![\"\"](\"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/makingvikings\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/359\/2023\/05\/Lejre-Figure.-The-Clothing.jpg\")
<\/a>Figure from Lejre, DK. Just as there are few furniture remains from the Viking Age, clothing is another part of the Viking World that has mostly been lost to time. Fabrics that survive generally only do so in small fragments. As a result, it becomes necessary to look at other depictions of clothed human figures in Viking art as a starting point for interpretations of the clothing on the Lejre figure.<\/p>\n In comparison to some of the historical periods that immediately followed the Viking Age, \u201cin the Early Bronze and Late Iron and Viking Ages, costumes in general looked different for males and females\u201d (Mannering 2014, p. 79). Useful for interpretations of the Lejre figure specifically is that gendered-differences in costume tended to be in terms of their shape rather than their texture. The long clothing of the Lejre figure is therefore relevant to discussions of the human figure\u2019s gender.<\/p>\n Sl\u00f6inge Gold-foil Figure The figure on the left is identified by Mannering as \u201ca male clad in tunic and trousers,\u201d while the figure on the right is \u201ca female clad in blouse and skirt, and a cap on the head\u201d (2014, p. 61).<\/p>\n While Christensen argues that the human figure is a male in long robes, Mannering believes it is far more plausible that the person is simply wearing a woman\u2019s dress. Generally, even in depictions of male figures in long robes, their feet are still visible. Mannering believes clothing long enough to cover the feet of the figure genders the costume as female. This could indicate that the person is a female or possibly that it is a male figure dressed in female clothing.<\/p>\n Scholars who believe the human figure is a male are also more likely to argue that the head piece is a helmet. Mannering also questions this interpretation, believing it possible that the head piece is actually a sort of cap or bonnet that would have been worn by a female, like in the Sl\u00f6inge gold-foil figure shown above.<\/p>\n Finally, there is the torso section. The grooved, patterned design of the torso is likely the element most unfamiliar to present day viewers. Mannering believes it most likely that the \u201cthe dotted lines represent bead chains,\u201d which are also gendered as female (p. 83). The pattern is remarkably similar to the bead chains on a female figure from a pendant from Aska, Sweden.<\/p>\n Pendant from Aska, Sweden Mannering, Ulla. 2014. \u201cMan or Woman? \u2014 Perception of Gender through Costume.\u201d Danish Journal of Archaeology<\/em> 2, no. 1: 79\u201386.<\/p>\n \u00ab Previous<\/a> | Home<\/a>\u00a0| Next \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The clothing on the Lejre figure is one of the elements most hotly debated by scholars. There is little doubt that the person is wearing a piece of clothing long enough to cover their legs and feet. It can also be relatively safely assumed that the clothes are meant to be ornate. Beyond this, interpretations<\/p>\n
Silver with niello inlay.
1.8\u00d72.0\u00d71.3 cm.
(source: Wikimedia<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a>
(source: Mannering 2014<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a>
(source: SHM<\/a>)<\/p><\/div>\n
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