Bracteat from Tjurkö

Description of the Product

This is a replica of a Germanic bracteate found on the island of Tjurkö, in Karlskrona, Sweden. Bracteates are flat, thin, single-sided gold, silver or bronze medals, similar to coins, worn as jewelry during the migration period. In some places, like in Finland, bracteates were used up until the Viking Era, approx. 800-1000 CE. The bracteates of the Germanic tribes were modelled on Roman medallions, and were mostly worn as lucky amulets, and likely awarded deserving warriors. Medieval coins that are minted with a picture only on the other side are also called bracteates.

The original Tjurkö Bracteate is dated to c. 400-550 CE. It was discovered in a field together with other bracteates and a gold coin in 1817 and is now in the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm. The bracteate has an image of a stylised head in the centre above a horse and below a bird. This depiction is interpreted as the pagan Norse god Odin with his companion animals, a horse and a raven.

The edge has an inscription in the Elder Futhark runes, which reads -wurterunoʀanwalhakurne ˈ heldaʀkunimudiu -  Translations of the text vary, but in English it would be ”Heldaz wrought runes on ’the foreign grain’ for Kunimunduz” or “Hjald made the runes on the ‘foreign grain’ for Kunimund". The word walha, or foreign, simply means non-germanic, so perhaps Roman or Gallic. ‘Roman grain’ can simply be gold, or gold brought from abroad, or it can refer to the bracteate itself, perhaps meaning that the gold of the bracteate was originally a Roman solidus coin.

Our Tjurkö Bracteate is made of zamak. It can be worn as a perfect accessory for historical reenactment of the Iron- and Viking Ages, LARP costumes or as everyday jewelry.

• A detailed replica of a Tjurkö Bracteate found on Tjurkö in Sweden
• Made of zamak
• Depicts a stylized head, a horse and a bird, perhaps Odin and his companion animals
• Size: 3 x 3.5 cm
• A cord (100 cm) is included with this pendant
• The original Tjurkö Bracteate is from c. 400-550 CE
• Original is in the Swedish National Museum in Stockholm