Want to buy a gift that lasts, maybe a thousand years or more? Here are some ideas from the current Viking exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA.
Rings and armbands symbolized oaths:
A string of glass beads with Arabic coins. Those Vikings got around!
A copper alloy brooch with five amulets:
Not looking for bling? How about a warm Viking outfit? Or an ornate chest used for a dowry back in the day? A treasure chest has lots of uses today – especially for storing all your new jewelry.
Sadly, the chest is a replica since the original has been MIA since WWII. It was last seen in an old medieval Cathedral on the Baltic in Kamień Pomorski, Poland. A short weekend trip from Scandinavia for a strong, rowing Viking. The Soviet Union was in control after the war. Maybe Vladimir Putin has it? I didn’t have a chance to go to Poland for my blog, so this photo is courtesy of Wikipedia.
Another must on anyone’s Viking shopping list would be a longboat. How else to fish, raid, and plunder? But it wouldn’t fit under your tree and forget about using gift wrap. But how about a small ship model kit for the kids?
Enjoy your shopping! And if it ever gets to be too stressful, remember how hard it was to do in the day of the Vikings!
Want to see the Viking artifacts in person? Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute’s special Viking exhibit runs through March 3, 2019.
Karen Stensgaard is the author of the novel AQUAVIT, the first book in the Aquamarine Sea Series with a second novel on the way soon. AQUAVIT is available as a paperback from Amazon and Ingram Spark or as an e-book from almost everyone else. Libraries have free access via Overdrive. Link to free chapters on Amazon
