[Hadrian Coffin]

I must disagree with the plausibility of tablet woven bands having been utilised to hold up winningas. I have seen no evidence for this in any grave deposit I am aware of. Tablet woven bands seem to have been fairly expensive in most locations during the viking period. They are generally used rather sparingly even in the decoration of tunics. Tablet woven trim appears to not have even been generally used on the skirt of the tunic due to amount needed and wear placed on the band. It would seem highly suspect that pieces were then being used around the leg. The bands around the winningas change the overall look. This appearance is anomalous with artistic representations of the leg in period. I cannot recall any artistic, literary, or archeological example that suggests the use of tablet woven bands around the leg. I may be wrong of course, but this is simply my opinion on the matter.

On a separate, but related note, there was a bit of a "reenactorism" to wrap the legs with thongs (I believe these were usually leather)... generally in a criss-crossing pattern. This concept has mostly died off but illustrations of it do remain in some books to this day. I am under the impression it came from a misinterpretation of period images. There is no archeological evidence I am aware of to support this style.

Hooks for winningas are not that hard to find, a simple google search will yield several results. That being the case hooks are not necessary. Tucking the end into itself should keep the winningas up. As has been noted there are examples of graves lacking hooks.

Best,

Hadrian

[S. Jansone]

Oh, yes, this could be the case - because there is very little material about winingas at first- and second- there are not very much materials from Eastern Baltics. We do have such finds.
One of them is from Kauguru Beites cemetery- in a 10th century grave, where a tablet woven band was tied around leg, second one is from Ludzas Odukalns cemetery(If I'm correct- 9/10 century) (those two I can recall form my head). In the second one there is a good piece of winingas also.
Another- a little bit similar case is about Livonian leg bindings (ok, those are for women).
Second myth- you know not always tablet woven bands are like those brocaded bands from birka. Some of them could be made very fast and easy. (one of them can be seen in photo as well).
To Larry- I will try to find larger picture.

[Tim Jorgensen]

I should add that I see some SCA members start with the leg wrap just under the knee and wrap down towards the feet, finishing at the ankle or even giving a couple wraps around the foot for arch support. This method does not require hooks.

As for the tablet weaving, I haven't come across much to support their use with leg bindings. I personally think it would add another snag hazard when walking through brush. It's aesthetically a bit more exciting, and entirely plausible since we know they had tablet woven bands. So, feel free to be one of those creative Vikings. I once made leg wrap hooks out of bone, but they cracked when I knelt down on some stones. Lesson learned.

[Artis Aboltins]

Well I can say from my own experience, that tablet wowen bands do not snag on anything when used to hold winingas - I use them to affix the topmost wrap and never had much problems, usually I can work/walk/run/fight all day long and rarely have to refasten them.

[Larry R]

[S. Jansone]

Larry and Hadrian, please read my response above

[Hadrian Coffin]

I have been re-examining a few of my texts on grave deposits and noticed there is a tablet woven garter found in a 10th century Finnish grave. A simple tablet woven band as a garter is more likely than what I was imagining. There is ample evidence to suggest a garter band around the knee. I would still assume utilising a tablet woven band around the knee would be a less common solution. Perhaps a method of showing wealth. I will need to find the exact grave numbers and note what else was found in the graves though to determine the validity of this theory. As a side note we see inkle/tablet woven bands being used as garters to hold up hose and stockings in later periods.

[Andrew W]

I'm curious to know the evidence for the expense of tablet woven bands. It seems like something that would be very easy to produce with domestically processed fiber and cheap plant dyes (leaves, walnut, etc) or multiple shades of undyed wool.

The Bayeux Tapestry shows cross gartering on several of the Normans, for example:


It's worn in place of winingas, however.

There is also the image of Cnut which shows him wearing decorative garters with a repeating pattern. It could be something other than tablet weaving:


The New Minster Liber Vitae, 1031, from http://www.uvm.edu/~hag/rhuddlan/images/

[Larry R]

[Andrew W]

To be fair, the Tapestry is a few decades outside his time frame, and it's not depicting Scandinavians. I don't personally know of any evidence of cross gartering in an earlier Scandinavian context.

[Larry R]

[Hadrian Coffin]

No offence taken.

There is a problem with taking anything too literally out of the Bayeux Tapestry without a significant number of other sources. The Bayeux Tapestry is highly stylised, and lacks some fine detail. To top it off it has had sections refurbished, re-stitched, etc. Analysing the tapestry first hand with a magnifying glass you'll note stitching holes that now have no thread, slight changes on items, etc. These are all fairly insignificant, but should be noted. Finally the tapestry was clearly not made by a single person (as we all know) in the tapestry you do actually see mild individual styles that are quite interesting. The tapestry has helped in the study of late viking and early medieval material culture, but misunderstanding it has also hindered the study. An example would be the theory postulated about the mail not being mail but instead being rings sewn onto a leather backing... a theory that has no credible backing and is now known to be false.
Could this be an example of crossgartering? Possibly... but it is not conclusive. It could very easily be an attempt to portray regular winningas, or something else entirely.

The image of Cnut could be a garter, the material is impossible to determine.

Cheers!

[Andrew W]

I think that this is where the differences between historical interpretation in a reenactment setting and responsible academic scholarship might become visible. Were I writing a paper for publication on medieval clothing, I couldn't claim either of those images as evidence for cross gartering or tablet woven bands to secure winingas, though I could suggest several possible interpretations and stress the lack of evidence on which to make a conclusion. If I were putting together a reenactment kit or a museum display, however, I think you could make a stronger case for deciding on a specific interpretation and running with it (hopefully with an accompanying explanation of the difficulties of the evidence, for the public to hear / read).

[Tim Jorgensen]

For what it's worth, I'll add this picture I took while i was at the Archaeology Museum in Stavanger last summer. The male model has a single tablet-woven band just under his knee. I haven't seen anyone wearing bands in this way, but diversity rocks, so let let it fly.

[K J Seago]

as to the comment on bands tied below the knee "garters" i wear a pair of simple plaited plain wool ones to stop my hoes sagging after a while, this can be seen in later periods (14th Century) as becoming an aspect of showing fashion. as for the time period, i have heard or seen nothing that rules them out in the group i am in ( Regia Anglorum).

[Larry R]