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Abstract
THE SO-CALLED VIKING STIRRUPS are the earliest appearance of this important piece of riding equipment in Britain. It is argued, from a distribution of known find-spots, that they were not introduced by the Scandinavian settlers of the 9th century but are more likely to relate to the ravaging of the war bands led by Olaf Trygvasson, Sweyn Forkbeard and Cnut the Great during the reign of Aethelraed. Two distinctive British classes emerge, derived from north European types, suggesting that they were already being made in this country.
This paper is the result of research undertaken by Bill Seaby from the late 1940s and continued to the present time by Paul Woodfield.