The Söderala vane ( sv, Söderalaflöjeln) is a

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

dating from the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...

, richly ornamented and made of gilt

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

. It derives its name from in

Söderala Söderala is a locality situated in Söderhamn Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 949 inhabitants in 2010. Writer Mare Kandre (1962–2005), was born in Söderala. Olympic sports shooter Fredrik Mossberg (1874-1950) was also born there. ...

, Sweden, where it was used as a weather vane during the 18th century. It was most probably originally used as a vane on a Viking ship, and shows signs of wear. On stylistic grounds, it has been dated to 1050. It is today part of the collections of the

Swedish History Museum The Swedish History Museum ( sv, Historiska museet or Statens historiska museum) is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operat ...

. A copy of the vane is in Söderala.

History

In 1916, bought the vane from a farmer. At the time it was attached to an iron rod from the 17th century, and the small figure of an animal attached to the top of the vane was kept separately. The farmer who sold the vane to the museum also had a receipt from the late 18th century, showing that the vane had at that time been bought from where it had been used as a weather vane. The farmer was paid 50 Swedish crowns for the vane, which was subsequently sold to the

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, where it has remained part of the collections of the museum since. A copy is in Söderala. The weather vane is older than the church, which is the earliest known location of the vane. On stylistic grounds it has been dated to 1050, and scholars believe it was originally made to be used as a weather vane on a Viking ship. Comparisons with other Viking-age vanes and analysis of mentions of such vanes in the Icelandic sagas indicate that a vane of this size and splendour may have been made for a large ship like a

longship Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Nors ...

Description

The Söderala vane consists of a triangular plate, made of

gilt bronze Ormolu (; from French ''or moulu'', "ground/pounded gold") is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold–mercury (element), mercury amalgam (chemistry), amalgam to an object of bronze, and for objects finished in this way. ...

and reinforced by smaller bronze plates and rivets in some places. A small

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of an animal, kept separately from the vane when it was bought by the museum, was originally attached to the top end of the bronze plate. The curved edge of the plate is pierced by several small holes, in which some kind of loosely hanging decorations may once have been attached. The plate itself is decorated with depictions of three beasts, interlaced with each other and with other purely decorative elements such as spirals, in a style closely related to that of Swedish burial monuments from the middle of the 11th century. The main decorative element is a depiction of a

Norse dragon Dragons are present in Germanic mythology and folklore, where they are often portrayed as large venomous serpents. Especially in later tales, however, they share many common features with other dragons in European mythology. Origin, appearanc ...

with wings, its forelegs and neck stretched somewhat like a horse about to rise. Its back is comparatively small. The dragon is very similar to a dragon depicted on a tombstone from the mid-11th century from Sundby Church in

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanla ...

, Sweden. Another creature lies coiled around the forelegs of the dragon, while the third, legless, is wrapped around the body of the dragon. The vane has traces of continuous use as a weather vane, presumably on a ship, and had been repaired before it was converted for use as a church weather vane. Apart from wear, it has also been somewhat buckled as a result of considerable violence, possibly by being hit by projectiles during some battle. It is not known where the vane was made. It is comparable with other Viking art objects from the same time from Sweden, but there are also details in the vane which show similarities with

insular art Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style dif ...

, particularly Irish art. For instance, the wing and head of the dragon are comparable with similar ornamentation known from the British Isles, and the animal crowning the vane is similar to one depicted on an Irish crosier. It has therefore been speculated that the vane could have been made in present-day Sweden but also that it may have been made by Norse settlers on the British Isles.

References

Sources cited

External links

{{commons category-inline, Söderalaflöjeln Viking art Viking ships Meteorological instrumentation and equipment 11th-century sculptures Bronze sculptures in Sweden Söderhamn Municipality