Description
Heading : Viking Bronze Calendar Amulet Pendant. 10th-11th Century
Material: Bronze
Period: Viking/Early Medieval
Date: 9th to 11th century
Origin: Northern Europe
Condition: VF slight break to suspension loop. but wonderful dark patina.
Description: An exquisite. circular-shaped pendant ornamented with a solar motif and monthly symbols represented by raised dots. each partially joined to a scalloped six-sided pattern. two months to each point; suspension loop to top; plain reverse.
Size and Weight: 35mm. 29mm. 8.7g
Features and Provenance: From an Austrian collector
The moon and sun were important to the Norseman. their calendar was based on the lunar cycle rather than the sun and they only had two seasons. Summer and Winter. Each season had 6 months. each month had 30 days with the start of the month set to start on a specific day of a specific week. To the farming man of the north. the calendar had little meaning but each month’s name was related to harvest. food types and weather conditions. What happened in ‘slaughter month’ is anybody’s guess! When the Viking Sagas were written time was denoted by the reign of kings rather than dates. making it very difficult to tie up historical occurrences with other world events. Although the Gregorian and Julian calendars were used elsewhere in the world. the modern method of yearly measurement was not fully introduced until as late as the 16th century.
Condition Summary. This varies with the age of the artefact and there are grades between
Extremely Fine (EF). Very slight traces of wear. all parts of pattern etc present. visible and clear
Very Fine (VF). Some signs of wear on the higher parts of the relief. all parts of pattern etc present. but may be worn
Fine (F). Wear on the artefact and parts of item and pattern etc may be missing or not visible
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