July
30
/ 2022
A new study has revealed that elite Vikings, specifically highly ranked Danish Vikings, used and wore beaver furs as a means of showing off their exalted social status. This practice is not dissimilar to the way clothes by high-end designers are worn today as a marker of status. Not native to Denmark, beavers were a symbol of wealth, as well as being an expensive and important trade item of the 10th century. The research, published in the open-access journal PLOS One has focused on written sources, corroborating them with material remains and analysis. These sources do point to beaver fur being a very important commodity between the 9th and 11th centuries (800-1050 AD). However, fur’s quick rate of decay makes
