Gorm's Cup, also known as the Jelling Cup, is a small silver cup buried with the Danish king
Gorm the Old
Gorm the Old (; ; ), also called Gorm the Languid (), was List of Danish monarchs, ruler of Denmark, reigning from to his death or a few years later.Lund, N. (2020), p. 147 , .
Context
The cup was found in the huge double
barrow in which the heathen king
Gorm the Old
Gorm the Old (; ; ), also called Gorm the Languid (), was List of Danish monarchs, ruler of Denmark, reigning from to his death or a few years later.Lund, N. (2020), p. 147 , founder of the Danish monarchy (), and his wife
Thyra
Thyra or Thyri (Old Norse: Þyri or Þyre) was the wife of King Gorm the Old of Denmark, and one of the first queens of Denmark believed by scholars to be historical rather than legendary. She is presented in medieval sources as a wise and power ...
, were buried side by side at
Jelling
Jelling is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 4,038 (1 January 2025), located in Jelling Parish, approximately 10 km northwest of Vejle. The town lies 105 metres above sea level.
Location
Jelling is located in Vejle municipality ...
, Jutland. According to heathen custom the corpses were laid in the royal grave upon pillows filled with down, with wax candles at their sides.
In the barrow was also found a wooden figure that has been interpreted by some as Christ. It is surrounded by a
triskele
A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting either of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry or of other patterns in triplicate that emanate from a common center. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean s ...
which has been interpreted by some as a symbol of
Woden
Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Emp ...
.
On the large stones, erected, according to heathen custom, above the barrows, a figure of Christ is seen surrounded by the same heathen triskele.
Interpretation
The cup is of silver,
gilt inside, and ornamented with an old half mythological pattern of twisted snakes and fantastic animals.
The burial-chamber was almost certainly closed in 958 or 959: which was no more than seven years before Denmark was officially Christianised, according to the Saxon chronicler
Widukind of Corvey
Widukind of Corvey (c. 925after 973; , in italian ''Vitichindo Sacco di Corvey'', in Latin VVITICHINDI SAXO) was a medieval Saxon chronicler. His three-volume '' Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres'' is an important chronicle of 10th-cen ...
.
The small silver cup from the grave has been interpreted by some scholars as a Christian
chalice
A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...
,
[Capelle, Torsten (1986). "Zum Silberkelch von Jelling". ''Acta Archaeologica'' 55: 199–200.] but others have thought it a drinking vessel for the alcoholic beverage called ''
beor''.
See also
*
Viking art
Viking art, also known commonly as Norse art, is a term widely accepted for the art of Scandinavian Norsemen and Vikings, Viking settlements further afield—particularly in the British Isles and Iceland—during the Viking Age of the 8th-11th ...
*
Animal style
Animal style art is an approach to decoration found from Ordos culture to Northern Europe in the early Iron Age, and the barbarian art of the Migration Period, characterized by its emphasis on animal motifs. The zoomorphic style of decoration ...
*
Christianisation of Scandinavia
References
{{Authority control
10th-century artifacts
Viking art
Gorm the Old