Moms style
The Mammen style (also called: Younger Jelling style) is a Viking Age art style in Denmark and Scandinavia . Its distribution period extends from the middle of the 10th to the beginning of the 11th century . It is named after the ax found in a chamber grave of Mammen in Jutland . He appears on sumptuous metal utensils, pieces of jewelry, horn carvings and picture stones from this period.
Emergence
The Mammen style emerged in the middle of the 10th century by slowly changing the forms of the previous Jelling style . The animal figures used in the Jelling style were characterized by the fact that they were designed to be long, narrow and ribbon-like, but over time they grew in width and acquired stately bodies in the Mammen style. The proportions reduced their degree of abstraction. The hip spirals known from the Jelling style became larger. As a further important element, in contrast to the earlier Viking Age styles, more emphasis was placed on floral elements. Suggestions for this probably came from the Franconian and Anglo-Saxon regions. In Western Europe , leaf patterns, especially grapevines and acanthus leaves , have been used in book illumination and metal art since the 9th century . These influences were recorded and processed in the Mammen style. The Mammen style thus approached the simultaneous English and German art in terms of motifs and formal language.
characterization
The art styles of the Viking Age are ornamental styles and are composed of three subject areas:
- Figures, i.e. people and depictions of animals
- Plant representations (tendrils, leaves) and
- geometric figures (circles, triangles, spirals).
In contrast to previous styles, the Mammen style no longer focuses primarily on figures. For the first time, plant patterns appear in the mummy style. For this purpose, acanthus and vine tendrils from Western European models are incorporated into the formal language of the Scandinavian artists and reworked. In earlier Viking Age styles the elements of the ornaments are often put together in symmetrically arranged groups. For example, often on circular brooches that consist of the same ornament thirds or quarters in the Borre style and are thus laid out around a center. In the Jelling style, the immediate predecessor, the long, ribbon-shaped figures are often arranged symmetrically around a central axis. The Mammen style, on the other hand, no longer attaches particular importance to symmetry. As a second feature, the representation is extended to the available area of the object without duplicating, mirroring or other filling through further secondary motifs. Thus, in the Mammen style, the motifs are often individual and fill the available area without any additional motifs. Thirdly, in the Mammen style, clearly asymmetrical lines are used in winding, tendril-like outgrowths. This feature arises from the need to completely fill the available space in a harmonious way, even without auxiliary motifs. The more compact mammalian carcasses have a larger area that is filled by various patterns. Either points are used for this or tickets are issued. Analogous to the larger animal carcasses, the spiral hip joints already used in the Jelling style become larger. The main outlines of the figures are often highlighted with a second line on the inside. As in the Jelling style, the head continues to be shown in profile, and a tuft of hair often appears on the forehead and neck.
The Mammen style is sometimes seen as a particularly elegant style, as it does not appear on mass-produced items, but predominantly on individual pieces made of precious material such as silver or walrus ivory. This assessment may be due to the circumstances of the find: From the late Viking Age only a few graves with jewelry are known and the finds are therefore difficult to generalize.
Mommy Ax
The mommy ax is one of the most beautiful finds from the Viking Age. It is made of iron with silver inlays. The ax motifs can be perceived as Christian or pagan. There is a tree motif on one side. It can symbolize the Christian tree of life or the pagan tree Yggdrasil . On the other side an animal figure - perhaps the Gyldenkam rooster or the phoenix bird .
Large animal on King Harald's rune stone in Jelling, Jutland, Denmark. Moms style. Redrawing with the presumed original coloring. Tail and mane run out in acanthus tendrils.
Two of the fields of the Bamberg shrine, decorated in the style of moms. Above a lion with its head turned backwards, below an eagle (beak above left, wings above right, tail below right, claw below left). Everything embedded in tendril braids.
Field from the lost Cordula shrine at Cammin. Lion embedded in the surrounding tendrils. Mom style.
Sample finds
- Iron, silver-inlaid ax and decorated textile remains from the chamber grave of Chief von Mammen , Jutland, Denmark, Danmarks National Museum, Copenhagen
- Great stone from Jelling, Jutland, Denmark
- Bamberg shrine made of gilded copper, dentin (probably walrus), wood, Bavarian National Museum, Munich
- Shrine of Cammin , horn (probably elk antlers), wood, gilded bronze, Danmarks Nationalmuseum, Copenhagen (replica, original lost in WWII )
- Thorleif's Stone, Kirk Braddan, Isle of Man, UK
- Sword hilt from Sigtuna, Uppland, Sweden, Sigtuna Museer
literature
- H. Andersen: Dendrokronologisk datering af Mammengraven . In: Iversen, M. et al., 1991: Mammen. Grav, art and samfund i vikingetid. Aarhus 1991.
- Reinhard Barth: Pocket dictionary Vikings . Piper, Munich Zurich 2002, ISBN 3-492-23420-8 (short description).
- Ewert Cagner: The Vikings . 3. Edition. Burkhard-Verlag Ernst Heyer, Essen 1992, ISBN 3-87117-000-3 (with several detailed sample drawings and large-format photos).
- Torsten Capelle: Cultural and Art History of the Vikings . Scientific Book Society Darmstadt, Darmstadt 1986, ISBN 3-534-02509-1 .
- Hildegard Elsner: Viking Museum Haithabu: Showcase of an early city . 2nd Edition. Karl Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1994 (overview of individual styles with sample drawings).
- James Graham-Campbell: The Lives of the Vikings . Universitas Verlag in FA Herbig Verlagsbuchhandlung GmbH, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-8004-1297-7 (popular science, detailed presentation and photos).
- Joachim Hermann [Ed.]: Vikings and Slavs . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1982 (overview with sample drawings).
- Arnold Muhl and Rainer-Maria Weiss: Vikings, Varangians and Normans: the Scandinavians and Europe 800 to 1200 . Staatliche Museen, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-88609-304-2 (exhibition catalog with text contributions and pictures in the catalog section).
- Michael Müller-Wille and Lars Olof Larsson: Animals - People - Gods. Viking age art styles and their modern reception . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-525-86309-8 (for the chronological classification of wooden finds and the duration of individual art styles).
- AG Smith: Viking Designs . Dover Publications Inc., Mineola 1999, ISBN 0-486-40469-2 (numerous disordered drawings of various Viking Age styles).
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Graham-Campbell: Vikings . Page 144.
- ^ Fuglesang in: Arnold Muhl and Reiner-Maria Weiss: Wikinger, Waräger und Normannen, page 179.
- ↑ This and the following two features are named after: Signe Horn Fuglesang: Animal ornament: the late Viking Period . In: Michael Müller-Wille and Lars Olof Larsson: Animals - People - Gods. Viking age art styles and their modern reception . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001, page 159f.
- ↑ Capelle: Art History . Page 117.
- ↑ According to Nordic mythology, the Gyldenkam sits on the Yggdrasil tree. He wakes Odin and the Viking warriors every morning .
- ↑ after Smith: Viking Design , p. 43.
- ↑ a b after Smith: Viking Design , p. 26.
Web links
- Danmarks National Museum
- Sigtuna Museer
- Bavarian National Museum
- Isle of Man Guide (English) - Thorleif's Cross
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Previous art style Jelling style |
Mammen style mid-10th century - early 11th century |
Subsequent art style Ringerike style |