Vendel
Vendel is a village in Tierp Municipality, in the Swedish region of Uppland. It is small, quiet and easy to miss. Yet an entire stretch of the Scandinavian Iron Age is named after it. Historians speak of the Vendel Period, and that name traces back to this one place. Why did a village beside a lake come to label a whole era? What lay beneath its churchyard? And how does a Swedish settlement connect to a famous royal burial in England? The answers begin with the water, the land and the kings who once drew their wealth from it.
Vendelsjön is a long stretch of inland water, and the village of Vendel looks out over it. Nearby, the Vendel river runs on until it meets the river Fyris. This landscape once held a royal estate. It belonged to Uppsala öd, a network of royal estates spread across the region. The medieval Swedish kings relied on such estates for income. Vendel was therefore a working piece of royal property, not a remote farming hamlet. Its fields and shoreline helped fund a crown. At the heart of the village, a stone church would eventually rise.
Work on Vendel Church, known in Swedish as Vendels kyrka, probably began in the latter half of the 13th century. Its builders most likely chose the Romanesque style. Around 1450, the church received brick vaults overhead. Visitors today are drawn above all by its murals. They are the work of Johannes Iwan, an artist who painted in Uppland during the 15th century. The church sits beside a churchyard, and the ground at its south-east corner held a far older secret.
From 1881 to 1883, the Swedish archaeologist Hjalmar Stolpe dug at Vendel. Stolpe lived from 1841 to 1905. His excavations uncovered 14 graves, found in and just past the south-east corner of the churchyard. Several of the dead had been laid in boats, some as long as nine metres. Archaeologists recognised the vessels by the many ship-rivets left in the soil. The graves were richly stocked. They held weapons, including fine swords, along with helmets, cauldrons and chains, beads, shields and tools. Many animals had been sacrificed alongside the dead, mostly horses. A later burial, Grave 3, contained an important set of bridle-mounts for a horse. Together the graves date from the later 6th century to the 8th century. Three of the helmets carried a surprising resemblance to one found far across the North Sea.
The helmets from Graves 1, 12 and 14 closely resemble the helmet from Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk, England. That English ship-burial dates to the early 7th century. Both sets of helmets show die-stamped plaques picturing scenes of warriors. The shield from Vendel Grave 12 also looks very like the Sutton Hoo shield. One stamped metal strip on the Vendel shield is die-linked to its counterpart at Sutton Hoo. That means the same die made both pieces. The English ship burial measures 27 metres. Its close comparisons with Vendel point to a direct connection between the armourers who made the work found at the two sites. Understanding either site depends on that connection. Sutton Hoo is often associated with King Rædwald of East Anglia, who ruled around 599-624. In his later reign, around 616-624, he was the most powerful of the English rulers. Back in Sweden, another famous name from the same age is tied to a mound close to Vendel.
At Husby, near Vendel, stands a large mound. Local tradition calls it Ottarshögen. The name joins Ottar, also known as Ohthere, with hög, a word meaning mound or barrow. This Ohthere is linked with a figure of the same name in the epic Beowulf. In 1917, an excavation exposed the remains of a powerful man. He had been buried at the start of the 6th century, which is the time of Ohthere. Other graves of similar date lie at Old Uppsala, and they are associated with Ohthere's family. The mound at Husby therefore sits within a wider family story spread across the Uppland landscape.
Art historians use the term Vendel style for the decorated metalwork and design of this age, again named after the village. A different question has long hovered over the place. It has often been suggested that the Germanic Vandals, or at least their kings or rulers, were connected to the site. The idea ties the name of Vendel to that of the Vandals. In this discussion Vendel is paired with a companion site at Valsgärde, in the same region. Valsgärde matters as a second window onto the same world of boat burials and warrior wealth. Whatever the truth about the Vandals, the helmets, shields and boats from Vendel still link a lakeside Swedish village to an English king's burial.
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Common questions
Where is Vendel in Sweden?
Vendel is a village in Tierp Municipality in Uppland, Sweden. It overlooks Vendelsjön, a long inland stretch of water near the Vendel river, which meets the river Fyris.
Why is Vendel important in Scandinavian archaeology?
Vendel gave its name to the Vendel Period of the Scandinavian Iron Age and to the Vendel style in art. Its boat graves yielded weapons, helmets, shields and other richly furnished burials.
Who excavated the Vendel boat graves and when?
The Swedish archaeologist Hjalmar Stolpe excavated at Vendel from 1881 to 1883. He revealed 14 graves in and just beyond the south-east corner of the churchyard.
What is the connection between Vendel and Sutton Hoo?
Helmets from Vendel Graves 1, 12 and 14 closely resemble the helmet from the early 7th century ship-burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England. A stamped strip on the Grave 12 shield is die-linked to a piece at Sutton Hoo, pointing to a direct connection between armourers.
Who painted the murals in Vendel Church?
The murals in Vendel Church are by Johannes Iwan, who worked in Uppland during the 15th century. The church was probably begun in the latter half of the 13th century and vaulted in brick around 1450.
What is Ottarshögen near Vendel?
Ottarshögen is a large mound at Husby near Vendel, named by local tradition after Ottar, also known as Ohthere. An excavation in 1917 revealed the remains of a powerful man buried at the beginning of the 6th century.
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3 references cited across the entry
- 1Vendels kyrkaHåkan Bergström