Get the look: Vikingman, Gjermundbu I

This Viking man is inspired by the Viking grave Gjermundbu I.

The Norwegian Viking grave of Gjermundbu is very well known. It is one of the few places where a complete Viking helmet has been found. Another unique find is a large number of fragments of a chainmail shirt (hauberk). Grave Gjermundbu II has also been excavated, but was less richly equipped. When we write below about the grave of Gjermundbu, we are referring to Gjermundbu I.

The grave dates from the second half of the 10th century. To keep the composition accessible, we have not made an exact reconstruction of the grave. Firstly, because we do not want everyone walking around in a direct copy of the equipment, this leaves more room for personal interpretation during your composition. And secondly, because not every object found in the grave has a reproduction that we can use. We have also omitted items such as cooking equipment, horses and a huge sleigh, the eight arrows and probably associated quiver and bow.

For convenience, we have given this Viking man a name: Arne. 

Arne was clearly of a very wealthy aristocrat. His cremated body is buried with a helmet, a chainmail shirt, shields (only 4 shield bosses have survived), a sword of Petersen type S, 2 axes of Petersen type K, three spears of Petersen types G, K and M, eight arrows, spurs, stirrups, horse bits, a sleigh and rattles, cooking equipment and tools.

Unfortunately, there were no fragments of Arne's s clothing left. But he probably lived in the Ringerike area in Southern Norway (near Oslo) and was buried in the winter. 

The undergarment that Arne wears is a simple unbleached under tunic.

Over his undertunic, Arne wears a warm woolen tunic. The luxurious red reflects his wealth. If he had been poorer, he probably would have worn brown, green, or yellow.  

As trousers, he wears puff pants as depicted on most men on the 9th-century Oseberg tapestry, on the Rune Stone of Lillbjärs and on the stone of Broa (Halla, Gotland) and the 10th-century Viking cross of Weston in England. 

Kaftans are depicted on the stones of Etelhem and Lärbro in Gotland, and possibly on the aforementioned Oseberg tapestry. The brown colour is a personal choice; he could even have worn an embroidered blue or red caftan.

In this composition, Arne wears a chaperon. Coifs were already worn during the time of the Romans. An 8th-century original was found on Orkney, an 11th-century original was found in the grave at Herjolfsnes.

Because no hooks for leg wrappings or brooches for cloaks were found in Arne's grave, we chose to avoid the cloak and leg wrappings in this reconstruction.

In the grave of Gjermundbu, we found no belt fitting or buckles. Therefore, we chose a belt with as little fitting as possible. 

Arne wears shoes based on originals found in the northern English city of York.

In the grave of Gjermundbu, a Viking sword, Petersen type S, was found. Hence our choice for this particular sword of the same type. 

The grave contained two axes of Petersen type K. For variety, we have used both a Petersen type K and a Petersen type A.

Arne was buried with no less than four shields. The wood has rotted away over the centuries. Viking shields consisted of multiple planks that were fastened together. In the middle, there is a hole where the shield boss is attached at the back. Like the originals, this replica consists of multiple parts. The shield edge is wrapped with leather.

In the grave, Arne had three spears with him. But Arne only has two hands and he had to hold his axes. Therefore, we skipped the spears in this shoot. In the grave of Gjermundbu, spears of Petersen type G, K, and M were found.

In the grave of Gjermundbu, eight arrows were found. In this reconstruction, we chose not to integrate these arrows. Often, Viking aristocrats were laid to rest with a great diversity of weaponry. Not all these weapons were worn simultaneously. Vikings used both the traditional European longbow (langbogi) and the recurvebow. The general term for bow was hornbogi, which can refer to a bow made from multiple layers, including horn, thus recurvebow.

Of course, Arne wears the famous Gjermundbu helmet, named after the place where it was found. Only a few Viking helmets and fragments of Viking helmets have been found: Gjermundbu, Yarm, Tjele, Lokrume, Kyif. Possibly because the helmets were too unique to be buried with, possibly because spangen helmets consisted of multiple parts and were more perishable over time, or possibly because Vikings generally wore very few helmets. 

The fragments from the grave form the best-preserved and documented armor from the Viking Age. Usually, only a few rings or small fragments of mail shirts are found. Mail shirts were extremely expensive at the time and were probably reused and repaired as long as possible. Anglo-Saxon and Byzantine sources also mention Vikings wearing mail shirts. The mail shirt that Arne was buried with is short and has short sleeves. It reaches approximately hip height.