Location: Haithabu, Current-Day Germany Date: Approx. 10th Century Culture: Viking Age Danish Estimated Social Class: Unknown Garment Type: Wool Vest / Jerkin Perhaps one of the most overlooked garments from the Viking Age settlement of Hedeby, the fragments of the wool jerkin, or 'Lodenwams' as it is referred to in German, offers a great deal of insight and mystery into the complex fashion of 10th Century Denmark. In this article we will look at the vest's original construction, how it was likely used, and how the reproductions of today may give us further information on the daily lives and fashion sense of the people living at Hedeby. At the current time, nothing resembling the Lodenwams is accounted for in the historical fashion information of the time, both in literature, nor artwork, so our basis as to what this garment is or how it was used is a mystery - all we know is that it existed, and fragments recovered from Haithabu also seem to indicate that these were a fashion staple, as we will look further into later in the article. The fact that the garment is so heavily overlooked in Hedeby's often mysterious fashion complex, usually overshadowed by more famous - and slightly similar - items like the Klappenrock, means much of the speculation done as to the garment's use is done privately, rather than in an academic or museum setting, therefore, most of the information given within this article, aside from the descriptions and construction observations of the fragments themselves, is purely speculative. The Original Fragments At the current time, a good number of fragments have been attributed to a Lodenwams-type garment in Haithabu, and all of these are noted in detail in Inga Hägg's work, "Textilfunde aus Haithabu". The aforementioned fragments are as follow: 5, 7, 13, 30, 46, 53 A & B, 63, 81, and 85. Unfortunately, many of these are heavily fragmentary, and likewise, only a few of the largest and most notable were discussed and detailed at length in Hägg's book. While there are many examples of 'roughened' (as Hägg puts it) and felted garment fragments from Haithabu, Hägg seems to put a specific emphasis on a particular style of roughened wool textile that notes it as belonging to that of the jerkin / Lodenwams type, which in fact, the name "Lodenwams" notes the specific style of almost hard, felted wool used for these garments, usually referred to as "Loden" in German-speaking sources. Therefore, a disclaimer should be noted here that while many of these fragments will appear to belong to any number of clothing styles from the area, these have all been seen to bear the same textile properties in common, therefore, it has been assumed they are all of the same garment stock. To begin, we will start with the smaller fragments, and to begin with that we can look no further than at Fragment 5. The piece is of a the Loden-style wool, woven in a 2/2 twill. It appears to be undyed and is a natural brown color. Though small, it does seem to bear the rounded armhole hem of a sleeveless, felted garment, a trend which will continue as we look further at more of these fragments. Fragment 7 appears to be the lower hem of a similarly constructed garment. Again, also of a Loden-style felted 2/2 twill, it bears a rounded, curved lower hem of a rolled construction. It is noted as being very heavily worn, though traces of the original rolled and overcast-stitched hem are still present. Hägg also observes that the shape and size of the hemmed area indicates it was likely a shorter garment which ended above the hips, meaning it was likely worn over a longer tunic-style article of clothing. Traces of stitching at the outer edges also could be an indication that these were hemmed and the garment bore side slits up a small portion of the lower half. It also appears to be of a natural, undyed color, as well. Fragment 13 is relatively unremarkable, however, the heavily felted piece of coarse 2/2 wool twill does bear a series of stitches and a slightly curved edge at one side, likely meaning it was the opening hem of an open-front garment. Fragment 30 is also ambivalent as to its original use, however, it is also of a coarse 2/2 twill and has curved hems or seams on the outer edges. Due to the style of textile used, and the fact there are little signs of wear, means this may have been part of a very well-tailored variant of the jerkin or vest design, possibly one intended to be used by a more well-to-do member of Hedeby society, or a nicer one made specifically for the trading market Hedeby was known for that simply never made it to said market... Fragment 46 is even more mysterious, there is a seam which connects two layers of fabric present. Initially thought to possibly be that of a dart, it has been noted the two pieces are of different colors, which makes this theory unlikely. Hägg notes that this particular piece of felted 2/2 wool twill may also be that of a hood fragment, as well, though it is unclear. Fragments 53 A and B are perhaps the best examples we have of the Lodenwams style in its original form. The two-part fragment consists of the shoulder and armhole area of a heavily felted garment. Unlike the previous fragments, this particular example is made from a cross-body twill, rather than the 2/2 twill used elsewhere, showing there was a degree of variation to the design being used at this time. The piece clearly shows the hemmed, rounded armhole of a sleeveless garment, which interestingly enough, appears to have been pieced together with a horizontal seam running from the lower edge of the armhole to the outer hem of the garment's opening. While the other seams and hems have long since deteriorated, we can still see that these now torn edges were likely indicative of the garment's original features, meaning it likely bore a shoulder seam and a straight, hemmed front area which was open. Unfortunately, the rest of the pieces are only fragmentary in nature and are therefore mostly unremarkable, featuring an array of scattered stitches and torn edges, with the textile makeup only noting them as being likely candidates as fragments of a Lodenwams-type garment. Hägg does note that three of the fragments were subject to dyestuff analysis, with two of them (fragments 5 and 7) bearing no traces of dyes and are of a natural shade of wool. Fragment 13, however, does bear traces of walnut dyes having been used and was likely either brown or reddish-brown in color. The lack of sophisticated dyes (or lack of dyes altogether), coupled with the heavy wear patterns of some of the fragments seems to indicate that these were intended as working garments, being used either to protect the wearer's more expensive clothing underneath, or worn as an extra warmth layer in the colder winter months. Either way, a clear utilitarian design seems evident, with little emphasis being put on fashion-forwardness or anything bearing an aesthetic nature. The Reconstruction For the reconstruction, we opted to combine the best features of the fragments into a composite garment. Since most of the pieces are very fragmentary at best, we did have to undergo a great deal of filling in the blanks to get a complete image of what this garment may have looked like. The first feature that needed to be determined was the garment's overall shape. By going off Hägg's findings, we knew the vest was likely hip-length at the longest, and was rather short, with seams at the shoulders, wide, open, rounded armholes, a slightly rounded lower rear hem, and possible side slits at the bottom. We decided to construct the garment from felted 2/2 wool twill. Finding 2/2 twill that had the exact level of Loden-style felting as the originals was nigh on impossible, so we had to settle for a slightly less-felted look than was desired, however, the garment does still have the same effect that the likelihood of every one of these having the same exact level of felting is unlikely at best, given Hedeby's large population and propensity at trade and manufacture. The wool is undyed and in its natural color, as most of the fragments also bear, and it was sewn using an undyed wool yarn that matches the same overall weight and thickness as the stitches that remain on the original fragments. In Conclusion To conclude, it is our belief that the garment was that of a working garment or one worn for added warmth in the winter, very similar to the leather jerkins seen as recently as the 20th Century with British Armed Forces use. It bears all the hallmarks of a utilitarian article of clothing, and after extensive outdoor winter trials, has seemed to hold up nicely to the elements and does a decent job of protecting the wearer from the cold, especially when worn in conjunction with a cloak.
A secondary theory to the last as to the jerkin's use is that of a rudimentary textile "armor". While thin, and likely not overly protective, the felted and padded nature of the vest would mean that if worn in conjunction with other wool clothing, the garment could at least stop basic slashing attacks with a knife of spear, much in the way of other forms of textile armors worn before and after the Viking Age. With this said, however, further field tests will need to be undertaken before a complete determination of this theory can be realized. In finishing, it is our opinion that this is a highly underrepresented garment in Haithabu's complex and detailed clothing history, and one that should warrant further research and experimentation. It is widely lacking in most representations of Viking Age Danish clothing and equipment, despite the overwhelming evidence for its use, and it is our opinion that further exploitation and study of its makeup and design can yield even further information on this time and the mindset of 10th Century Danes. Photo & Information Sources
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