Birka is one of the most popular Viking cities in history. The many Viking graves found in Birka provide an archaeological wealth of information about how the Vikings lived between the 10th and 11th centuries, what they wore and how they buried their dead. But not all areas where the Vikings lived had a consistent style. Fashion in clothing and art weigh slightly from each other in different areas.
Viking city Birka
In the 8th century Birka was a large Viking city. Birka was an important trading center with trade with many parts of Europe, as well as with Russia and further into Asia. In its heyday, Birka had a population of about 500 - 1000 people and the city flourished for up to two hundred years. Then it ceased to exist. Around the same time, the city of Sigtuna was founded about 30 km away and won the competition between the two. So Birka didn't become Jorvik (York) or Dublin. Instead, together with Hovgården on the neighboring island, it became a gold mine for archaeologists. Because there was minimal habitation afterwards, a lot has been preserved.
Rich & poor Vikings
As with most other peoples, the Vikings had a big difference between rich and poor. Wealth could even be read by the color of the clothing. Colors such as blue and purple were only accessible to the very wealthy, while earth tones such as brown and beige were accessible to a wider audience. Vikings carried their valuables with them in the form of jewelry. Often a piece of jewelry or a piece of a bracelet was used for payment that had a comparable value to what was being bought.
Viking Clothing
In terms of clothing, Viking Men wore a fairly simple composition. from this basic composition you can expand to a very luxurious Viking outfit. Wealthy Vikings decorated the edges of their tunics and kaftans, for example, with embroidery and ribbon weaving bands. The Viking man we have put together here is an ordinary middle class man and therefore cannot afford a sage from Asia.
Viking tunic
Viking men wore both short and long tunics. Under the tunic you can possibly wear an extra under tunic against the cold.
This tunic, for example, is a good under tunic: https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/undertunic-lofar-half-long-sleeves.html
These tunics are very suitable. Their rough weave makes them lifelike historical:
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/medieval-tunic-wolfram-brown.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-tunic-tronde-linen-brown.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/medieval-long-sleeved-tunic-brown.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/tunic-lodin-dark-grey.html
Viking trousers
Vikings from the Baltic region often wore puff trousers. These trousers are very well known as viking trousers and have also been found in images. Puff pants were probably only worn by the Vikings in the Baltic Sea area (Rusvik). But clothes perish quickly and the evidence for this is thin.
Examples of puff trousers are:
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-trousers-dublin-greygreen.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-trousers-rollo-black.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-trousers-dublin-black.html
Examples of other trousers are:
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/thorsberg-hose-ragnar-sand.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/thorsberg-hose-fenris-dark-gray.html
Viking winingas
This is the most famous piece of clothing of the Vikings. Viking men wore puttees or winingas. Their Germanic ancestors also wore similar leg coverings. The puttees cover the lower leg and ensure that no cold air gets between the shoe and the trousers. It is precisely this part that the body can quickly lose and is therefore important to protect. Later, in the 1st World War, the extraction was back. soldiers of various armies also wore them.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/leg-windsels-with-herringbone-motif-red.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/legwindsels-ubbe-blue.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/leg-wrappings-aki-grey.html
Puttees were secured with buckles
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/fibula-for-leg-wrappings-pair.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/rusvik-leg-wrapping-hooks.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/hooks-for-leg-wrappings-birka-grave-903.html
Viking kaftan
Vikings wore a kaftan above their tunic. The kaftan was also ideal for embroidering and decorating naturally to impress the neighbors. The caftan mainly served as protection against the cold climate. The different layers that the Viking Man wore made it possible, just like with the woman, to take off a layer or two when it got hot because believe it or not, Vikings also had warm weather and all actions were physically demanding.
Can women also wear a Viking kaftan?
There is no historical evidence for this. But our experience on the field has shown that women often miss a warm piece of clothing such as the kaftan. In our view, therefore, it cannot be ruled out that women will also have worn a caftan from time to time.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/kaftan-gustav-grey.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-caftan-rasoul-wool-grey.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/early-medieval-kaftan-njord-brown.html
Viking headgear
Both Viking men and Viking women wore head coverings. The head cools down quickly, which is why it was also important to keep warm. There were different styles of headgear and the chaperon had also been in use since at least the 4th century AD.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-cap-ragi-leather-brown.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/wool-viking-hat-ulf-yellow.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/embroidered-viking-hat-ulf-green.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/birka-viking-hat-green.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/chaperon-herringbone-motif-knud-olive-grey.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/birka-hat-herringbone-motif-brown.html
Viking belt
Vikings wore several belts. Belts held clothing together and were used to carry bags and other accessories. If you carry weapons and armor, it is advisable to use extra belts so that not all ballast is hanging on one belt and so that you can easily take off your sword without having to rebuild the whole lot.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/birka-belt.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/9th-century-viking-belt.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-belt-ringerike-style.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/birka-bag.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-bag-birka-deluxe.html
Viking shoes
Several Viking shoes have been found. In most cases, the Vikings wore turning shoes, so called because they were made inside out and then turned over. Vikings, like Germans, Romans and Middle Ages, had shoes that offered little support to the ankles. This can be a problem for modern people. That is why Viking boots are a popular solution.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-shoes.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-boots-jorvik.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-boots-oseberg.html
Viking weapons & armor
Of course this Viking feels quite naked without weapons and armor. That is why we have chosen this setup to equip the Viking with the most common basic weapons.
Viking axe
Vikings used axes for everyday activities such as chopping wood for fire. Making beautiful wooden farms and building ships. So every Viking had a few axes at home. And what could be easier than just taking such an ax with you on a raid.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-axe-bjorn-ragnarsson-with-runes.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-axe-ragnar-lodbrok-with-runes.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-axe-torstein-with-runes.html
Viking knife
Like Viking axes, every Viking also had a knife. It was even allowed for a slave to have his own knife. Knives were used all day long for all kinds of work.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/hand-forged-viking-knife-reykjavik.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/11th-century-viking-knife-jorvik.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-knife-asmund.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/scandinavian-knife-brodir.html
Viking seax
A very popular object that many Vikings carried with them was the sax or seax or scramasax. This small or large knife had one cutting edge and was a legacy of the Germanic ancestors. But Vikings also liked to continue to use this.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-seax-trondheim.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/dark-short-seax.html
No Viking sword?
Only a few wealthy Vikings could afford Viking swords. Viking swords were mostly made in the Solingen area of Germany. There were the best blacksmiths who made sword blades. The grip was usually made locally by a local blacksmith, requiring less skill than making a sword blade.
A suitable Viking sword would be:
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/10th-century-viking-sword-battle-ready.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/deepeeka-9th-century-viking-sword-torshov-battle-r.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/11th-century-anglo-saxon-sword-battle-ready.html
Viking shield
For the Vikings, their shield was just as important as the weapon they used to fight. Vikings preferred to fight in shield walls, which are walls formed by shields where the Vikings fought in a close-packed formation. The Viking shields were often large and provided with a shield boss in the middle. Behind the shield knob was the handle of the shield.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-shield-ragnar-120292998.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-shield-urnes-dragon.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-shield-midgard-snake.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-shield-halfdan.html
Viking helmet
Virtually no real Viking helmets have been found. The Gjermundbu helmet from Norway, the Yarm helmet from England and the Broe helmet from Sweden (although the latter is from the 7th century and therefore not yet Viking). All these helmets were spectacle helmets and that is why we chose a spectacle helmet.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-helmet-with-chainmail.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/viking-helmet-erik.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/dark-gjermundbu-helmet.html
Chain mail
Wealthier Vikings wore chainmail as body protection. Chain mail was very expensive and only the very rich could afford it. Nevertheless, chain mail was used throughout the Viking world on both sides of the battlefield.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/armor/chainmail/mail-hauberk/
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/cavalry-hauberk-round-rings-round-rivets.html
Leather shell armor
Some heavy infantry and cavalry also wore leather armor over their chain mail. These were the shock troops of the Vikings, often the strongest and most well-armed warriors. The 2nd layer of armor serves to counter stabs that might otherwise pass through the chain mail. Several sources report that with such layers of armor, arrows that hit the wearer sometimes just got stuck in the armor without doing any damage.
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/rfb-leather-viking-armor-black.html
https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/en/epic-armoury-rfb-fighter-leather-armour-brown.html