resources, identified from their fatty acid composition and specially isoprenoid acids, isomeric 22:1 acids, and their heat-degraded markers ω-(o-alkylphenyl)alkanoic acids, have largely been exploited during Medieval times. The metabolomic approach brings also in light the consummation of fruit derivatives, especially grape, apple, and plum derivatives identified from their aldaric, phenolic or suggested from their enterolignans. This pioneer method clearly open new research facilities for the comprehension of everyday life of ancient populations from their domestic vessels.
Heritage, 2021
The grave from Gokstad in Norway, dating to ca 900 AD, is one of the best-preserved Viking Age sh... more The grave from Gokstad in Norway, dating to ca 900 AD, is one of the best-preserved Viking Age ship graves in the world. The grave mound contained a variety of goods along with human remains, buried in a Viking ship. Several textiles, including embroideries and shreds of what might have been the ship’s tent, were also found. The colors of the textile fragments are now severely faded, but the high quality of the embroidery made of gold and silk threads is still apparent. The style of the embroidery is exceptional, having no equivalents in other Scandinavian graves. The analyses by HPLC coupled with both diode array and mass spectrometric detectors revealed that the striped “tent” cloth as well as the silk thread used for the embroidery were originally dyed with anthraquinones of plant origin (alizarin, purpurin, pseudopurpurin, and anthragallol), markers of madder-type dyestuffs.
Keywords: Viking Age; dyestuff; textiles; HPLC-DAD-MS
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Collegium Medievale Interdisciplinary Journal of Medieval Research, 2004
Información del artículo Er dette rester av kloer? - Problemer knyttet til funksjonsbestemmelse a... more Información del artículo Er dette rester av kloer? - Problemer knyttet til funksjonsbestemmelse av arekeologiske tekstiler.
Gamle Tingelstad -liten kirke med stort innhold , (Ed. M. Stige), Gran kirkelige fellesråd Instituttet for sammenlignende kulturforskning, 2020
Et av de mest bemerkelsesverdige kunstverk fra
Tingelstad gamle kirke på Hadeland har i mange år ... more Et av de mest bemerkelsesverdige kunstverk fra
Tingelstad gamle kirke på Hadeland har i mange år fått leve et stille liv i
skyggene. Et teppe eller klede fra 1500-tallet med billedfortellinger om mektige bibelske kvinner kan gi innsikt
i moralsk tankegods så vel som stil og formspråk
i perioden etter reformasjonen i Norge.
Charismatic Objects. From roman times to the Middle Ages, 2018
On the premise that objects can be perceived as actors
within a common cultural space, some objec... more On the premise that objects can be perceived as actors
within a common cultural space, some objects stand out as more powerful agents than others. How has such extraordinary power been understood and controlled? I use the term ‘charismatic objects’ to distinguish objects that can arouse awe. In this view, the agency of objects depends on culture-specific cosmological ideas. Weber’s definition of charisma will be used as a tool to understand and differentiate between different forms of acting objects and their biographies. But is it, as Weber suggests, a characteristic feature of these objects that the power added to them is transferable? And is Weber’s postulate that objectified charisma must be depersonalized always the case?
Medieval Archaeology, 2018
A RICHLY FURNISHED grave from the migration period in Norway is our starting point for a discussi... more A RICHLY FURNISHED grave from the migration period in Norway is our starting point for a discussion of the impact of dress in life and death. The Sande farm is situated on the southern tip of Norway on the Lista peninsula, an area renowned for its many rich finds from the migration period. A high-status grave from Sande in Vest-Agder was excavated in 2005 and was found to be lavishly equipped, not least in terms of jewellery items and dress fittings. Some remarkable textile remains were also preserved. The types of adornment and their position in the grave strongly suggest this was the burial of a woman, while the jewellery and textiles and their composition, style and appearance, all offer valuable information on the story of the individual and the dress code of the time. This article offers the first detailed exploration of this burial and its assemblage, and an in-depth discussion of the surviving textile fragments and dress equipment as evidence of a form of dress and display that may have operated in life and death.
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Books by Marianne Vedeler
For english catalogue follow this link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vd8hle931y3ull8/Vikingr%20catalogue.pdf?dl=0
Middelalderens kjøkken er en historie om hva folk spiste i en tid da kyr og geiter gikk på egne bein til torget i byen og båter seilte inn med eksotiske varer fra fjerne himmelstrøk. En tid da biskopen klaget på vinprisene og det var forbudt å drikke melk på fredag før Sankthans.
Boka gir ny innsikt i fortidens matkultur, basert på et mangfold av arkeologiske og historiske kilder. Med historiene følger rundt 70 oppskrifter med fremmede smaker og dufter fra middelalderens kjøkken.
Arkeolog Marianne Vedeler viser at det var mer enn grøt som kokte i norske kjeler i middelalderen, og gir oss et innblikk i nordmenns handel med utlandet gjennom krydder, vin og andre eksotiske varer. Fotograf Signe Marie Andersen har tatt underfundige bilder til boka, av både mat og gamle kjøkkenredskaper.
Press link to get Open Access
Papers by Marianne Vedeler
The soapstone vessels were used by a wide range of people from different social strata in Norway. We have studied vessels found at six different urban and rural find contexts. Preserved organic residues found on the inside of the vessels revealed biomarkers of fish, meat, fungi, fruits and fermented juice. Some of these have been found in archaeological samples for the first time. Even if these pots can provide only a limited insight into the town’s food culture, the results have the potential to throw new light upon early consumption.
This article was originally
published as "Billedtepper fra Gudbrandsdalen
og sagnet om Heknesøstrene" (https://doi.org/
10.5617/viking.9860) in Viking: Norsk
Arkeologisk Aarbok [Viking: Norwegian
Archaeological Yearbook], Vol. 86, No. 1, 2022,
Translated by Katherine Larson
with a core of silk. A similar gold thread was used in a narrow band found with the embroidery. The 4 mm to 4.5 mm wide
band is probably a remnant of tablet weaving. Both embroidery and band were found hidden inside a hollow ridgepole holding up the roof of a grave chamber. The precious gold and silk materials and the time-consuming and specialised technology used to make the gold thread suggests that these textiles were very valuable.
Keywords: Viking Age; dyestuff; textiles; HPLC-DAD-MS
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Tingelstad gamle kirke på Hadeland har i mange år fått leve et stille liv i
skyggene. Et teppe eller klede fra 1500-tallet med billedfortellinger om mektige bibelske kvinner kan gi innsikt
i moralsk tankegods så vel som stil og formspråk
i perioden etter reformasjonen i Norge.
within a common cultural space, some objects stand out as more powerful agents than others. How has such extraordinary power been understood and controlled? I use the term ‘charismatic objects’ to distinguish objects that can arouse awe. In this view, the agency of objects depends on culture-specific cosmological ideas. Weber’s definition of charisma will be used as a tool to understand and differentiate between different forms of acting objects and their biographies. But is it, as Weber suggests, a characteristic feature of these objects that the power added to them is transferable? And is Weber’s postulate that objectified charisma must be depersonalized always the case?
For english catalogue follow this link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vd8hle931y3ull8/Vikingr%20catalogue.pdf?dl=0
Middelalderens kjøkken er en historie om hva folk spiste i en tid da kyr og geiter gikk på egne bein til torget i byen og båter seilte inn med eksotiske varer fra fjerne himmelstrøk. En tid da biskopen klaget på vinprisene og det var forbudt å drikke melk på fredag før Sankthans.
Boka gir ny innsikt i fortidens matkultur, basert på et mangfold av arkeologiske og historiske kilder. Med historiene følger rundt 70 oppskrifter med fremmede smaker og dufter fra middelalderens kjøkken.
Arkeolog Marianne Vedeler viser at det var mer enn grøt som kokte i norske kjeler i middelalderen, og gir oss et innblikk i nordmenns handel med utlandet gjennom krydder, vin og andre eksotiske varer. Fotograf Signe Marie Andersen har tatt underfundige bilder til boka, av både mat og gamle kjøkkenredskaper.
Press link to get Open Access
The soapstone vessels were used by a wide range of people from different social strata in Norway. We have studied vessels found at six different urban and rural find contexts. Preserved organic residues found on the inside of the vessels revealed biomarkers of fish, meat, fungi, fruits and fermented juice. Some of these have been found in archaeological samples for the first time. Even if these pots can provide only a limited insight into the town’s food culture, the results have the potential to throw new light upon early consumption.
This article was originally
published as "Billedtepper fra Gudbrandsdalen
og sagnet om Heknesøstrene" (https://doi.org/
10.5617/viking.9860) in Viking: Norsk
Arkeologisk Aarbok [Viking: Norwegian
Archaeological Yearbook], Vol. 86, No. 1, 2022,
Translated by Katherine Larson
with a core of silk. A similar gold thread was used in a narrow band found with the embroidery. The 4 mm to 4.5 mm wide
band is probably a remnant of tablet weaving. Both embroidery and band were found hidden inside a hollow ridgepole holding up the roof of a grave chamber. The precious gold and silk materials and the time-consuming and specialised technology used to make the gold thread suggests that these textiles were very valuable.
Keywords: Viking Age; dyestuff; textiles; HPLC-DAD-MS
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Tingelstad gamle kirke på Hadeland har i mange år fått leve et stille liv i
skyggene. Et teppe eller klede fra 1500-tallet med billedfortellinger om mektige bibelske kvinner kan gi innsikt
i moralsk tankegods så vel som stil og formspråk
i perioden etter reformasjonen i Norge.
within a common cultural space, some objects stand out as more powerful agents than others. How has such extraordinary power been understood and controlled? I use the term ‘charismatic objects’ to distinguish objects that can arouse awe. In this view, the agency of objects depends on culture-specific cosmological ideas. Weber’s definition of charisma will be used as a tool to understand and differentiate between different forms of acting objects and their biographies. But is it, as Weber suggests, a characteristic feature of these objects that the power added to them is transferable? And is Weber’s postulate that objectified charisma must be depersonalized always the case?
towns of Norway:
Three preserved collections of medieval food
recipes are written in Norse languages. One
of these is probably based on a Norwegian
edition. Too what degree do the recipes
present relevant information about the food
culture in the medieval towns of Norway?
A compilation of sources shows a relatively
large discrepancy between the food remains
found in Norwegian medieval towns and
the ingredients mentioned in the preserved
Norse food recipes. The recipes do not reflect
the diet of an average urban inhabitant
in the medieval Norway as it appears in
the archaeological sources. Despite this,
the recipes can nevertheless contribute
to insights into food trends that might be
traced through more detailed investigations
of archaeological material and historical
sources from high status contexts. As an
expression of a modern and international
cuisine that signalled high status, the
collections of medieval food recipes are
relevant sources of information on food
culture in the Norwegian medieval towns.
Time/place: November 24-26th 2021, University of Oslo
. We will open for registration in the first week of May when a final
program and link for registration/payment will become available on our website
https://www.khm.uio.no/forskning/forskergrupper/centre-for-viking-age-studies/arrangementer/vis-conference-2021-the-viking-age-as-a-foreign-pl.html
At EAA 2019 in Bern we are organizing a session on Household Textiles in and Beyond Viking Age.
We invite you to submit a paper to session No. 155 here:
https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2019
The call for contributions is open until 14 February 2019.
Deadline for submission of abstracts for papers and Pecha-Kucha presentations is 15 July 2018.
Deadline for registration to the conference is 15 November 2018.
http://www.khm.uio.no/forskning/forskergrupper/vis/arrangementer/vis-conference-2018.html
https://youtu.be/15IxF53AZfE