Location: Andøya, Norway Date: Approx. Late 10th Century or early 11th Century Culture: Late Viking Age Norwegian Estimated Social Class: Middle-to-lower Class Garment Type: Hood In 1936, a body was recovered on the Norwegian island of Andøya. Initially thought to have been a member of the Sami People, the body was given a "proper burial" before then being exhumed yet again and sent for study. In the 50+ years that followed, the body was debated as having been anywhere from only a little over 100 years old, to that of nearly 1000, and the gender and culture was still up in the air. In the 1980's carbon dating of the textiles in the body seem to determine it was at least Medieval, with further, more recent, dating putting it in the latter part of the Viking Age, or late 11th Century to be more specific. Where gender and culture are concerned, we still do not know, however, DNA tests done on the bones indicate the body lacks typical Sami genetic markers, though it has been stated the advanced deterioration of the DNA may have affected this result. A similar argument can be said for using DNA to determine whether the body was male or female. The size does not help, either, as the skeleton's remaining pieces seem to put the body directly in between male and female measurements for the time, however, it has been noted that, whatever the gender, the person did not seem to suffer the ills of hard labor (a rarity for the time), and had shoulder-length hair. In this article, we will discuss the hood recovered from this unique and interesting find. According to Dan Halvard Løvlid's master thesis, titled "Nye tanker om Skjoldehamnfunnet", or "New Thoughts On the Skjoldehamn Find", the hood is made from a 2/2 wool twill, with a slight "diagonal stripe" pattern, caused by the warp and weft being different shades of brown. The hood's quality is seen as somewhat substandard by today's sewing methods - something we will discuss later, and was likely made with some degree of leftover and scrap material. Initially thought to have been made with four pieces (two rectangular pieces for the body, two square gussets for the front and back), Løvlid was able to assess it was actually made only from three, with the body being a singular piece that had been cut up the middle, with an approximately 2.5cm piece left at the top still connected, as well as an approximately 1cm piece left untouched between the top of the front gusset and the head-hole. The hood was then sewn up the back and top and the gussets added for fullness. . Starting at the top, the hood was sewn using four separate ways of attaching, which may at seem a bit excessive, even by today's standards. The first method of affixing the hood's seam was a simple whipstitch on the inside. This was likely done with the hood inside-out where the two raw edges were pulled and whip-stitched together. The hood was then turned right side-out and the remaining three rows were added. These run from near the top of the head-hole to the back seam, with the bottom and final row curving ever to slightly to somewhat match the curvature of the wearer's head. These all coupled together would add a degree of stiffness to the top of the hood's seam and create a distinctive "cock's comb" appearance. The head hole of the hood appears to have been roll-hemmed under (turning the edge under itself twice so the raw edge is encapsulated inside and thus not visible) and whip-stitched. Initially observed to be a sort of rudimentary decorative embroidery stitch, the hem appears to have been sewn using both red and yellow wool yarn. This is, however, been somewhat refuted in Løvlid's assessment, as he noted the stitches visible on the outside are irregular, and little effort was made to make the highly-visible on the outside, with only some showing through and others being nearly invisible. The red yarn hems the opening up the entire right side before terminating about halfway down the left where it is then replaced with yellow. It is here that Løvlid believes this was done out of necessity and the use of remaining materials, rather than any sort of conscious decision for decoration. He also notes that the knots terminating both the red and yellow yarns are visible upon inspection, as seen below. At the back of the hood, the top whip-stitched seam seems to have extended over the edge a few centimeters before terminating and meeting with the rear seam. This rear seam, also believed to have been a possible form of primitive decorative embroidery, was sewn using the same yellow yarn as part of the face opening. It meets with the top whip-stitch seam and runs for the better part of the back seam before ending about 3.7cm above the back gusset and being replaced with brown thread. One feature of this seam that is both unique, and an example of what we would see as "substandard" is the fact that this yellow seam begins on the outside of the hood, rather than the inside, with the knot being clearly visible on the outside left. The stitches themselves were noted by Løvlid as being a "small oblique basting stitch" where they enter and exit at offset angles, making them appear they are angled downward and out as the seam goes on. The front and back of the hood are affixed with two square gussets. These open up the respective areas and create not only coverage of the upper torso and shoulders, but also a fullness so the hood can be donned and worn comfortably. These are both square in nature, and extend nearly to the waist. It was noted by Løvlid that the rear gusset appears to extend further down in the back than the one in the front, however we are unsure if this was intentional or simply a warp to the garment itself over time, as when made with the correct measurements and worn, the two pieces seem to sit nearly parallel to one another on a person. These two gussets are affixed to the main body via whip-stitches. Yet another example of material conservation, these stitches seem to not only bind the seams themselves together, but also the seam allowances, which are turned under and the entirety of the seams held together with the same line of thread, as opposed to most modern seams (and even other seams from other garments at the time), where the seam itself is sewn, then the allowances are sewn separately. The bottom of the hood is then whip-stitched to prevent fraying and unraveling, however, Løvlid notes that no effort appears to have been made to turn under these edges, and rather, they were simply whip-stitched in their raw form. Lastly, and perhaps one of the most notable features of this hood, are the ties. Since the original hood was rather damaged, only one tie remains in its entirety for study. These ties, affixed to the outside just behind where the ear would sit inside the hood, and are comprised of an olive and red round braid with an olive fringe at the end. The use of such ties has been debated, with the initial theory being that they were to tie around the opening and close the hood around the face to prevent wind and snow from entering, however, test with reproductions have shown the opposite may have been the case. Due to the hood's nature of construction, it is prone to close up around the face anyway, so something was needed to open it up and expand one's peripheral vision. These ties, when tied around the back of the head, seem to do just that, and not only help with vision, but the overall comfort of the hood in general. Below is the reproduced hood in its entirety when not worn around the head. Photo & Information Sources
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