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A guldgubbe or gullgubbe is a rectangular pendant from Scandinavia, measuring 10 to 18 mm. The name literally means 'golden old man'. These pendants were made in the late Migration Period and the early Viking Age, from 500 to 800 AD.
Guldgubber were made of gold, gold alloy, or sometimes silver. The metal was melted and hammered into foil. The design was pressed onto the back of the piece with a bronze stamp (patrice), or applied directly to the pendant with a sharp tool (pennderivning). The edges were then trimmed.
Guldgubber had great symbolic significance and were probably used in rituals. They are comparable to bracteates, round, golden pendants from Scandinavia and Germany.
Findings and Dating
About 4,000 different guldgubber have been found. They were mass-produced, with some stamps used dozens of times, and the same designs have been found at different locations.
The pendants were made from the 6th century. At some sites, such as Slöinge in Halland (Sweden) and locations in Norway, their use seems to continue into the Viking Age. However, the archaeological context is often not datable. The images differ from characteristic Scandinavian art styles, so dating through stylistic comparison is also complex.
The guldgubbe was produced only in Scandinavia. They have been found at 17 locations in Sweden, 7 in Norway, and 16 in Denmark, of which 7 are on Bornholm. Large numbers have been found at Sorte Muld (3,100 specimens), an important power center and trading hub on Bornholm. In Uppåkra, Skåne, several hundred specimens were excavated in a posthole. A third important location is Gudme/Lundeborg on Eastern Funen, where approximately 100 guldgubber have been found. Here too, they are part of a large archaeological context. At most other sites, only a few specimens have been discovered, often buried in postholes of houses.
Function and Symbolism
Guldgubber are often found with other luxury goods, suggesting they were a status symbol. Most have been excavated in postholes. Possibly they were glued with resin to the posts of a building and fell into the posthole.
The presence of guldgubber and other objects and the unusual layout of the building suggests that the site of Uppåkra was a pagan sanctuary. The site of Sorte Muld may also have had a religious function. In places where only a few guldgubber have been found in a posthole, they may have been intended to protect the construction or the building itself.
Guldgubber were thus likely offered, and possibly the images had something to do with the desired outcome.
In 2009, Sharon Ratke categorized the designs of guldgubber into seven different categories.
Pendants of category A depict men. They have short hair and wear a caftan. They often hold a pouring vessel, staff (possibly a spear?), ring, or sword. K. Hauck interpreted the man with the pouring vessel as Freyr. Ratke suggests that the image of the man with staff was intended to ask for wisdom.
Pendants of category B depict women. Their hair is long and twisted into a bun. They wear a long dress and sometimes a apron. They are depicted with a horn, fibula, decorated cloak, or necklace.
Pendants of category C are the best-known guldgubber. These pendants depict two figures looking at each other. 6 of the 200 show people of the same gender, on the other 194 pendants, there is a man and a woman. The man holds the woman by the waist, the woman holds the man at wrist or the couple embraces each other. These guldgubber were likely used to promise eternal love or were offered to ensure that love would be reciprocated. In this context, guldgubber could be considered as Roman (positive) curse tablets and guldgubber would not only represent the practical expression of love, but also a magical realization of it.
On Guldgubber pendants of category D, spirits or dancers are depicted. They have large eyes and a blank expression. They are clearly naked, but their gender is not clear. Some wear a staff. Ratke interprets this as deceased spirits, but this does not seem logical to us. However, it is logical if the individually shown men and women represent the deceased.
Pendants of category E depict animals, such as boars, pigs, bears, and deer. Guldgubber of category F are unclassifiable because the image is no longer clearly visible, and under category G fall fragments of pendants.
