Organizing Warriors in the 6th and 7th century AD
Late Germanic Iron Age weapon burials from Bornholm, Denmark, have been used to suggest the presence of a Merovingian inspired organization of warriors including conscripts. This article compares these burials’ inventory, focusing on the first part of the Late Ger- manic Iron Age (AD 520-630), to t...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Editorial Board of DJA
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Danish Journal of Archaeology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://tidsskrift.dk/dja/article/view/143409 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832576624505126912 |
|---|---|
| author | Jens Molter Ulriksen |
| author_facet | Jens Molter Ulriksen |
| author_sort | Jens Molter Ulriksen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Late Germanic Iron Age weapon burials from Bornholm, Denmark, have been used to suggest the presence of a Merovingian inspired organization of warriors including conscripts. This article compares these burials’ inventory, focusing on the first part of the Late Ger-
manic Iron Age (AD 520-630), to the distribution of similar types of metal stray-finds. Mapping the stray-finds from Bornholm indicates the whereabouts of the warriors and it is discussed whether this can contribute to a plausible representation of warriors and a geographically rooted organization of warriors. This evidence is tested on equivalent stray-find material from Sjælland and adjacent islands where weapon burials are almost absent. The study shows a difference between the burial inventory and the stray-finds regarding relative numbers of specific object types, and it is clear that the standardized set of weapons originally assumed to picture the conscripted warrior cannot be found.
It is proposed that answers to how, why and in what numbers armed men were gathered are to be found in a combination of the martial mentality and ideology of the society in general and in a social code of conduct with mutual obligations between free men and leaders and between leaders of different ranks.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7101da86c856430a887ba10d0379f5b2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2166-2290 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Editorial Board of DJA |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Danish Journal of Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj-art-7101da86c856430a887ba10d0379f5b22025-01-31T01:03:18ZengEditorial Board of DJADanish Journal of Archaeology2166-22902025-01-0114110.7146/dja.v14i1.143409Organizing Warriors in the 6th and 7th century ADJens Molter Ulriksen0Museum Southeast Denmark Late Germanic Iron Age weapon burials from Bornholm, Denmark, have been used to suggest the presence of a Merovingian inspired organization of warriors including conscripts. This article compares these burials’ inventory, focusing on the first part of the Late Ger- manic Iron Age (AD 520-630), to the distribution of similar types of metal stray-finds. Mapping the stray-finds from Bornholm indicates the whereabouts of the warriors and it is discussed whether this can contribute to a plausible representation of warriors and a geographically rooted organization of warriors. This evidence is tested on equivalent stray-find material from Sjælland and adjacent islands where weapon burials are almost absent. The study shows a difference between the burial inventory and the stray-finds regarding relative numbers of specific object types, and it is clear that the standardized set of weapons originally assumed to picture the conscripted warrior cannot be found. It is proposed that answers to how, why and in what numbers armed men were gathered are to be found in a combination of the martial mentality and ideology of the society in general and in a social code of conduct with mutual obligations between free men and leaders and between leaders of different ranks. https://tidsskrift.dk/dja/article/view/143409military organisationwarriorsweaponrymetal stray findsLate Germanic Iron Age |
| spellingShingle | Jens Molter Ulriksen Organizing Warriors in the 6th and 7th century AD Danish Journal of Archaeology military organisation warriors weaponry metal stray finds Late Germanic Iron Age |
| title | Organizing Warriors in the 6th and 7th century AD |
| title_full | Organizing Warriors in the 6th and 7th century AD |
| title_fullStr | Organizing Warriors in the 6th and 7th century AD |
| title_full_unstemmed | Organizing Warriors in the 6th and 7th century AD |
| title_short | Organizing Warriors in the 6th and 7th century AD |
| title_sort | organizing warriors in the 6th and 7th century ad |
| topic | military organisation warriors weaponry metal stray finds Late Germanic Iron Age |
| url | https://tidsskrift.dk/dja/article/view/143409 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jensmolterulriksen organizingwarriorsinthe6thand7thcenturyad |