For the Blind Eye Only? Scandinavian Gold Foils and the Power of Small Things

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss a specific group of stamped gold foils with human representation from the late Scandinavian Iron Age (AD 550/600–800) from the perspective of size. The article argues that the framed gold foils embed sophisticated and multi-layered transformations that capture and echo basic principles of northern cosmology and belief systems related to Odin as the god for kings and his ability as a seer.

Keywords:

• Late Scandinavian Iron Age
• gold foils
• transformation
• miniature
• sightedness
• eyes
• “Odin from Lejre”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A first draft of this article was published in 2014: Gender on Display: Scrutinizing the Gold Foil Figures, in H. Alexandersson, A. Andreeff and A. Büns, eds., Med Hjärta och Hjärna. En vänbok till professor Elisabeth Arwill-Nordbladh (GOTARC, Gothenburg University, 277–293).

I would like to thank Mogens Bo Henriksen, Odense Bys Museer, for permission to reproduce Fig. 3; Peter Vang Petersen, the National Museum, Copenhagen, for permission to reproduce Fig. 5; Tom Christensen, Roskilde Museum, for permission to reproduce Fig. 7; Marie Amundsen, University of Oslo, for help with technical practicalities; and Ulla Mannering, the National Museum, Copenhagen, for access to her unpublished PhD dissertation. I am grateful to Julie Lund, University of Oslo, who encouraged me to write the article, and to the two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments. Needless to say, I am the only one responsible for the result.