[Sca-cooks] Raising a Horn to Nordic Drinking Heritage

[Stefan li Rous]

Here is a book that many here might be interested in.
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A new book describes the fascinating history of drinking horns and their importance within Scandinavian culture where their roots stretch back into at least the Iron Age as several graves have been found to contain examples from this period.

A long history
During Classical Antiquity, it was the Thracians and Scythians who were known for their custom of drinking from actual horns but in Bronze Age Mycenaean Greece, although they had retained their shape the materials used were clay or metal. Their spread across Central Europe and into Scandanavia by the 5th century BC can be traced by their fittings found in various graves.

The Gallehus horns, discovered north of Møgeltønder in Southern Jutland, Denmark, were created from sheet gold. Designed to look like auroch horns, they were found in 1639 and in 1734 respectively at locations only 20 metres apart and date to the early 5th century BC. Sadly the originals were stolen and melted down in 1802.

Some drinking horns were even imported into Scandinavia from the Roman Empire and made from fragile glass. However, it is in the Viking Age that the drinking horn fills the sagas and mythology and are found throughout their world. Fortunately, decorative metal terminals and mounts recovered archaeologically show that the drinking horn was much more widespread than the small number of preserved horns would otherwise indicate.

Viking Age

Horn fragments of Viking Age drinking vessels are rarely preserved, but the ones that are show both cattle and goat favoured.  However, the majority were from domestic cattle and held around half a litre.
Significantly larger auroch horn examples (as the size of the fittings attest), found at sites such as the  Sutton Hoo burial would have been the exception.

Banned by the church

Suddenly in the 1100s  the use of drinking horns stopped in Scandinavia, apparently banned by the church which saw them as symbolic of the older pagan culture. A hundred years later though the the practice resumed, and most of the medieval drinking horns come from 1300-1400 ‘s with many masterpieces decorated with gilt, silver and bronze.
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http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/01/2014/raising-a-horn-to-nordic-drinking-heritage

Amazon has it for $39.60, but is out of stock right now. It's only a couple of weeks old!  The museum price is 33.20 in Euros. so Amazon might be better.

The museum URL is: http://www.museumsbutikken.dk/productinfo/9788776021894/?group=Bøger

Only 157 pages, but I'm tempted.

Stefan

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THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****