Location: Haithabu, Current-Day Germany Date: Approx. 10th Century Culture: Viking Age Danish Estimated Social Class: Lower or Middle Garment Type: Wool Trouser While information on tunics during the Viking Age seem to abound, trousers are much-less covered and are often overlooked or outright inaccurately portrayed in both media, as well as by living historians. We commonly see loose-fitting, simple trousers with either a drawstring waist or a simple belt, yet the small bits of information we do have paints a far more complex picture on Viking Age trouser fashion, and one of major paradigms, from the famously loose, baggy "high-breeches" of the Scandinavian upper-class, to the very tight, fitted, complicated trousers we are about to cover here, we will soon learn there is far more to the fashion of trousers during this time than meets the eye... The trousers we will focus on here is a very hotly-debated style, and one with a very strange and exotic history. This is the story of the discovery and rebirth of the Thorsberg-style Type I trousers from Hedeby. The Original Fragments The first of the Thorsberg-style fragments noted by Inga Hägg in "Textilfunde aus Haithabu" is the multi-piece fragment of 22 A - C. This piece, believed to be the top of a rear gore where it meets the waistband, consists of not one, but three different weaves. These are primarily of diamond twill in a reddish-brown which gradually forms into herringbone twill with 2/2 twill being the primary weave of part C, all of which are woven to form a very fine textile. The piece was found wrapped around two wooden bars, the meaning of which is still unknown. Two of the edges are hemmed using overcast stitching. Part B bears a selvedge on one side, however, the other two sides are very heavily frayed, so we cannot determine if these were hemmed or also bore some sort of other finishing technique. Part C is a very thin, ragged strip of 2/2 wool twill. Its original use is uncertain, however, given its placement, it is likely that of a belt loop which may have been a simple cut and sewn strip of fabric with the edges left unfinished, much like those on the original Thorsberg trousers. Dyestuff analysis determines all three pieces were dyed using walnuts to achieve the rich brown coloration present. The second most notable fragment is that of Fragments 39 A & B. Thought to be the rear gusset on a pair of trousers, this piece is made from both diamond and herringbone twill wool, as well. It has signs of very heavy wear (likely from extended periods of sitting), and has several mends and repairs, indicating it was used for a prolong period of time. The main part, which is the center piece, is made from a fine diamond twill wool and bears seams on three sides (the bottom, left, and right), with the top being torn away, likely due to a separation of the seam which connected the top of the gusset to the waistband. The two outermost pieces are much less well-preserved and are made from a fine herringbone twill. All of the seams are sewn using a thread that is much darker than the fragments themselves. The side pieces are believed to be the inner seams of the trouser legs which attached to the rear gusset during the piece's complete form. The Reconstruction Unfortunately, due to the heavily fragmented nature of the pieces, a lot of guesswork is needed to complete the form by both archaeologists and historians. In this section we will look simply at the reconstructed form of the trousers, with the reasoning as such in the final section. Using the two pieces we have present, we can ascertain that it is likely these trousers were cut in a very similar fashion to those of the much earlier Thorsberg trousers, as Inga Hägg suggests in "Textilfunde aus Haithabu" (more on that later). As such, we had a difficult time deciding if we should do a direct copy of the Thorsberg trousers, only amending certain features to match those from the Hedeby fragments, or if we could create an entirely new design, incorporating features of both and slightly "modernizing" the older style, as it is likely it changed and evolved in some ways during the multi-century period of use. We decided on the latter and created a somewhat simplified version of the Thorsberg design, forgoing the calf ties at the rear of the legs, as well as the inside-out waistband. Such differences will be noted as follows: We built these trousers using handwoven brown diamond twill wool. Unfortunately, finding a matching herringbone and 2/2 twill was nearly impossible, so rather than noting the specific pieces that were made from such on the originals, we opted to make the entire trouser of this diamond twill instead. The brown, achieved using walnuts, also keeps within the natural dye techniques of the time. The trousers are sewn using wool thread which, as with the original Haithabu fragments, is somewhat darker than the rest of the textile pieces. Of particular interest is the use of walnut dyes. It has been observed that multiple trouser fragments, especially those of the fitted variety, have been dyed using walnuts. Not only was this an effective, cheap way to obtain some degree of color in one's clothing, but there may have been an unintended side effect - antibiotic resistance. Whether the Viking Age Scandinavians knew of this at the time, we will likely never know, but today we understand that walnut is heavily acidic, and in many ways works to kill certain bacteria, especially in clothing that is stained and dyed using it. This would have been especially beneficial in fitted trousers, as it would have kept some degree of the toxins from sweat and the like at bay and would have resulted in less washing and cleaning of the trousers themselves. First, the waistband. The original Thorsberg design bears a sort of inside-out waistband wherein the seams which connect it to the main body and legs of the trousers are on the outside, rather than the inside. This, coupled with the fact that the belt loops are left unfinished, means this was likely meant to be belted and then folded down to protect the belt loops from fraying. In observing the supposed seams where the waistband meets the body and legs on the Hedeby finds, we did not conclude this was the case with this design, and as such, opted for a more "standard" waistband approach in which the connecting seams are on the inside and hemmed properly. We did, however, still opt to make the waistband slightly oblong, as both the Thorsberg waist, as well as what is left of the Hedeby fragments seem to show the waistband being crooked and nowhere near perfectly-placed against the main body of the trousers. As far as the belt loops are concerned, we opted to leave them more or less unfinished, though a simple whip-stitch was used on the edges to prevent too major of fraying. This is keeping within not only the unfinished design of the loops on the Thorsberg trousers themselves, but also that of Fragment 22C from Haithabu, which is also believed to be that of an unfinished belt loop. After the waistband, the next feature, and perhaps the most indicative that a Thorsberg-style trouser was still in use in 10th Century Denmark, is that of the gussets. For this particular style of trouser, we have to look no further than Fragments 39 A and B, recovered from Hedeby. It is mostly agreed upon that this is a near identical form of rear gusset arrangement to that of the Thorsberg style, and features a trapezoidal cut of fabric which is inserted between the leg seams in the rear to create a sort of "seat". Such a style is also seen in Fragments 72 A and B of the "high breeches" style, also found at Hedeby. This is also beneficial to us as where the fitted trousers gussets only seem to have the rear preserved, the "high breeches" have the front and part of the rear. Looking at these to pieces in conjunction with one another, we can begin to put together the overall style and see that an arrangement of gussets in the front and back seems to still be in use at this time. Once the waist and gussets are complete, how we have the legs. These are rather simple in comparison to the rest of the trousers' design, in that they are simple in their cut and fashion for the most part. The tops are cut so as to fit well with the gussets, and they are slim and fitted, being cut at a slight oblique angle which aids in the stretchy and fitted nature of the fashion. The use of diamond twill wool helps with this, as well. Finally, rather than terminating in simple hemmed ankles, the trousers have feet built into them. While no physical fragments indicate this was still done in Hedeby, they are present on the Thorsberg trousers (or at least one is still intact), and we have literature from the time which seems to indicate that both footed as well as ankle-ending trousers were both worn, with the terms "leistabrókr" and "okulsbrókr" being used to describe them respectively, indicating that at least some form of footed trouser was still in use around this time. Since 10th Century evidence for the foot design on these trousers is lacking, we opted to simply copy that of the style used on the Thorsberg trousers with a "spat" that fits across the top of the foot and wraps around the ankle to the back, attaching to a sole around the bottom. All of the seams are sewn using a double running stitch and the allowances are treated with an overcast stitch, in keeping with the original techniques observed from finds at Haithabu. In Conclusion "So, why Thorsberg trousers so late?" Since announcing the find that this is the most likely candidate for proper lower or middle-class Haithabu wool trousers, I have been bombarded by this question, so I feel there is no better place to answer it than here! Since there is a lot to unpack on this topic, we will try and keep it clear, simple, and concise. To understand where and why this style was likely still in use so late, we must first look at the cultural means in which the fashion evolved. Many have speculated that the fashion of tight-fitting, footed trousers likely originated in the Middle or Near East in the form of Persian Cavalry, as has been noted by fragments of fitted diamond twill wool trousers found at the Roman outpost of Dura Europos. One reasoning behind this proposed theory is the placement of the seams in the crotch and rear. This placement, running up either side of both regions respectively, creates a decent level of comfort, and during a time without undergarments as we know them, also a likely level of support to certain areas, thus making them very comfortable for wear while riding horseback, working, or fighting. How and why these made it to Germany and Denmark is still a great mystery, however, the most likely culprit is that of Germanic Cavalry and Auxiliaries serving in Roman legions. As mentioned before, fragments of these fitted diamond twill trousers have been recovered at several Roman outposts and settlements on the Eastern fringes of the Empire, indicating they were transmitted there and were likely adopted by other cavalrymen, both working with, as well as against, the Persians at the time. One theory as to why these were deposited in the moor at Thorsberg is that they were a sort of quasi-military uniform, adopted and worn by a Germanic Auxiliary who served in the East with the Romans. Since most of the finds at the Thorsberger Moor are military in origin, and likely either deposited by those who used them, or as a form of war booty, as Caesar and Orosius suspect, it is most likely these were taken up and used within some form of military context. We already know fashions were beginning to evolve in Germany as early as the 1st Century AD as copies of Roman fashions with finds such as the Marx-Etzel tunic and Bundschuhe, however, the trousers are a uniquely German fashion, and it is likely that the simple cut of these trousers, made from a single piece with a trapezoidal shape cut and folded up to create a crotch gusset, were deemed outdated by the time Germanic Auxiliaries returned home from the East with their newly-updated fashions. Since Germanic men were already accustomed to wearing trousers with a similar crotch arrangement, it makes perfect sense that once the longer, footed designs which offered more protection from the weather and natural world became visible, many would adopt this fashion instead of the knee-length styles of the Marx-Etzel and Daetgen finds. Fast-forwarding to the Viking Age, we do not know how or if this style evolved much during the years following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of the Viking Age, but finds like those from Hedeby do seem to show to us that the style was still very much in use at least until the end of the Viking Age and advent of separate-leg Hosen. One idea as to how these remained in use so long is that they became a sort of traditional norm. Much in the way that fashions, such as the Japanese Kimono, evolved little in hundreds of years, it may have been deemed that not only if the design is not broke, don't fix it, but also that perhaps these were seen as a part of Danish cultural identity and as a way to tell themselves apart from their neighbors. Such a theory is substantiated by the fact that as soon as looser-fitting trousers which ended at the ankles and lacked feet were adopted, they were almost immediately seen as a "younger men's fashion", and were mocked and seen as "foppish", with some terminology in Old Norse prose almost outright indicating that one cannot trust a man with loose, footless trousers as he is less of an "honest man". Clearly this changed as time went on as by the time Iceland was heavily colonized by Norse settlers, nearly the opposite was believed, as is reflected in several passages throughout various Icelandic sagas. All in all, despite the fragmentary nature of the pieces found at Hedeby, the coherence between the few pieces we have and those of the Thorsberg trousers is clear, indicating that this may have been a traditional Danish design ranging from the Thorsberg, to the Damendorf, to the Haithabu styles and dating back to at least the 3rd Century AD. Regardless of their long and storied history, every fashion must come to an end, and these did, as well, with the advent of the separate-leg Hosen at the end of the 10th Century - fashion which would remain for another 400 years or longer, and it would take Europeans a further couple-hundred to begin to see a fashion which even remotely resembled that of the style worn by their Germanic and Viking ancestors. Photo & Information Sources
Studying this newfangled form of leg coverings - certainly these couldn't nearly be as good as the current fashion - which has been in use for many centuries now!
Several contemporary writings seem to specifically note Viking Age and later Scandinavians' views toward certain styles of trousers, and how the traditional norm was likely footed trousers akin to the Thorsberg style, so when separate-leg Hosen were introduced via outside influences, some pushback would have likely occurred within the more traditional branches of Danish society. Haithabu, Current-Day Germany ; Latter half of the 10th Century. |
AboutThis part of the site will look at the various aspects of life on Viking Age Danish people. From what they ate, to how they may have fought. Archives
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