Viking Jewelry: What the Norse Wore and How to Choose It
Viking jewelry was wealth you could wear. Silver and bronze arm rings, brooches and pendants worked as portable money in an economy that weighed metal rather than counting coins, and the ornament on them carried meaning as well as value. Everything on this page is built from what the finds actually show.
Did the Vikings wear jewelry
Constantly, and both sexes did. The difference from modern habits is what the pieces were for. A silver arm ring was a store of value that could be cut up and weighed to pay a debt. A pair of oval brooches held a woman's overdress together and announced her household's standing at the same time. A Thor's hammer at the throat was protection.
The full background, including what the major hoards contained, is in our history of Viking jewelry, and the craft side is in how Viking jewelry was made.
The metals
Silver is the Viking Age metal. It dominates the hoards, it was the unit of value, and it takes fine detail. Sterling silver at 925 is what most of our work is in, and it darkens into carved recesses in a way that makes ornament read more strongly over time. How long it actually lasts is covered in how long sterling silver lasts.
Bronze is the everyday metal and gives the closest colour to many excavated pieces. It patinates faster than silver and can leave a green mark on skin, which washes off.
Gold was for the top of society and is the same today. It does not tarnish, which makes it the choice for anything meant to outlast you.
The pieces, and which is which
Rings
Finger rings existed but were not the centrepiece of Norse jewellery. Plain bands, twisted wire and spirals in silver, often doubling as bullion. What a Viking ring means today, and how to pick one, is in our guide to Viking rings. Shop Viking rings.
Wedding and engagement bands
The Norse had no wedding ring. They had betrothal, a bride price and the oath ring people swore on, which is a different and arguably better idea. We build modern bands on that idiom and say plainly that is what they are: what the Norse actually did about marriage, and Norse wedding bands.
Necklaces and pendants
The pendant is where the symbols live: Thor's hammer above all, then the cross in the conversion period, and the beasts. See our guide to Viking necklaces and the Mjolnir necklace guide. Shop Viking necklaces.
Bracelets and arm rings
The arm ring has the strongest claim to authenticity of anything in the category. It was money, it was a gift that bound a follower to a lord, and it survives in quantity. Our guide to Viking bracelets and arm rings covers the real forms.
Beads and smaller things
Glass and amber beads strung between brooches, and the everyday personal objects that carry the best surviving runic inscriptions. What that does and does not tell us about beard beads and hair beads is worth reading before you buy any.
Earrings and brooches
The brooch was the real Norse ornament and it did a job, holding the dress or the cloak together. Earrings are close to absent from the graves. The full picture is in our guide to Viking earrings and brooches.
The symbols, and which are genuinely Viking
This is where most of the trade is careless, so here is the honest version.
- Mjolnir, Thor's hammer. Genuinely Viking Age and common. Worn for protection, and its popularity rises as Christianity arrives, which reads like a statement of allegiance.
- The Valknut. Genuinely Viking Age. On the Gotland picture stones and in the Oseberg burial, tied to Odin and the honoured dead.
- Yggdrasil, the world tree. The cosmology is genuine. The tidy circular tree used on jewellery today is a modern rendering of it.
- Jormungandr and the Ouroboros. The world serpent is genuine myth; the closed circle taking its own tail is the older Mediterranean form the design borrows.
- The Vegvisir and the Helm of Awe. Not Viking. Both come from Icelandic manuscripts of the 1600s to 1800s. Norse, but centuries after the Viking Age, and almost nobody selling them says so.
Every symbol is unpacked in Norse symbols and meanings, and the sourced entries live in the Library. For the practical question of which symbol to actually wear, and how it behaves on a pendant against a ring, we wrote that up separately.
Runes on jewellery
Two things worth knowing before you buy anything inscribed. The Viking Age alphabet was the Younger Futhark of 16 runes; the 24 rune Elder Futhark on most rune jewellery is older and had largely gone out of use before the Viking Age. And neither can spell most modern English names, because several English sounds have no rune at all.
What works is an Old Norse word or an attested formula. Our rune translator shows where a given string breaks down, and the alphabets themselves are in the runic alphabet guide.
How to choose
Three questions, in order. What will it be worn with and how often? Daily wear argues for carved surfaces over polished ones and for silver or gold over bronze. Which symbol can you keep explaining? You will be asked. Does the seller tell you what is genuinely Viking and what is not? That last one filters most of the market.
Care
Warm water, mild soap, a soft brush for carved areas, dried properly. A soft cloth brings the highlights back on silver and bronze. Take pieces off for heavy work and before anything involving chlorine. Store silver dry and out of the air when it is not being worn.
Where to start
Browse Viking jewelry for everything, or narrow by piece: rings, necklaces, bracelets and arm rings, 925 sterling silver or gold.
Viking jewelry FAQ
Did Vikings wear jewelry?
Constantly, and both sexes did. Silver and bronze arm rings, brooches and pendants worked as portable wealth in an economy that weighed metal rather than counting coins, so a piece was both an ornament and a store of value that could be cut and weighed.
What metal is Viking jewelry made from?
Silver above all, which dominates the hoards and was the unit of value. Bronze was the everyday metal and gives the closest colour to many excavated pieces. Gold was for the top of society. We work in all three, mostly 925 sterling silver.
Which Norse symbols are genuinely Viking Age?
Mjolnir and the Valknut are, with Mjolnir common in the finds and the Valknut on the Gotland stones and in the Oseberg burial. The Vegvisir and the Helm of Awe are not: both come from Icelandic manuscripts of the 1600s to 1800s, centuries after the Viking Age.
Did Vikings have wedding rings?
No. Norse marriage was a contract between families sealed by a betrothal before witnesses, a bride price called the mundr, and a feast. Rings mattered as wealth and as oath objects, including the temple ring people swore on, but not as marriage tokens.
Can runes spell my name on a piece of jewellery?
Usually not properly. The Viking Age alphabet was the Younger Futhark of 16 runes, and neither it nor the older Elder Futhark has letters for several English sounds. An Old Norse word or an attested formula is the honest alternative to a name.
How do I care for Viking jewelry?
Warm water, mild soap and a soft brush for carved areas, then dry it properly. A soft cloth restores the highlights on silver and bronze. Take pieces off for heavy work and before chlorine, and store silver dry and out of the air.