‘The feather cloak whistled’: Bird Fibulae, Falconry and Powerful Women in Seventh Century Scandinavia

The bird fibulae were used for a relatively short period in the seventh century in the southern Scandinavian Late Iron Age, the Vendel Period. A close visual and contextual analysis of the bird fibulae propose that their form and decoration indicate a falconry association. Their outline and ornamentation are suggestive of raptors and the tethering of these birds in falconry practice. Their archaeological and social contexts, and possible pre-Christian mythological connections suggest that they were primarily associated with high-status women, the goddess Freyja, and the practice of falconry (hawking). The socio-political world of the bird fibulae, and the messages they engendered, embodied and communicated, was maintained in a spectrum of alliances and conflicts in the realms in southern Scandinavia, before there was further regime change and the bird fibulae and women who wore them, lost their power. The bird fibulae in association with raptors enables a new perspective on the artworks, social mobility and political power.