Researcher: Viking era fashions were colourful and revealing

Science News

Feb 27, 2008, 12:42 GMT

Stockholm - Viking men often dressed in strong colours and silk while women wore revealing clothing, a Uppsala University researcher said Wednesday. Archaeolgist Annika Larsson has studied fashion during the Viking Age from 750-1050 based on textiles found in graves in the Lake Malaren region, ranging from Stockholm to Uppsala. Trade routes often influenced styles, Larsson said, noting how oriental features disappeared with the arrival of Christianity and the Vikings started to trade with the Christian Byzantine and Western Europe. Last year she presented a dissertation on Viking fashion, and has continued her research in the field. 'Textile research can tell us more about the state of society than research into traditions. Old rituals can live on long after society has changed, but when trade routes are cut off, there is an immediate impact on clothing fashions,' Larsson said in a release from the university. Her theory about how Viking women dressed in the pre-Christian era was based on a new find in Pskov, near Novgorod in Russia. The find suggested that women's skirts consisted of a single piece of fabric that was open in front. Suspenders held up the train and functioned as a harness that was fastened to the breasts with clasps. 'It is easy to imagine that the Christian church had certain reservations about clothing that accentuated the breasts in this way,' Larsson said, saying that a ban by the church might explain why the style disappeared during the Christian era.

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Researcher: Viking era fashions were colourful and revealing

Science News

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