Viking Cuff Bracelet

The Bronze Beauty of the Viking Cuff Bracelet

As the name suggests, this bracelet was heavily based on Norse jewellery designs. Because of this, it works best when accessorising a medieval Viking outfit, but there’s no reason why a character from a fantasy world or a couple of centuries later couldn’t wear their family heirloom. This bracelet would also work well as part of a modern look, so you can get even more use out of it.

The bracelet itself is made out of brass and has been handcrafted, which means that each piece may vary slightly. It is a cuff bracelet, which means that it has an open ring shape that wraps around the wrist. This makes each bracelet suitable for most people, and you can even gently adjust the fit for your wrist.

Now, there are two slightly different varieties of this bracelet. One of them is slightly longer than the other and features a wide band of domed brass running through the centre with two more detailed patterns flanking it. The patterns look a bit like thin cords broken up by a repeated diamond shape.

The other, smaller bracelet has a similar design, but with the more detailed cord pattern repeated more often along the outside of the bracelet. The diamond shapes have been replaced with small squares, and the wide band of unadorned brass is instead split into two smaller bars which break up the fine detailing.

The Vikings: Killers or Craftsmen?

People can have kind of a weird idea about the early Middle Ages that were dominated by the Viking raiders. We know about how the Vikings raided the British Isles and eventually settled there, but it can be very easy to forget about the other Norse people. You know, the ones who weren’t running around burning monasteries.  

No civilisation can survive with only warriors, at least, not one that is even remotely stable. When we consider the Norse raiders, or Vikings, we also need to think about the other Norse people. The Vikings came from Scandinavia, which was just across the North Sea.

Unlike most of Europe, the Roman Empire had little to do with Scandinavia, so their culture was left alone. However, the Norse people still noticed when the Roman Empire fell, as huge amounts of gold had flooded into the area, resulting in many beautiful works of art. However, when the gold dried up, so did the gold crafts. Instead, many artists worked with Bronze and other copper alloys.

In the late 8th century, Christianity hadn’t yet found a foothold in Scandinavia, so the people still followed the old Norse religion and worshipped their Gods, such as Odin, Thor, and Freyja. The people had established trade with much of Europe, and society revolved largely around herring-fishing in the North Sea. 

Anyway, onto the fighting bit. The Norse raids began at the turn of the 9th century and focused on the Christian monasteries in the British Isles. These monasteries were largely isolated, unprotected, and had a whole lot of money. Honestly, it was a bit surprising that they hadn’t been raided sooner.

And so it began, the long and bloody affair of the Vikings raiding Britain. But they didn’t stop at raiding. The Viking Age was also a time of rapid expansion and exploration of the Norse, they settled all kinds of islands and had even gotten as far as the Americas. With this in mind, Britain became a tempting target for more than just raids.

From around the year 865, larger armies began to land on British shores. However, there were also settlers who travelled with the armies, founding cities, and creating their own societies. These people were attracted by the seeming easy wealth of Britain, as well as the rich and fertile lands. It is during this period of invasion that the Norse people came into contact with Christianity. 

Because the Saxons were relatively scattered, they weren’t what you’d call organised. It didn’t take long for Northern and Eastern England to be under Norse control, at least until the Saxons got their act together.

After many centuries of brutal skirmishes, bloody war, and political manoeuvring, the Saxon and Norse populations had somewhat integrated. Then the Normans invaded in 1066 and with that, the Viking Age of Britain was officially over.

Honestly, the history of Britain seems to just be them getting invaded over and over again until they turned around and tried to take over half of the known world.

Tech Specs

The technical specifications of the Viking Cuff Bracelet are as follows:

•         Material: Brass

The Viking Cuff Bracelet comes in two versions. The dimensions for these are as follows:

•         Small: Width, 1 inch or 2.5 cm. Length, 6.25 inch or 15.9 cm.
•         Medium: Width, 1 inch or 2.5 cm. Length, 6.4 inch or 16.3 cm