Saturday 13 August 2022

The Vikings Are Here!

I blame Hollywood - historians say that Vikings probably didn't wear helmets-with-horns most of the time. Yet that is what people picture when "Viking Warrior" is mentioned
The other week, on our way home from a family trip south, Bob and I stopped in Thetford for a bite of lunch, and visited the "Ancient House Museum, currently hosting 
a Vikings Exhibition.
This wonderful 500year old building was gifted to the people of Thetford by Frederick Duleep Singh, of Elveden House, and opened as the town museum in 1924. [Fred was the son of Duleep Singh**, last Maharajah of the Sikh Empire who came to Britain in 1853]
The Museum is fascinating, and as I say, we looked particularly at the Viking Exhibition. 
The staff have worked very hard to make the info panels understandable, and there are plenty of things for school parties to look at! They were sad that covid rules mean there are no longer baskets of costumes for the children to dress up in. I did persuade Robert the Fearsome to don a helmet for this picture. He can't see properly [the helmet wouldn't accommodate his specs] Thetford is a fascinating place- 1000 years ago it was the sixth largest town in England! It is hard to imagine that now. 



The Museum staff are very proud of the "Thor's Hammer" pendant on display - it was found near about 10 miles away, and is usually kept in the British Museum. We usually think of the Vikings as warlike invaders, and a
lso on display, is the Hingham hoard - showing coins marked with the king's name and a cross.
We forget they were over here for around 300 years- and furthermore many adopted Christianity, abandoning the Norse religions. This plaque shows St John the Evangelist [his symbol was an eagle]
Amazingly, just a few days after our visit, another fascinating discovery was announced. 
In a field near King's Lynn, a detectorist dug up this Viking pendant. A'st Edmiund's coin' just like the ones from the Hingham Hoard, had been hammered into shape and a hole pierced in the top - to make a pendant bearing not the warlike hammer of Thor, but the rather the cross, the Christian symbol of God's love. 
I much prefer Bob the Loving Christian to Robert The Fearsome Viking! We had free entry to the Ancient House as it is one of the Museums covered by our Norfolk Museums Subscription - but it is well worth a visit, lots to see and other [non Viking] stuff on display. And 'Tall Orders' round the corner serves good food at fair prices!
**Duleep Singh and his fascinating family deserve their own post - watch this space.




12 comments:

  1. That sounds an amazing place. I know when I read about Anglo Saxon and Viking history, Thetford comes up a lot. I love the wonderful opportunistic way of the Vikings - fight, trade or settle, whatever would work. It sounds like an amazing place.

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    1. Thetford has all sorts of quirky attractions to commend it - the Dad's Army Museum, Charles Burrell Steam Museum, AND the Ancient House...If you are travelling up the A11, it's a good little diversion for a walk and a snack.

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    2. Dad's Army Museum? I need to find a way to Thetford!

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    3. It is only open on Saturdays and a few Sundays http://dadsarmythetford.org.uk/

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  2. So much wonderful history! There is a theory that the Vikings reached North America several hundred years before Christopher Columbus did.

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    1. I think this is an interesting theory. I know that fabric and [knitting] pins were found in Newfoundland, suggesting a Norse settlement there. But it is also true that,sadly, a lot of the "evidence" supposedly discovered in the USA has been shown to be forged, by people eager to prove their 'Viking' descent. The jury is still out on this one, I think!!

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  3. What a fascinating place to visit. There is always something to learn.

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    1. And the staff were so friendly and knowledgeable (including suggesting Tall Orders, our lunch venue!)

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  4. Poor King Edmund! But at least the Vikings were eventually exposed to Christianity during their time in England. I don't know too much about the Viking settlement in Canada but I guess they were put off by the bitterly cold winters and the black flies and mosquitos in summer!

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    1. Don't get a job with the Canadian Tourist Board, B, will you!! [I think the Vikings were already used to bitterly cold winters though]

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  5. According to my Ancestry DNA I come from Viking roots! I have no helmets with horns! Perhaps I should get some?

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    1. It's far too hot for helmets (with or without horns) However ”to go berserk" comes from the Viking phrase "to take off your shirt". That seems more appropriate in this weather

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