What did Vikings actually wear?

From the safety and smugness of the 21st century, we can often be derisive of people who lived in earlier times. Surely, many of us may be guilty of thinking that our ancestors, who lived in an era before running water or shopping malls, must have been covered in mud and mere rags for much of their lives.

However, whatever popular depictions there are of the filth and degeneracy of medieval life (a firm favorite of us here at The Viking Herald is the villagers either covered in mud or dead from the plague that feature heavily in the hilarious film Monty Python and the Holy Grail), the archeological record and literary sources refute this.

Archeological discoveries and research, coupled with the remains of textile fragments as well as literary references, have all helped us paint a picture of the dressing habits and clothing fashion of people from Viking societies, who lived more than a millennium ago.

The evidence is often fragmentary. Complete garments are rare, so much of what we know comes from small textile fragments, grave finds, brooches, belt fittings, shoes, written references, and images preserved on objects or tapestries.

Away from inaccurate depictions on the small and silver screen, people in Viking societies took clothing seriously, with color and tailoring important, and designs and fashions influenced by climate, trade, and social status.

We know that Viking warriors were only a small minority of the population of Viking societies, so we now turn to what the vast majority of people from Viking societies, the ordinary folk, wore on an everyday basis.

Everyday clothing

There is an old Scandinavian expression (which the author heard a million times during his more than a decade in Norway) that, "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes."

We know that Viking societies were prevalent throughout what we might kindly call "solar-challenged" environments.

This chilly climate saw most clothing made from either wool or linen. The former is absolutely essential to warm one's body, whilst the latter is used for lighter garments, often layered for extra warmth.

When the mercury rose, layers could be shed, and linen prevailed.

Men in Viking societies, when they weren't off fighting or raiding, often wore a linen undershirt that extended to the knees and a woolen tunic on top.

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