Patterned Weaves - Preliminary Data

(Please note that this article is not yet complete, but I thought it best to put some preliminary information out there as I keep finding myself referencing this type of material in conversations with others.  If you have other items that you think belong in this collection, please let me know!)

Normally I spend months (or years) collecting data for an article, and then I triple check it, write it up, sit on it for a few more months, do the research again, triple check it and then post it to this blog.  That was pretty much the process for my articles on edgings and plaids.  I have one pet-project that I have been working on far longer than any of these, but I intended to weave samples of the items before posting so I held off sharing my research.  With the addition of 3 Savannah kittens under 2 years old to my house, weaving has been put on hold so I am going to go ahead and share the preliminary collection of data from this research now (in a truly unfinished form).

There is this perpetual idea among reenactors that if clothing is not covered from hem to hem in embroidery, that it is some how bland, dull or will be "cookie cutter Viking" (meaning that everyone will look alike).  The fact is that we have very little in the way of Viking Age embroidery (and some of it, such as the metal thread Valsgard items, are considered likely to be imported goods).  My own opinion is that the items like wallhangings are far more durable, and will last generations, while an embroidered garment would not last nearly as long due to wear (and would then be limited to only the highest levels of society). Further, there were ways, in period, of decorating the cloth itself that do not take too much additional time on behalf of the weaver.  We see ribbed textiles as well as those with warp or weft floats.  These techniques can provide texture and interest in a garment in less time than embroidery or other more complex methods of adornment.
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Image of weft float patterning from Hedeby 5/1964. This technique does not use an additional weft (or warp in the case of warp patterning) to create a pattern but instead uses the existing weft threads lifted over a number of warp threads to form a pattern.

Diagram of textured textile from Hedeby (fragments 31 A-D), that shows the addition of thicker threads (likely in the weft) to create texture and visual interest in the tabby textile.

Some textiles are woven in more complex brocade or tapestry techniques to create patterns.  These can be as simple as rows of soumak weaving to form bands or diagonal lines, or detailed brocade styles such as krabbasnår or tapestry techniques to form complex patterning.  Below I will share some of the items I have found so far into my research on this type of textile from the Viking Age. Note that here I am only collecting data for wider textiles, and not bands woven in this technique.

Oseberg

The grave at Oseberg (834AD) is full of wonderful things, from exceedingly fine diamond twill to elaborate (and likely imported) embroideries, to incredible silks (and the woodwork alone is worth taking the time to look up this find).  Among the many items from this grave were some items created using incredible brocading techniques.  

Tapestry
There are many fragments of one (or possibly more) woven tapestries that depict a procession of some sort.  This work had a wool warp and wool soumak and supplimentary weft and likely a linen weft which is now gone, it also had tablet woven borders.  This work was narrow and might well have been woven on the Oseberg frame loom.  (Images from Unimus.no)

Another bit of interesting tapestry from this grave is a more floral piece that is thought to have been part of a pillowcover, due to traces of down being attached to one surface.

Oseberg also yields remnants of Åklæ (coverlets or possibly wall hangings, described as 'fabrics with brocading of coarse woolen thread'). One of these items has geometric patterns woven in the krabbasnår technique.  This type of weaving still exists today in Scandinavia where it is currently woven on a horizontal loom with underside of the weaving being the "correct" side of the cloth.  The weaver uses a mirror to better see the bottom of the fabric to check for errors.  In my sampling of this type of work on a warp-weighted loom, I discovered that I very easily could weave it where I could see the correct side as I worked.  I used naalbinding needles with my supplementary weft hanging behind the loom (tapestry bobbins work as well).  It is easy to manipulate the warp threads to reach through them and pull the needle or bobbin up through the correct space because the warp is more mobile than warp on a two beam loom (my manipulation of it does not cause the threads to sag the way it would on a modern horizontal loom).

Another item that is listed as possibly an Åklæ is the geometric design pictured below in an aquarelle from the find and a patter from Sophie Krafft's book describing the designs from the Oseberg burial.

While it is hard to know the full usage of these items, they are considered to be home goods (coverlets, wall-hangings, possibly cushion covers) be those who have examined them.

Birka

Krabbasnår and other decorative weavings such as Opphämta also show up at Birka.  Five examples have a dense, ribbed background, as did the Oseberg Åklæ, with a coarse woven pattern floating over it.  In addition to those items, there are also textiles from Birka that are described as being "tapestry-like" fabrics.  In these textiles, the weft completely obscures the warp yarn. Soumak is also seen in Birka fabrics.

Below is a chart of the tapestry and brocade textiles listed in Birka III (Geijer) and Textilien und Tracht in Haithabu and Schleswig (Hägg).  I hope to soon make a separate post detailing what information I can find on these items.

Birka 660

Birka 739

Birka 968

Several items at Birka fall into the category of soumak weaves, including Birka 597.

Birka 597

The "border" pattern illustrated here in example A is soumak (source, Birka III)

Another example from Birka that I believe to be soumak is from 943.  This textile is a wool cloth with a hardspun, blue-green linen yarn that passes through the base fabric in lengths of equal size on both sides, forming diagonal lines.  

Birka 943 showing that the stitches of the linen yarn look the same on both sides of the cloth.

Hvilehøj, Denmark

The textiles from this grave are described as being of exceptional quality.  Included among these is a very fine white wool tabby with fine wefts forming crosses and lozenges.  (Hald, Bogs and Burials)

Hedeby

Hedeby yields items from four graves, 497, 5/1964, 188/1960 and 159/1960 that have textiles that fall into the categories previously mentioned.

Hedeby diagrams 188/1960

Hedeby 5/1964

Hedeby 5/1964

Scar Boat Burial, Scotland

In the female grave at Scar there was both a self-patterned tabby and a brocaded textile that was possibly part of a pillow or cover.
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Additional Norwegian Finds

While researching the Oseberg items, I found references to three additional Norwegian finds of brocade or tapestry techniques.  These are from Haugen in Rolvsøy, Bo in Torvastad and Jåtten in Helland.  Of these I have already sourced images from Bo in Torvastad (source, Unimus.no).

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Överhogdal Tapestry:  This item has been dated to the very end of the Viking Age. There is a great deal of information on this amazing work here: https://www.jamtli.com/en/exhibitions/overhogdalsbonaderna/

Peripheral Finds

Valsgarde:  In Northern European Textiles, there is mention of a pre-Viking Age textile with now vanished pattern threads (and the same grave also has a fabric with a warp or weft float-pattern).  Unfortunately, at this time I know little else about this cloth, including the fibre content.

Saxon: Cloth and Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England (Penelope Walton Rogers) has a section dedicated tapestry and soumak weaves.  Soumak shows up at Sutton Hoo and Taplow, with both basic forms and in combination with blocks of tapestry weave, the latter of which are compared to Valsgarde 8, Birka and Oseberg.

I also occasionally come across items with little or no provenance for which I would love have the details.  An example is this image (below), which is described as Slavic embroidery, but it looks very much to me like it could be woven work.  I would absolutely love more information either way.