When we think of Vikings, we often see grey-brown figures in undyed wool. That is a mistake. Whoever could afford it wore colour – glowing red, deep blue, rich yellow. These colours did not come from a shop but from plants, skill and patience. A look at the dyeing craft and the surprisingly colourful world of the North.
The most important dyestuffs grew in the field and by the wayside. Red came from the root of madder (Rubia tinctorum), blue from woad (Isatis tinctoria), yellow from weld (Reseda) or other herbs. To these were added lichens, barks and onion skins. From a few plants a whole palette could be won – and by over-dyeing also green, violet and brown.
Dyeing was no child's play. The wool had to be mordanted so the colour would hold; temperature, time and recipe decided success or failure. Woad, for instance, yields its blue only after a mysterious fermentation. Dyeing was experiential knowledge, mostly in women's hands, and a dyed garment was a sign of skill and wealth.
That we know this so precisely we owe to chemistry. Analyses of textile remains from Birka, Haithabu and the Oseberg ship have proven the old dyestuffs – red from madder, blue from woad, yellow from weld. Remains of precious silk and fine bands show: among the upper class, colour was the point.
In the graves lay no grey rags, but remains of red, blue and yellow – the colours of a people that loved colour. Description after dye analyses of Viking-age textile finds (including Birka, Haithabu)
The “grey Viking” is an invention of film. In truth people loved bold, glowing colours – just as we love it when a motif steps clear and rich from the material. If you like, discover more about the cloth and dress of the North in our piece on Viking clothing.
Viking-age textiles were coloured: dye plants such as madder (red), woad (blue) and weld (yellow) are proven by dye analyses (including HPLC) on finds from Birka, Haithabu and the Oseberg ship. Dyeing required mordanting, experience and care and was mostly in women's hands. Dyed clothing and imported silk were signs of rank and wealth.
The “grey, dirty Viking” is a modern cliché (film and television). But one should not overdo the opposite either: not everyone wore bright colours – the rich tones, especially red and true blue, were laborious and costly and thus a mark of the upper class. What is certain are the proven dyestuffs; how widespread which colour was remains in part interpretation of the find record.
Viking clothing & fashion · The Mästermyr tool chest · Viking jewellery · Herbs & healing of the Vikings · Hacksilver – silver as currency.