Materials: Bronze or Sterling Silver (hand cast), leather cord

Size: 65mm by 40mm // 2.5 inches by 1.5 inches

Viking Age Keys:

From Sweden to the British Isles, Vikings and their predecessors valued keys as a powerful and beautiful images of ownership. While both Viking men and women were buried with keys, a man’s key was often more decorative while a woman’s was both functional and elegant. Worn on necklaces or chains of brooches, the graves of women buried with their keys in the Viking Age far outnumber those of men. Viking women adorned in their keys showed their status and control of the household.

In the story Þrymskviða of the Poetic Edda, Thor dressed as Freya in order to trick a giant into returning his hammer, Mjölnir. His feminine guise is described in detail, including the adornment of a “housewife’s door keys” so that he will authentically appear as the feminine Freya.

No doubt, displaying your keys on your person was important for the Vikings.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to message me!

Lykos