Eastern Orthodox Paganism

When Vladimir the Great converted from Slavic paganism to Christianity, he used the occasion to try to unify a wide heterogeneous culture. The Russian Primary Chronicle for 980 discusses the Slavic gods prior to conversion:

And Vladimir began to reign alone in Kiev. And he placed idols on the hill outside the palace: a Perun in wood with a silver head and a gold moustache, and Khors Dazhdbog and Stribog and Simargl and Mokosh.

Vladimir was willing to incorporate Christianity and paganism, so although he had the temple mentioned in the Primary Chronicle torn down and the idols thrown into the Dniester, the growing Church linked the Slavic deities with Christian saints. Perun, god of thunder and lightning, was equated with Elijah the prophet, known for bringing fire down from the sky. Veles of the underworld was linked to Saint Blaise. Yarilo, god of spring and agriculture, was linked to St. George. The dates of pagan festivals found themselves celebrating Christian festivals, so Christmas–Easter–Whitsunday were used for the indigenous festivals Koliada (Winter Solstice), Yarilo (Spring), Kupala (Summer Solstice). The Virgin Mary was iconized as "Fiery Mary" ("Ognyena Maria"; see illustration), and turned into a sister of Perun.

Supposedly, Vladimir turned all his territory Christian in eight years, but in truth pagan beliefs and practices lingered for centuries. Vladimir's baptism ritual was not repeated for his followers, and in fact not routinely used until the 20th century; the "Christianization" was essentially a nation-wide declaration.

Even today, there are "Old Believers" or "Old Ritualists" in Eastern Orthodox Christianity who still want to follow rituals that were considered inappropriate by the Orthodox Church, who tried to stamp them out in the Stoglav Synod of 1551. The text of the synod was turned into 100 chapters, which in Russian is sto glav. Each chapter is worded as answers to 100 questions by Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (sometimes called Ivan the Terrible).

The shift from Paganism to Christianity was sometimes evolutionary, sometimes revolutionary. Tomorrow we'll take a closer look at how some rulers chose to either tolerate or mandate religious practices.

Slavic Paganism

This blog has mentioned paganism before, usually in the context of converting whole nations to Christianity, but what did it look like in Eastern Europe prior to the Christianization that got started around the 8th-9th centuries? 

The Byzantine historian Procopius is our source for information about the Vandals and other topics. He tells us about their human sacrifices to their thunder god:

They believe that one of the gods, the creator of lightning, is the lord over all, and bulls are sacrificed to him and other sacred rites are performed. They do not know fate and generally do not recognize that it has any power in relation to people, and when they are about to face death, whether they are seized by illness or in a dangerous situation in the war, they promise, if they are saved, to immediately sacrifice to God for their soul; having escaped death, they sacrifice what they promised, and they think that their salvation has been bought at the price of this sacrifice. They worship rivers, and nymphs, and all sorts of other deities, offer sacrifices to all of them and with the help of these sacrifices they also produce divination. [Book VII of War with the Goths]

Other Western Europe authors refer to the Slavic cult of Radegast, god of the Polabian Slavs, and the sun-god Svarozhich. We might question the accuracy of the interpretation by these "outsiders," but we do have some reports from the "inside." The Russian Primary Chronicle for 980 discusses the Slavic gods prior to conversion:

And Vladimir began to reign alone in Kiev. And he placed idols on the hill outside the palace: a Perun in wood with a silver head and a gold moustache, and Khors Dazhdbog and Stribog and Simargl and Mokosh. And they offered sacrifices and called them gods, and they took their sons and daughters to them and sacrificed them to the devils.

Helmold of Bosau (c.1120 - 1177) wrote his Chronica Slavorum ("History of the Slavs"), covering c.800 - 1171. His report says the Slavs believed in a single heavenly deity who created all the minor spirits that managed elements of nature. These lesser spirits:

...obeying the duties assigned to them, [the deities] have sprung from his [the supreme God's] blood and enjoy distinction in proportion to their nearness to the god of the gods.

According to Helmold, wheel symbols, and symbols showing multiple arms (see illustration), represented the numerous minor spirits in their relationship to the main deity.

From folklore that has survived, we can gather that there were several supernatural figures that functioned as deities. Outside of the supreme god, Perun was a thunder/sky god (sometimes treated as the supreme god). Veles was his opposite, a god of the underworld. Svarog was the god of the sun/fire and of blacksmiths. Dazhbog (sometimes considered Svarog's son) was the god of domestic fire, the hearth. In other tales, he is the god of rain.

Marzanna was the goddess of winter, and so her presence was dreaded and her departure celebrated, when she withdrew from the world and was replaced by Yarilo, god of spring and agriculture. Vesna was also a goddess of spring, and her name was popularly given to girls.

Mokosh was the goddess of weaving and a protector of women, and Devana the goddess of hunting and the wilderness. Lada was the goddess of love and beauty. She mirrors Persephone, in that she spends part of the year in the Underworld.

There were other minor deities and creatures such as Baba Yaga and Vampir, whose name indicates exactly what you're thinking: he attacks people in the night and sucks blood. Fortunately, being killed by Vampir does not make one a vampire; one becomes a Vampir by being a bad person.

Slavic paganism survived in Russia into the 15th century, and some pagan elements were incorporated into the Russian Orthodox Church. Let's look at the "survival" of paganism in Russia tomorrow.

Boris and Gleb

Vladimir the Great (c.958 - 1015) was Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Kyiv. Although originally a pagan, he converted himself, and then the whole of the Kievan Rus, to Christianity. The Eastern Orthodox Church made him a saint. Among his children were two sons, Boris and Gleb. When Vladimir converted the country to Christianity, the sons were baptized and given new names. Boris became Roman, and Gleb was baptized as David. When later canonized, however, their birth names were used.

According to a monk named Nestor, who wrote Account about the Life and Martyrdom of the Blessed Passion Bearers Boris and Gleb, they were their father's favorites. Boris ruled the town of Rostov, and Gleb ruled Murom. Boris was said to have been Vladimir's heir apparent, although not his eldest. When Vladimir died, the real trouble started.

The eldest son, Sviatapolk, declared himself Grand Prince of Kyiv. Boris had been on campaign with the army, and his friends tried to get him to go to Kyiv to challenge Sviatapolk, but Boris said “I will not raise my hand against my brother, who is even older than I, and whom I should respect as my father!” Sviatapolk was not so interested in avoiding civil or familial strife, however, and had Boris assassinated while sleeping. Well, almost: he was stabbed, but while the body was being transported to Kyiv in a bodybag, those escorting it realized he was still breathing inside, and they thrust a sword into it.

Word had not yet reached Gleb that their father was dead. Sviatapolk sent a message that Vladimir was on his deathbed, causing Gleb to rush to his side, suspecting no treachery. Another brother, Yaroslav, learned about Sviatapolk and told Gleb that Boris is dead and to not meet with Sviatapolk, but the warning didn't help: while praying for Boris, Gleb's own cook slits his throat with a kitchen knife.

Because the two were faced with potential violence and did not meet it with violence, they were declared martyrs for the Faith. They were canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church in 1071. They were interred at the Vyshhorod Cathedral. The Roman Catholic Church canonized them in 1724. Many Russian and Ukrainian churches were named for them.

Their Christianity, so soon after their father converted the nation, was surprisingly steadfast. If Vladimir had not done that, how would they have been raised differently, one wonders. What was Slavic paganism like? Let's talk about that tomorrow.

Nestor the Chronicler

In 1073CE, a young man entered the Monastery of the Caves in Kyiv. The Monastery was only about 20 years old at the time—founded by Theodosius of Kyiv—and so was Nestor. One of his experiences in the monastery was joining with other monks to exorcise a devil from Nikḗtas the Hermit.

Nestor was made the chronicler for the monastery, a task he took very seriously. It was in that service he produced a Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, and also the Account about the Life and Martyrdom of the Blessed Passion Bearers Boris and Gleb.

In 1091 he was given the important task of disinterring the body of Saint Theodosius so the relics could be transferred to the Church.

Nestor appreciated books and learning:

Great is the benefit of book learning, for books point out and teach us the way to repentance, since from the words of books we discover wisdom and temperance. This is the stream, watering the universe, from which springs wisdom. In books is a boundless depth, by them we are comforted in sorrows, and they are a bridle for moderation. If you enter diligently into the books of wisdom, then you shall discover great benefit for your soul. Therefore, the one who reads books converses with God or the saints.

Some—maybe most—accounts of his life claim he wrote the Russian Primary Chronicle, mostly because of his previous writing credits and the fact the Chronicle was produced during his lifetime. There is no direct evidence, however, that the Chronicle came from his pen. In fact, his own writing includes details that contradict details in the Chronicle. The argument has been made that he should be called "Nestor the Hagiographer," since the only authentic writing of his is saints' lives.

He died about 1114 and was buried near the Caves Monastery. The Eastern Orthodox Church made him a saint, and his feast day is 27 October.

There's an interesting story to be told about Boris and Gleb, however, and I'll tell you about it next time.

 

The Russian Primary Chronicle

The largest ethnic and linguistic group of peoples in Europe in the first millennium CE was the Slavs of the Kievan Rus. Although they chiefly occupied eastern and southeastern Europe, they extended also across northern Asia all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Our chief source of their early history is the Russian Primary Chronicle, covering the years 850 to 1110.

In its native language its title translates to the "Tale of Bygone Years," derived from the opening lines of one of the extant early manuscripts: "These are the narratives of bygone years regarding the origin of the land of Rus', the first princes of Kiev, and from what source the land of Rus' had its beginning."

Traditionally, it was also referred to as the "Nestor Chronicle" because it was believed to have been written by a monk called Nestor, but later scholarship has suggested that it is a compilation and not the work of a single author. Also, the chief evidence for Nestor's authorship seems to be the name Nestor (нестера) inserted into a later edition. A likelier author is Sylvester of Kiev (c.1055 - 1123), an assistant abbot of the Vydubetsky Monastery in Kiev.

There are five (maybe six: one from 1450 was destroyed in a fire in 1812 and "reconstructed" from memory; it is considered unreliable) early manuscripts used to study the Primary Chronicle, the earliest of which is more than two centuries newer than the original, so we have no idea what exactly the original would have looked like, or what changes were made by well-meaning copyists and editors. The Laurentian Codex (shown above; you can read the whole thing and scholarship about it here) is the oldest version we have, from 1377. It continues the history through 1305, but some years (898–922, 1263–83 and 1288–94) have been inexplicably left out.

The Primary Chronicle includes many anecdotes, including the founding of Kyiv and the manner that St. Olga got revenge on the Drevlians after they murdered her husband. Some of the history, however, contradicts other chronicles, including some writings by the aforementioned Nestor the monk. Nestor was real, and the temptation to link him to the Primary Chronicle is understandable, since he wrote many things around the time of the original. In fact, we should talk about Nestor tomorrow.

The Moses Coin

Many Viking coin hoards included coins from far afield, especially Islamic dirhams, such as in the Spillings Hoard. The Spillings Hoard also contained, among about 14,000 dirhams, a coin that is practically unique in the history of numismatics: a Moses coin (pictured here).

As of 2006, only five Moses coins have been found, and they are all unusual in more ways than one. They are called "Moses" coins because, although similar to Islamic dirhams which have the phrase "Muhammad is the messenger of God" (or a similar phrase), they are inscribed with "Moses is the messenger of God" in Arabic. Who made these? It turns out that they were made by the Khazars.

The Khazars were a nomadic people who ranged in the area between and north of the Black and Caspian Seas starting in the late 6th century. Geographically, they were a buffer between the Byzantine Empire and the Umayyad Caliphate. In the second half of the 10th century, they were conquered by the Kievan Rus ruler Sviatoslav I. The Khazars were not a homogeneous culture: among their tribes one could find three languages and several religions. Judaism is considered one of the Khazar religions, and the Moses coin is the only evidence found to support that claim.

According to The Jews of Khazaria, by Kevin Alan Brook, the Khazar government minted four series of dirhams in 837-838, all from the same mint. One series included the phrase (in Arabic) Ard al-Khazar ("Land of the Khazars"), with the date 3 December 837 to 22 November 838.

This Khazar mint was also the source of the Moses coins, but the five found so far all have fake mint dates and locations. The one from the Spillings Hoard is inscribed with Madinat as-Salaam (Baghdad) and the date 766-767. The other four Moses coins (found in hoards from Russia, Estonia, and Finland) include Madinat as-Salaam with the dates 803-804. Why the Moses coins exist and why they have inauthentic dates and mint marks is a mystery.

Above I said the coins were similar to Islamic dirhams. Brook's book says the Khazars minted "additional varieties of imitation dirhams after the year 838." The actual name of the Khazar silver coin was the sheleg, a name we get from the Russian Primary Chronicle, in which the sheleg is mentioned as tribute. What was the Russian Primary Chronicle, you may ask? It was briefly mentioned here, but maybe it deserves a closer look...next time.

The Islamic dirham

We have previously mentioned the dinar here and here. Usually of gold, it was used alongside the dirham, usually of silver and of a lesser value.

Also spelled dirhem or drahm, the name comes from the Greek drachma, because it was originally a silver coin circulated in the pre-Islamic Mid-East out of Byzantium. Persia adopted the word drahm to refer to it, and near the end of the 7th century the Islamic world started minting its own version. Originally the dirham bore the head of the caliph, but that was considered idolatry, so the caliph's image was replaced with verses from the Koran. They were also commonly imprinted with the phrase "Muhammad is the messenger of God" and a statement of the year and location of their minting.

Used widely around the Mediterranean coasts (North Africa, Egypt, the Eastern coast, Moorish Spain), through trade and plunder it wound up in places as far-off as Britain and Sweden. It was so ubiquitous that Jewish Orthodox law even used the dirham as a unit of weight to indicate requirements in religious functions, such as the "dough portion" the proportion of your bread dough that should be offered to the kohen, the Jewish priest. Maimonides (1138 - 1204), an extremely influential philosopher and scholar of the Torah, calculated the dough portion at "520 dirhams of wheat flour." He was referring specifically to dirhams minted in Egypt, which were 3.333 grams each (3.8 pounds is a lot of bread dough!). Other locations minted dirhams that may have been consistently different by fractions of a gram.

The dirham is still used as a unit of currency in several countries as a division of the dinar.

There is an interesting variation of the dirham called the "Moses coin" from the Khazar region. A handful exist (one was found in the Spillings Hoard), and the inscription on them—specifically the mint location and date—raises more questions than answers. I'll tell you about them tomorrow, and why what appeared to be an Islamic coin is called a "Moses coin."

The Spillings Hoard

And now for the absolute largest Viking hoard of silver treasure ever found (I should add: "so far"). In 1999, a Swedish television crew was filming a story on the looting of archaeological sites. They chose the location of Spillings farm, where 150 silver coins and bronze objects had been found not long before. They filmed a segment speaking to two men who happened to be working there with metal detectors: an archaeologist and a coin expert. They finished filming, the TV crew left, and the two experts continued exploring the site.

Twenty minutes after the TV crew left, the metal detector let out a very strong signal that there was metal underground. The men uncovered a small cache of silver. Two hours later and 10 feet away, the detector let out such a strong signal that it shut down. They cordoned off the area and notified the Gotland Museum; guards were posted and a request was made with authorities to begin an archaeological excavation. Over the next year, those two spots and a third found within a few feet from the original yielded the Spillings Hoard.

Excavation determined that the caches were buried under the floorboards of a building, probably in the 800s. The final yield was 14,295 silver coins, almost entirely Islamic dirhams. In all, 192 pounds of treasure was recovered, including 44 pounds of bronze scrap (intended for smelting later). There were also almost 500 bangles, mostly of Swedish design, but some with British and Western Scandinavian designs.

The area yielded evidence of habitation over several centuries, and digging turned up pieces of glass, tile, chains, needles, glass beads, iron nails, clothes pins, and polished semi-precious stones.

Bits of wood and iron embedded in the mass of coins suggest that they were originally contained in a wooden chest. Carbon-dating the wood led to a date of about 650CE, making it much older than the treasure it contained.

One startling piece is called the "Moses coin," a handful of which have been found. This is from the Khazar kingdom. The Khazars, mentioned here, were believed to follow Judaism, but evidence for this was lacking. This coin is inscribed with "Moses is the messenger of God" instead of the usual Muslim text "Muhammad is the messenger of God."

The presence of Islamic coins in several Viking hoards is explained when you remember that many Mediterranean people employed Vikings as mercenaries and guards. The Islamic dirham was widely used then in the Eastern and Southern coasts of the Mediterranean, and the name "dirham" for a coin is still in use today. I'd like to go into a little more detail about it tomorrow, and take a closer look at that Moses coin.

Until then, Happy New Year.

The Cuerdale Hoard

The Vale of York Hoard was the largest hoard since the Cuerdale Hoard. So what was special about Cuerdale? Well, the York Hoard had over 600 items; the Staffordshire Hoard about 4600; Cuerdale, found in 1840, contained more than 8600, the largest Viking hoard ever in the United Kingdom, and surpassed by only one other in the world.

Cuerdale is a parish in the Duchy of Lancaster with very few buildings nowadays. Some workmen repairing an embankment of the nearby River Ribble found a lead box protruding from a bend. It was claimed by the local bailiffs who kept it intact and gave it to Queen Victoria, owner of the Duchy, who in turn gave it to the British Museum. After examining the contents, they were distributed to museums and others, with the greater part kept by the British Museum in the Coins and Medals Department.

The majority of the hoard was silver coins (over 7000) from different areas: the Viking kingdoms of eastern England, Alfred the Great's Wessex, and coins from overseas (one Byzantine coin, early Scandinavian coins, Islamic dirhams, Papal and North Italian coins, and 1,000 Frankish Carolingian coins). Many of the coins probably came from raids on other kingdoms. Besides coins the hoard contained jewelry and hacksilver.

The dates on the coins suggest that it was buried by 910CE but not much before 905. The Ribble flows into the Irish Sea and was a frequent landing spot for those coming from Ireland. The Vikings had been expelled from Dublin in 902, and this hoard might have been buried by Vikings on their way from Ireland for temporary safekeeping because transporting such a large collection made the traveler a target. It may have been intended to finance a re-conquest of Ireland. Why they never returned we will never know.

There is a curious legend in the area, that "Anyone who stood on the south bank of the River Ribble at Walton le Dale, and looked up river towards Ribchester, would be within sight of the richest treasure in England." When and how this legend began no one could say, but it suggests vague knowledge of the treasure, as if it were a more recent stashing in memory. One theory is that, during the reign of Richard II, a Sir Thomas de Molyneux who lived nearby and intended to use it to support Richard, possessed it and hid it there. It is possible that comments made in the late 14th century led to the legend.

After three posts on "largest" hoards, we now will turn to the absolute, unconditionally largest Viking hoard ever uncovered. For this we turn from England to Sweden, and the Spillings Hoard...next time.

The Staffordshire Hoard

With almost 4600 items, the Staffordshire Hoard is the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver jewelry found in England. Another distinction it holds is the 3500 pieces of fine garnet cloisonné jewelry it includes.

Found by a metal detectorist in 2009, the hoard was buried between 650 and 675 when the area was part of the Kingdom of Mercia. Individual artifacts have been dated (based on art style) to the 6th century. Originally fewer than 4000 items, in the years following its discovery, careful digging in the spot has unearthed more. A ten-year recovery and conservation project has recently ended, intended to clean up, identify, and re-assemble the pieces, many of which weigh less than a gram. You can read a little more at the Stoke Museums website.

The Staffordshire Hoard casts new light on 7th century Anglo-Saxon life, but not daily life. None of the pieces are linked to domestic occupations, nor are any likely to have been used by women.

Although the term "jewelry" used above is accurate, none of the pieces was intended for peace-time: they are all parts of military equipment, such as parts of swords (hilts, pommels, a scabbard loop), and decorative pieces that had come off of shields, etc. Stripping the decorative pieces off the weapons of your defeated enemies was a common practice, even mentioned in Beowulf (ll.2985-90) when a defeated enemy is stripped of valuables that are then presented to the king, to be distributed fairly by him. This hoard may be the result of a distribution, or a king's pre-distribution cache.

There is a strip of gold inscribed with what seems to be a quotation from the Bible: Surge Domine et dissipentur inimici tui et fugiant qui oderunt te a facie tua ("Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee." Numbers 10:35)

There are a couple crosses in the hoard, but folded up. It is suggested that the folding indicates that the hoard was stashed by pagans with no reverence for the cross symbol. Alternately, it could have been folded simply to fit it into a smaller space, or because the hoarder wished to "deconsecrate" it before stashing it away.

Now, for the absolute largest hoard of all in terms of individual items (not just jewelry), we turn to the aforementioned Cuerdale Hoard, found in 1840 in England. That's for the next post.

Vale of York Hoard

The Vale of York Hoard was the largest hoard of Viking coins since the Cuerdale Hoard (you will see the words "largest" and "Cuerdale" again in the very near future). The illustration shows the silver bowl in which someone decided to stash and bury over 600 silver coins and other artifacts in 927CE.

It was discovered in 2007 by a father-son team using metal detectors in an unplowed field. They brought the find intact to the British Museum. An archaeological dig in the spot shortly after revealed no sign of a settlement, suggesting that the person who hid it went far afield to keep it away from others.

The silver bowl had been lined with gold, and filled with 617 silver coins and 65 other artifacts, including hacksilver and a gold arm ring. The whole had been enclosed in sheets of lead to preserve it. The coins were not all of the same minting: there were coins with Christian, Islamic, and Norse pagan symbols. Dating the coins to the late 9th and early 10th century gave a date after which the hoard could not have been assembled.

The variety of sources for the coins was not the only surprise. The owner was widely traveled, or was the recipient of widely traveled goods. The silver vessel seems to have come from a Carolingian artist, and one coin is a dirham, from Samarkand (present-day Uzbekistan).

How did research lead to such a specific date for burial as 927? In that year, Æthelstan captured York from the Vikings, the final stage of his campaign to recapture Britain from the Vikings. In July of that year he met with the kings of Scotland and Wales to receive their acknowledgement of his authority. He struck silver coins commemorating himself as EDELSTAN REX TO BRIE ("Æthelstan, King of all Britons"). One of these coins in mint condition exists in the hoard, suggesting that it was one of the last additions to the collection and the hoard would have been hidden shortly after.

The Vale of York Hoard (also called the Harrogate Hoard and the Vale of York Viking Hoard) gives a glimpse into the economic breadth of early 10th century Britain. Labeled officially as a "treasure," it had to be offered to museums (instead of kept by the finder or given to descendants of the original owners). Valued at a little over 1.4 million dollars, it was purchased jointly by the British Museum and the York Museums Trust. It is displayed now in the Yorkshire Museum.

Now, let's look at another "largest" hoard, the Staffordshire Hoard.

What Is Hacksilver?

Silver has always been valuable as a unit of exchange, but it would be wrong to assume silver was always in the form of coins or small (or large) bars. It might be shaped into bracelets or chains or other items, such as a decorative pin or brooch, etc.

Those who wanted silver—for themselves or to trade—did not always need a pin or a bracelet, however. Sometimes it was only necessary to have enough silver of sufficient value to exchange for what you wanted. If the item you wished to purchase was worth less silver than the weight of the silver item in your hand, what would you do? Simple: you would hack off the amount you need.

Hacksilver (from German "hacksilber," meaning exactly what it looks like) refers to pieces of silver that are incomplete, hacked from a larger chunk or finished item, or simply from a time prior to coin-making becoming the norm. The picture above comes from the British Museum, and if you care to click this link, you can see close-ups of many pieces of hacksilver and their sizes.

Picts and Vikings collected—through pillaging, but also through trade—hacksilver—it was easier than finding and mining and smelting ore on their own, and some of the largest hoards of hacksilver are connected to those groups. The Traprain Law Treasure (Traprain holds an ancient hill fort in Scotland), found in 1919, contains 53 pounds of Late Roman silver tableware, all of high quality silver and all sliced up into smaller pieces. It was either given by Romans to Picts, or taken by Picts and stashed underground.

Hacksilver was not just a Pictish and Viking trend; silver was considered valuable long before it was turned into coins. What was Southern Phoenicia has produced several hoards of hacksilver dating as far back as 1200BCE. The collection of these sites is known as the Cisjordan Corpus. The silver came from Sardinia and Spain, showing that there was trade across the length of the Mediterranean a very long time ago.

Here's some interesting trivia: the Russian unit of currency, the ruble, is derived from the verb "rubit" (рубить), meaning "to chop." Hacksilver is a well-known concept in a popular computer game series.

Speaking of huge collections of valuable metals tucked away long ago and found in modern times, let's go treasure hunting and look at some hoards, starting with the Vale of York Hoard.

Pictish Metalwork

Besides an impressive array of carved stone slabs, the Picts also did some sophisticated metalwork. One important piece is the Whitecleuch Chain, found in Scotland in 1869.

Dated to between 400 and 800 CE, the Chain is made from 22 pies of linked silver rings with a totals length of almost 20 inches. The piece that encloses the chain, making it a necklace, is inscribed with Pictish symbols, notably a double-disk and a zigzag pattern (looking like a plant stalk) from Class I and Class II patterns. The patterns on this are similar to those found on a silver plaque in the Norrie's Law Hoard.

Norrie's Law Hoard is one of the largest Pictish hoards ever found. Found in 1819 on the Largo Estate in Fife, Scotland, it originally was 170 pieces of silver coins, jewelry, and artifacts totaling 28 pounds—alas, much of it was given away or melted down. The hoard includes a silver plaque with a near-identical depiction of the same design found on the Whitecleuch Chain, suggesting a serious importance to this particular pattern. A similar design is found on a carved stone at Falkland.

There are 11 chains (or fragments of chains) found in Britain (four in Scotland) that are considered Pictish. They are assumed to have belonged to people of high status, as supposedly would the Norrie's law plaque.

As with Pictish stone carving, Pictish metalwork also can be divided into classes or phases. The earlier phase is mostly silver objects with some enamel decoration. The Norrie's Law Hoard falls into this category Later, there evolved a variety of styles (likely influenced by their neighbors) of spirals, interlace, filigree with glass insets (note that glass requires a higher furnace heat than silver).

A question you would not think to ask is "where did they get the silver?" The Picts did not have a significant mining operation, so they had to find silver that someone else had mined and purified. Tomorrow, let's talk about hacksilver.

Pictish Art

Much of existing Pictish art is carved on standing stones and falls into three "classes."

The oldest art falls into Class I (dated to the 6th through 9th centuries) and consists of primitive stone slabs (irregular shapes, un-smoothed surface) with simple geometric figures and some naturalistic figures (animals). Some shown here (see illustration) have no clear interpretation, and may have been used as boundary markers or to identify certain clans.

The designs were incised first with a simple rough punch and hammer, and then the line was widened and deepened with a chisel. The incised lines are smooth, so were likely rubbed with stone to eliminate roughness.

Second row, far-right in the illustration is what's called the "Pictish beast," but its identification is the source of much debate. Whatever it was, it had some significance since it accounts for 40% of all animal figures in Pictish stone carving. It has been described as a kelpie, a seahorse, a dolphin, or some monster; some have even suggested it represents the Loch Ness monster.

Class II stones are roughly rectangular and have symbols that are visibly linked with Christianity. They are often referred to as cross slabs because they depict crosses on one or both sides. They include Celtic geometric knot work as well. They date to the 8th and 9th centuries, so they started to appear prior to the disappearance of Class I carvings. Carving in Class II went beyond simple incising and brought the images out in relief.

Class III graduated to sculpture, in that the rectangular slab was not a canvas on which to carve a design: it was stone from which an actual shape was to be freed. Class III also abandons the pre-Christian symbols and lines, becoming similar to what was being produced by their Gaelic neighbors

The Picts also did some impressive metalwork, which I'll talk about next time.

Burghead Fort

On the Moray Firth in Scotland is the remains of a Pictish fort, called Burghead Fort because of its proximity to the small town of Burghead. Pictured here is a 3D rendering made by the University of Aberdeen after extensive archaeological work.

What we know of the Pictish presence in what is now Scotland does not suggest that they tended toward collecting in large population centers; settlements—if any—around royal forts were the norm. If there were a capital city for the Picts, however, this was it.

Carbon dating shows the main walls constructed perhaps as early as the 3rd century, but additional layers of walls were added over time. A Late Bronze Age spearhead and a coin from Nero's time suggest that the place may have been used earlier and taken over by Picts: its location on a promontory made it easily defensible. It fell out of use after the time of the Viking raids.

It would have taken a lot of effort to conquer: the walls were eight meters thick and six meters high. Oak logs were nailed together with 8" iron spikes to make a framework which was then filled with stone and rubble. The construction makes clear that whomever wanted it built had access to a very large workforce.

It was geographically at the center of the Pictish Kingdom of Fortriu. It seems that Fortriu was the most powerful of the Pictish kingdoms, and Burghead was likely the seat of its kings. Early records sometimes refer to Fotriu as if it encompassed all of Pictland, suggesting its prominence. Adomnán's Life of Columba describes the fort of a Pictish king as being situated where Burghead is. Bede describes the same king as rex potentissimus or "very powerful king," further suggesting that whomever ruled Burghead was more powerful than other Pictish kings.

In the 19th century, its remains were dismantled for their materials. About 30 stone panels carved with images of bulls were noted before being incorporated into the quay walls of the harbor. The handful remaining above water are in museums and the Burghead Visitor Center.*

...which I guess is as good a segue as any to Pictish art and artifacts, for which you'll have to check this space tomorrow.

*Their website has an outline of one of the carved bulls on its main page.