It is no secret that the portrayal of Vikings in popular culture has done more than its fair share to distort our ideas of what and who the Vikings were. This distortion extends across various domains, including clothing, language, culinary choices and even habitation, to name but a few. Now, another myth-busting study, dating fragments of windows from Scandinavia, shows us that Viking Age windows were created using stained glass as the 9th century, contrary to popular belief that stained-glass windows only emerged during the construction of medieval churches and castles in Denmark.
Viking Age window glass fragments discovered in Haithabu in Germany. (C.S. Andersen, Moesgaard Museum / Museum für Archäologie Schloss Gottorf / Torben Sode et al.)
Fragments of Glass: Uncovering the Truth About Viking Age Windows
In a new study published in the Danish Journal of Archaeology , a conservation expert from the National Museum of Denmark and their research team arrived at this conclusion after conducting a thorough re-examination of 61 glass fragments recovered from six different Viking-age sites. This means that Norse dignitaries likely sat in rooms lit up by Viking Age windows with colored glass, and adds another nail in the coffin of a “savage” or “ barbaric” Viking who swings his sword around.
These Viking Age windows were not the large, transparent windows we are accustomed to today. Instead, they likely consisted of smaller panes in various shades of green and…
