Diaspora Identities in Death: A Comparative Analysis of Ethnically-Expressive Grave Goods from Iceland and Ireland

• Main Author: Colin Scott McKinstry 1990-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Miðaldafræði; Fornminjar; Víkingaöld; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/43824

During the Viking Age, Scandinavians traveled widely outside their homelands to places with established communities of Scandinavian ethnic identity. In two cases, Iceland and Ireland, comprehensive catalogues of Viking Age burials are available allowing comparisons between two groups of Scandinavian settlers. Each assemblage can be characterized by the types and frequencies of artifacts in it, and the two can then be systematically compared to throw light on any differences that may be evident. One difference is chronological as the Irish material derives primarily from the 9th century while the Icelandic is from the 10th and this is reflected in the artifact types in each case, although certain classes of artifacts from burials in Dublin suggest slightly earlier affiliations than traditionally assumed. The Irish assemblage is dominated by weapons, particularly swords, of types known in Scandinavian graves of the period but including some with earlier continental origins. The number and type of oval brooches suggests a significant contribution of high-status women in Dublin displaying Scandinavian styles. The Icelandic assemblage, although larger, is considerably more modest (evidenced by the paucity of swords) and features artifact types not only from a wider geographic origin within Scandinavia, but also styles which developed within insular Scandinavian diaspora communities. These differences in burial material suggest identity-signaling strategies at play in these two communities served different roles. Á víkingaöld urðu til samfélög með norræna sjálfsmynd víða utan Norðurlandanna. Fyrir tvö slík tilfelli, á Íslandi og Írlandi, eru aðgengileg heildstæð gagnasöfn um grafir og haugfé. Með því að flokka haugféð eftir gerð og tíðni gripanna er hægt að bera saman þessa tvo hópa norrænna innflytjenda. Skýr munur er á því að gerðfræðin bendir eindregið til að írska haugféð sé að mestu leyti frá 9. öld en það íslenska frá 10. öld. Athygli vekur að sumar gripagerðir frá Dublin gefa til kynna að þar hafi víkingar ...