Tablet woven bands from Northern Europe
Below you will find a selection of tablet woven bands from broadly defined Norhern Europe.
All replicas of the original finds pictured on our webpage have been woven by us. The photos of the original finds we collect in printed form were found mostly on the internet hence it is often not possible for us to determine the author of them or point to a particular source like a research paper or a book. However, we give the reference list below of the sources we have had access to in the past few years and from which we derived information about tablet woven band finds.
Most woven bands we offer through our shop are very close to the originals in terms of a pattern and technique. Some of the weavings presented here were originally silver or gold brocaded – yet currently we do not take commissions for brocaded bands. Instead, in our online shop you can order woolen or linen versions of different finds. These versions are often slightly simplified compared to the original bands but they seem to be a reasonable compromise between an attempt to reconstruct a medieval textile fragment with all its technical complexity (+ authenticity) and a price acceptable for a wide range of re-enactors and enthusiasts of history.
♦Ketilsstadir, Island, 10th c.
♦ Seyðisfjörður, Island, 10-11th c
♦ Oseberg, Norway, 9th c.
♦ Kaupang, Norway, 9-10th c.
♦ Skjoldehamn, Norway, 10th c.
♦ Snartemo, Norway, 5th c.
♦ Vestrum, Norway, 5th c.
♦ Mammen, Denmark, 10th c.
♦ Birka, Sweden, 9-10th c.
♦ Dublin, Ireland, 10th c.
♦ Cambridge, England, 5th c.
♦ Køstrup, Denmark, 9-10th c.
♦ Paragaudis, Lithuania, 10th c.
♦ TBC…
Ketilsstaðir, Island, 10th c.

Woolen band from the find known as „Lady in Blue” find or „Bláklædda Konan. The band decorated the upper edge of a blue apron dress.
Seyðisfjörður, Island, 10-11th c.

Woolen band of about 1,5 cm width.
Oseberg, Norway, 9th c.

Kaupang, Norway, 9-10th c.

Snartemo, Norway 5th c.

Paragaudis, Lithuania, 10th c.

Woolen band found in female grave – the original band shows reddish edges and brown-grey pattern.
TO BE CONTINUED…(site under construction)
Sources and references:
(et al, 2015, “Bláklædda Konan – Ný Rannsókn Á Fornu Kumli” “Bundled-up in Blue . The Re-investigation Of A Viking Grave”, Ritaskrá Þjóðminjasfns Íslands, pp 11-12. ) https://northernwomen.org/project-2/
Crowfoot, Elizabeth and Sonia Hawkes. „Early Anglo-Saxon Gold Braids.” Medieval Archaeology XI (1967): 42-86.
Geijer, Agnes. Birka III: Die Textilfunde. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri, 1938.
Hald, Margrethe. Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials. Copenhagen: National Museum of Denmark, 1980.
Ingstad, A. S. 1979. To kvinnegraver med tekstiler fra Kaupang. Universitetets Oldsaksamling 150 år, Jubileumsårbok. Særtrykk, Oslo.
Nockert, Margareta. The Hogom Find and Other Migratioin Period Textiles and Costumes in Scandinavia. Umea: University of Umea, 1991
Pečeliūnaitė-Bazienė, E. (2010) „Textiles from the 3rd -12th century AD cremation graves found in Lithuania”. In E. Andersson Strand, M. Gleba, U. Mannering, C.Munkholt and M. Ringgaard (eds.), North EuropeanSymposium for Archaeological Textiles X, Ancient Textiles Series 5, 189-194. Oxford: Oxbow