December 11th 2014
Once
There were a viking man and woman...
The man was very vain and always combed his curled hair and moustache in the morning. Sometimes in the evening before going to dinner also !
What to give such a man for his birthday ? The woman deliberated and deliberated.
The month before his birthday she walked to the smith. 'Can you make the face of Thomsson with curly hair and moustache' she said. The smith looked up, surprised. He had never had such a proposition before. Never he had afterwards either. 'I do not have much to offer' said the woman, 'but I'd like to give him a personal present he will appreciate'.
'I'll try my dying best and make it for free' the smith said - lively jumping up in his head as this was a challenge in his bit unchalleging becoming life as a smith, smithing mostly horse shoes and sickles.
The woman walked out on the smith with joy in her heart and some expectations. The whole day she had a smile on her face with anticipatory pleasure. The man wondered wat caused her happiness..
Just over three weeks later the smith winked at her. 'It is finished' he said proudly.
She walked to his dark house with virtually no day light coming in, and against the flickering flames of the fire he showed a bronze shining object to her. She was lost for words.
The smith had made his 'piece de resistance', his 'magnus opus'. There was just the face of her man, with the bewildered curlings and moustache. She gave the smith ten kisses making him feel very shy.
The early morning of his birthday the man was awake early and combing his hair.
At that moment, the woman gave the present to him saying 'Doesn't he look much like you ?'
The man was baffled. He had never seen something like this. The comb fell out of his hand and he stood frozen.
In the afternoon he attached the piece at the harness of his horse and it shone in the sun. Then he jumped upon his horse, to show his birthday present to the whole village.
It was the 11th of December of the year 1014.
The smith wouldn't have to do boring smithing anymore. More people asked him to create a unique piece of art.
Sometimes nowadays, one is being found..
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Well. I could have been with these stones until after dark, but as my wife wanted to travel on.. well.. I see you again, some day, hogback stones from Gosforth. And if you happen to be there one day, do not forget that monument on the outside...
Further on with the Cumbrian hogbacktour !
In - yes, luckily again in - St. Peter's church in Heysham, there is a truly beautiful hogback stone. The guide told us, it had been studyied by Thor Ewing, a writer, in 2000. in 'Understanding the Heysham hogback' A tenth century sculpted stone monument and its context (link), Thor Ewing tells in detail what he dicovered on the both sides of this hogback stone.
Just being brought in the church as late as the 1970's accompanied with some protest here and there among the church visitors, considered as being a token of old paganism, it had been remarkably nice preserved, and a lot of detail can be seen, still. Truly worthwile a visit.
I had a small debate with the guide in the church if the - zoomorphic, in my opinion - faces on the sides were lions (or hippo's). The guide doubted if the vikings could have known about lions. Well I guess so, concerning the runes on the Ancient Greek lion statue at the Arsenal, Venice. For example. Vikings did travel south..
But when he told me he was doubting the vikings 'discovered' (as the native inhabitants were of course, in the first place) America before Columbus, I decided to rest my case..
One has to know when to start and to end a conversation ..
Just discovered the book in a bookstore written by Geoff Holder - The guide to the mysterious Lake District, I knew there had to be another hogback stone in Lowther, St. Micheal's Church. With a promising image described in the text of 'a naval and a land-based force of shield-bearing vikings above a fish and what might be a coiled sea serpent. On the reverse is a row of female figures with snakes, possibly a representation of the hideous hag Hel'. Wow. If that did not sound as a true pagan promised land ..
Not complaing too much after all we have seen, this visit was the dissapointing one of them all. But if you wife states 'I am happy to have seen them' and I am answering 'Measuring is knowing' and the even more obligate verb 'handling 'if we did not see it at all, we wouldn't have known anything at all of how they were looking' the glass was again half full, at the last day of our journey..
The hogback stone appeared to be just being tolerated within the entrance segment part of the church. As something you never use anymore but you do not throw away - entirely. That sort of feeling emerged when seeing this hogback asylum seekers.. Bed, bath and bread, ás we say in Dutch, but no luxury at all and standing on some outcuts of wood, you would balance the table with at home..
Come on, St. Micheal's Church.. care a bit more of your 'children' !
This hogback stone was moved in the church in 1907. Hogback stones layed partially buried in the churchyard before it was dug up and moved into the church.
The promising depiction of a longship - as certainly can be seen after some studying - see http://vikingminds.co.uk/pages/longship
we have missed !
The stone itself is (157 x 50 x 30 cm) and very worn.
The hogback stones in Cumbria - very diverse in quality, but everyone worth a visit ! Especially on a gloomy day in late October ...
The churches to visit - see photos of resp. St. Andrew's church in Penrith, St. Mary's church in Gosforth, St. Peter's church in Heysham and St. Micheal's church in Lowther.
Did I miss out on another one in Cumbria ? Let me know !
In a next blog I will take you to four - still remaining utterly mysterious- statues 'guarding' the graveyard of St. Andrew's church in Dacre..
For the last blog of October 9th see this link.
References: (as always, links to where the books can be ordered are attached).
Edwards, B.J.N. Vikings in North West England - The artifacts (1998);
Emery, Gordon, CURIOUS CUMBRIA, The Lake District & Beyond: A celebration of Cumbria (2023)
Ewing, T. 'Understanding the Heysham hogback' A tenth century sculpted stone monument and its context ;
Hall, R. Viking Age archaeology in Britain and Ireland (first printed 1990, reprinted with amendments in 1995);
Holder, G. The guide to the mysterious Lake District (2009)
possibly also (as there within the part of Cumbria dealing with Carlisle, the Eden Valley, Barrow-in-Furness, Whitehaven and the west coast is being dealed with)
Holder, G. Paranormal Cumbria (2010)
http://vikingminds.co.uk/pages/longship