Location: Haithabu, Current-Day Germany Date: Approx. 10th Century Culture: Viking Age Danish Estimated Social Class: Upper Garment Type: Wool Trousers Often erroneously called “Rus trousers” in modern media, it seems that pleated or gathered, overly-baggy trousers were a hallmark of Viking Age Scandinavian fashion. Mentioned in both contemporary literature from those who came in contact with these peoples, as well as seen in stone carvings and artwork from the time, we know these were a uniquely-fashioned garment, specific to this culture and period in time, and finds from Haithabu seem to shed some light on just how these trousers may have been made and developed. The initial description of these trousers, according to modern archaeological terms, is that they are approximately knee-length, ending either just above or just below the knee, though the latter seems more logical, with legs of several meters of fabric a piece, which is then pleated or gathered at the knees and waist to form the unique pleats seen in contemporary artwork. They were likely constructed of wool, and the extant fragments from Haithabu confirm this, which we will cover later in the article. Trousers of this style are mentioned on several occasions in literature from the time, most notably in reference to Hauk Hábrók, whose last name literally means “high breeches”, and is mentioned at a few different points in the Icelandic Sagas, as well as by the Persian explorer Ibn Rustah, who wrote of his encounters with the “Rus” (which now it is debated if these were, in fact, Rus at all he met), in which he wrote of their trousers “which were of 100 cubits per leg and were gathered at the knee. While the exact meaning behind modern interpretations of “100 cubits per leg”, as well as the exact means they were gathered at the knee has been debated, nonetheless, we still get a rather decent image of how these trousers may have looked, and a clear idea that this is in reference to the same style of trouser seen in art from the time, as well as found in the fragments recovered from Haithabu. In this article, we will look at these trousers, the original fragments and artwork, and our own interpretation of how they may have been assembled and worn. The Original Fragments The most notable of the fragments regarding this particular style of trousers is that of 72 A & B. One of the largest of the trouser fragments recovered at Haithabu, this piece consists of the crotch gusset and leg pieces of a pair of trousers, which is likely styled in the fashion mentioned in this article. The piece, though heavily torn and frayed, still gives a good idea of how the trousers may have looked, with a long, slender front gusset, much like that seen on the much earlier Thorsberg trousers. The textile is of an irregular plain weave, which Hägg equates in “Textilfunde aus Haithabu” as being “crepe-like”, though it should be noted that this is not woolen crepe in the sense we know it today, and is likely only intended to describe that it is an irregular, yet fine weave with natural creases and wrinkles caused by the weave of the textile itself. This feature is most notable on the leg pieces affixed to the center gusset, which further adds to the theory that these came from a pair of Hábrók, or “high breeches” with pleats and gathers, as not only does the fabric show signs of this, but the fine quality of the textile would make gathering and pleating in such vast quantities easier and more ergonomic when compared to the other, denser textiles used to make garments from the region. While the gusset itself overall matches that of the legs, the bottom has remnants of another fabric being affixed, this one green in nature and slightly denser. This is likely an extension of the crotch gusset and where it meets the back rear one, with the lower greenish pieces actually being the lower portion of the rear gusset, indicating the lower half of the front, as well as the square or trapezoidal back gusset, were of a separate greenish wool. Fragment 91A is a narrow band of textile which matches that of the gusset and legs of 72 A & B, and was likely a piece of the leg. The Reconstruction Because the original pieces are so fragmentary, a good deal of archaeological guesswork had to be made to recreate these trousers. While this is by no means conclusive, and a good portion of this reconstruction is conjectural, we hope to establish at least a decent, academically-sourced baseline to study how and why these trousers may have been worn. The presence of front and back gussets, as well as them being in two separate colors, indicates a good deal of thought went into producing trousers in this fashion. As Hägg notes, the gussets heavily resemble those of the Thorsberg trousers, and were likely used on other trousers from Haithabu, as well, meaning that the style of adding these features was a long-standing practice among Danish peoples and extended from the Migration Period well into the latter years of the Viking Age, and even evolved with, and was incorporated into, the changing fashions of the time. The gussets being of contrasting colors is also of note, and seems to continue the reflection of a trend utilized at Haithabu of clothing constructed from multiple colors, however, trousers such as these are explicitly mentioned in contemporary literature as halflit or tviskipt in the Sagas, with a red and green combination also being allegedly made, indicating this practice may have been common as far along as early post-Viking Age Iceland, with references to setgeira-brækr or “seat-gored trousers” being made in the Laxdæla Saga. Why this practice came into existence is unknown to us, though academics have given nods to the Thorsberg and Damendorf trousers as being likely descendants of Germanic Auxiliaries serving within Roman Legions as cavalrymen, and seat-gored trousers being initially an Eastern cavalry fashion later adopted by these peoples. This theory, which will be more heavily examined in another article on its own, does hold some sway, as prior to this fashion, Germanic trousers were often seen as being knee-length and rather simple, however, during the final days of Rome’s hold over Germania, this new fashion begins to arise. Tests have shown that having gussets in the front and back of the trousers does help facilitate better comfort when on horseback, as well as better overall comfort and mobility when fighting, as well, and these two facets of early Medieval life, usually associated with a martial warrior class, would make sense for this style to have been adopted into the warrior’s form of dress. The size of the legs posed another issue. Original contemporary accounts size them as being “100 cubits per leg”. While this has been debated and speculated on what the original reference to this size was, many agree that Ibn Rustah’s measurement was approximately five meters per leg, which is insanely excessive. At our rate, with only two per leg, this becomes almost unwieldy – both to produce, and to wear. We started with a total of six meters – three per leg – but when scaled to my own (as well as a likely waist size for an average Viking Age male), which is approximately 32” (81.28cm), even this seemed to be too much, especially when trying to walk, so we scaled it back to two meters per leg, which seems about right. Even with using a light plain weave like the original fragments, these trousers grew extremely heavy, so anything heavier, or anything larger, would have been most unlikely. As far as the gathers and pleating goes, we still are unsure of the practice and how it was actually done. Hägg explicitly notes that most of the folds and gathers on the fragments do appear to have been done while they were worn, as is seen in the wear on the backsides of these folds from the wearer’s legs rubbing against them, however, she also notes that the folds and pleats do not extend the full length of the fragment, indicating they were likely haphazard. This could have been as a result of being gathered at the waist and knees, with the folds and pleats simply falling and folding where they may when the garment was donned and worn throughout the day, however we are unsure. She does note that the creasing and folds are also a natural response to the weave of the textile itself, which is an irregular plain weave. While some have theorized that this may have been done by using a drawstring at the waist, much like that seen on the Skjoldehamn trousers from Norway, our own tests found that gathering that much fabric in a drawstring configuration tends to pull too much fabric together and creates a massive, unavoidable “bum roll” around the wearer’s waist, which even fashion-conscious men of the time would have likely not been very fond of, so we opted out of the drawstring method and opted rather for a pleated waistband. While some fragments of waistbands do appear in Haithabu, notably those of 22 A – C, none seem to have survived for this particular style. The simple Thorsberg-style waist band would do little to hold all of the pleats in place, so we went with a conjectural style, both for ease of production, but also wear, and chose a two-sided linen band. With this, the pleats are folded, and then cased inside the lower hem of the waistband, which is then folded up and sewn across the top with belt loops affixed. This not only makes holding the pleats in cleaner, but the linen also reduced the bulking issue the waist band would have if a matching wool were used. Since the top of fragment is no longer present, and linen deteriorates more than most animal fibers, a linen waist band is not out of the question, especially given the supposed high social status of these trousers. Kurt Schietzel in his work, “Spurensuche Haithabu” does note that there are examples recovered in which belts were laid on top of a linen garment, which was partially preserved around the belt’s buckle, with wool on top of that. This could be taken as being used to hold up a pair of trousers with a linen waistband and the wool tunic placed over it, however, more research will need to be done on this theory before anything conclusive can be said for sure. Ibn Rustah also alludes that these trousers were “rolled up to the knee and gathered”. While the initial theory may be they were simply left baggy all the way down, tests showed that trying to gather and pleat two meters of wool into a knee-sized space and then bind it with a leg wrap was near impossible, therefore, another means of gathering was likely. Again, some have theorized drawstrings, however, with no evidence of this, and the impending same issue as with the waist, we opted for a similar design, with the legs pleated into linen bands which were then sewn up. Again, while conjectural, until we recover any lower portions of these trouser legs, the use of linen bands in this method can be neither proven nor disproven at this time and should be regarded as such. The length of the trousers should also be mentioned, with the significance of knee-length trousers in Northern European culture. We know as early as the 1st Century that knee-length trousers were in fashion with Germanic peoples, as has been noted by depictions on the likes of the Gundestrup Cauldron, as well as physical extant finds like the Marx-Etzel and Daetgen trousers. While longer trousers undoubtedly came into fashion during the latter years of Roman influence on German regions, with the likes of the Thorsberg trousers, some have speculated that knee-length trousers may have been kept in fashion and worn by upper-class men and warriors (who were often one in the same) as a nod to their heritage. While this may be far-fetched, it should not be completely ruled out of the question, as with the end of Paganism in continental Europe, and the end of the Viking Age, the style quickly fell out of fashion for full-leg trousers, and eventually separate-leg, tightly-fitted hosen. It has been noted by academics, however, that upper-class clothing during the Viking Age did appear to have a more conservative, traditional design, so these may have in fact been, at least in their view at the time, a reflection of the fashions of their ancestors. While worn at the knee, these trousers may have likely been longer, maybe even ankle-length, however, when pulled up and bound with wraps, the excess was pushed out to the sides, further adding to the baggy nature of the look. Hägg does point out in “Textilfunde aus Haithabu” that the quality of the fragments does match that of the leg wraps of Fragment 49, and her relation that is drawn between these two styles seems to indicate they were worn in conjunction with one another. When the lower halves of the legs are gathered into bands, pulling them up and wrapping them with leg wraps is quite easy and tends to stay put for a lengthy period of time with little to no readjustment needed. This fashion, though vague, seems to also be reflected on the pictorial stone carvings of the time. In Conclusion To conclude, it has been determined by the sheer quality and cut of these trousers that they were, in fact, intended for wear by upper-class men. While it is believed loose, baggy clothing was considered a “feminine” fashion to the Viking Age Danes (a trend that would not be carried on by their later Icelandic descendants), this clearly was not the case in regards to trousers of this style, which were likely seen as a status symbol, if not for the financial wealth needed to make them, then for the possible martial value they had, as the men who wore them were likely of a warrior or nobility class, and their wear by lower-class members of Danish society is considered unlikely. The exact intention for this fashion will likely be unknown to us, however, purposes such as horseback riding or even combat (much like Japanese Hakama) are likely candidates. Whether there even was a practical purpose behind them, or if they were purely a fashion statement and indicator of one’s wealth, like an expensive modern-day business suit, we cannot know until further evidence is uncovered. For now, we can merely speculate on these musings, as well as how they were made, how the pleats and gathers were constructed, and what the true measurements of the legs really were. Photo & Information Sources
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