Geographically speaking, the Viking World was expansive. Why is this important if we know exactly where the Lejre figure was discovered? Gaining a better understanding of the landscapes of the Viking Age is not just important when it comes to understanding the kinds of natural forces that may have informed their belief systems. Because the Vikings engaged in vast networks of exchange (no, not just ones created by raiding!), the location where artifacts are discovered is often not the place where they were first created. While this is not necessarily the case for the Lejre figure, contextualizing the site in which it was found is an important first step to understanding its value to the people who left it there.
Map of Lejre
and Viking Age locations.
(source: Viking Archaeology)
If you pay a visit to the Lejre Museum, you will immediately be presented with a evidence that suggests the site was a “cradle” of Viking civilization. Scholars believe that Lejre was an important early Viking site because of evidence found in early Icelandic Sagas as well as medieval texts that suggests it was the home of the first Danish royal family. The archaeological excavations that have taken place at Lejre have been critical to compiling material evidence to support this textual evidence that points to the site’s significance.
Lejre’s importance has been supported by material evidence recognized as early as 1850 (Christensen 1991). More organized archeological excavations have been conducted since the 1940s. Two key finds in 1981 and 1982 were among the first to provide evidence that the Lejre village existed during the Late Iron Age, or in other words, during the Viking Age. Dating of the remains of houses further suggests that the Lejre settlement underwent significant development, which scholars have split into stages. More specifically, it seems that the location of the main hall in which Danish royalty may have lived moved over the course of the Viking Age.
Excavations at Lejre
when the figure was discovered.
(source: Christensen 2014)
Dating the Lejre figure between 900 and 950 AD would place it in the third phase in the settlement’s development centered on the site of Mysselhøjgaard, which occurred from circa 875 to 1050 (Christensen 2015). During this period, Lejre’s importance as a site where nobles would have lived began to decline; the most significant evidence supporting theories of Lejre as a cradle for Danish royalty has been dated between the years 600 and 900. With this being said, perhaps it makes sense that one of the most fine artifacts to be found at the site came towards the end of/just after this period of significance, when the people of Lejre would have had access to the benefits of a flourishing society for the longest. Had the site not began to decline during this third period, perhaps more figures like the Lejre figure would have continued to be produced. If more figures similar to the 2009 find were to be found with dates from even later in the third period, this might suggest that Lejre’s decline occurred later than scholars currently theorize.
Christensen, Tom. 1991. “Lejre Beyond Legend – The Archeological Evidence.” Journal of Danish Archeology 10: 163–185. (online)
Christensen, Tom. 2015. “Lejre – Myth and Archaeology — Medieval Histories.” Medieval Histories. (online)
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