Ambiguous Boeslunde Figure

Abstract

This article presents a unique female figure found in Boeslunde, Zealand, Denmark. It stands at just 1.5 cm and is made of gilded silver with remarkably refined details. The date of the figure is discussed based on details of her garments, accessories, and hairstyle and she is compared to other archaeological representations and finds. Based on these criteria, a dating to the Late Iron Age/Early Viking Age is proposed. Her function is likewise discussed. By means of an examination of parallel finds, the figure’s function as a gaming piece or garment accessory has been ruled out. It is argued that she functioned as an amulet and her features are evaluated and discussed. Contemplating the figure from a ritual perspective, her necklace appears to be a significant attribute, an observation which has great implications for other representations such as the Odin-from-Lejre figure. It is, further considered whether her necklace is a representation of Freyja´s Brisingamen, and the little figure thus a depiction of Freyja, herself. Lastly, the intentionally differentiated shape and size of her eyes and their symbolic meaning is evaluated, and parallels are examined and discussed.

Revisiting the ‘Valkyries’: Armed Females in Viking Age Figurative Metalwork

“…However, even if those identifications are correct, the ways in which such beings (and other supernatural entities) were understood in the actual late Iron Age may have been subtly different to how they have come down to us in later written sources. Examples of this can be seen in recent discussions around imagery associated with the miniature seated figures, such as those from Lejre and Boeslunde, which appear to mix feminine gender signals with 'Óðinnic' attributes such as one-eyed symbolism: do they represent Óðinn in women's clothing, an Óðinnic sorceress such as a völva, or someone/something else entirely (Christensen 2013;Borake 2021)? An important conclusion is that these kinds of associative signals, ultimately derived almost entirely from texts, are very much more complex and perhaps deliberately ambiguous than they might initially appear (cf.…”