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Author: dick
Email: di-go at cox dot net
Date: 2009-01-03 18:33:13
Subject: tattoos during the viking age
My name is Dick Goldman and I have been a tattoo artist for almost 30 years. I am also a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). My SCA name is Ragnar the Skinn Illustrator and my persona is that of a Danish warrior and traveler during the approximate time period from 850 to 900.
I am currently doing a research paper on the art of tattooing, primarily in Europe and especially regarding the Anglo-Saxons, the Norsemen and the people from Scandinavia during what is commonly called the Viking Age. Unfortunately, resource information in the United States on this subject is very scarce and almost impossible to document.
I have been led to believe that a good number of the people of that time frame where tattooed. I have also been told that Old Icelandic is very close to the language that was spoken during that time period.
Is there a word in Old Icelandic or possibly in Old Norse from that time period for tattooing or tattoos or a series of words that would describe the process of being tattooed, getting a tattoo or having a tattoo. Also, do you have any idea of who might have done the tattoos. Would they have been a shaman, skald, healer or just anyone.
I would appreciate any and all information that is available on the Anglo Saxons, Norsemen and Teutonic Peoples as it relates to tattooing. For example, were tattoos considered religious, decorative, or both; what instruments might have been used to apply the tattoos; what types of materials could have been used for the inks and dyes?
So far the only resource that I have been able to find that mentions tattoos with the Nordic People is from the journal by Ibn Fadlan, and his journeys on the Volga River in Russia.
Any references or information with books, ISBN numbers, titles, authors, bibliographies, research, history sources and archeological sites you could provide me with would be of great benefit and truly appreciated.
If there is any cost involved with the above request, I would be willing to pay or purchase said documentation.
Thank you in advance for any and all assistance you are willing to give me. I look forward to hearing from you.