How do we know how the Vikings dressed?
Finding clothing intact after being buried for hundreds of years is very unusual in archaeology. The fabrics people used in the past were made from wool and linen. Being organic, they quickly rotted. Very little is left for archaeologists to find and study.
In Scandinavia archaeologists have managed to find some clothing fragments, especially clothing belonging to Viking women. Since it was customary to bury Viking women in full traditional dress and with all of their personal belongings beside them, some pieces of fabric survived usually underneath metal jewelry such as the brooches.
This was not the case for the Viking men, however. When a Viking warrior died or was killed in battle, he was first dressed in full battle dress. The warrior was then cremated, destroying not only his body, but all of the clothing. His ashes and all of his weapons were then entombed in burial mounds. Some of these graves were outlined with stones that were carefully placed to resemble a Viking ship. Because they were so easily discovered by looters, many graves were robbed of their valuables over the ages. Only historical records, tapestries (large murals) and stone carvings have provided enough details to give us a complete picture of how Viking men dressed.
Viking dress for men and women-the basics
The clothing styles of Viking men and women depended upon three things:
1. Climate in which they lived
2. Status (thral, free man, etc) in the village, and
3. Wealth.
While all Vikings did not dress exactly alike, there were many similarities in the type and style of clothing worn. Viking men and women dressed practically, for comfort as well as fashion. The clothing suited their occupation and, because the climate in Northern Europe is typically cool, clothing was more ‘close fitting’ so as to retain body heat … not baggy, as in warmer climates where heat retention was not as necessary.
The Vikings loved color! The linen and wool used to make their clothing was often brightly colored, using dyes extracted from various types of plants that grew naturally near their villages or in their vegetable gardens. Bright reds and blues came from berries. Greens and yellow hues came from vegetables, and Earth-tone pigments, like brown came from ochre.
The tunic was the basic garment of both men and women all over Europe. A Viking man’s tunic was usually about mid-thigh length with long, close-fitting sleeves. Women wore a longer version, typically floor length.
| 
