Norwegian Textile Letter, Volume 29, Number 2, October 2023
Weaving is trendy! Have you heard about the recent “Mette-Marit effect” in Norway? Read: “Crown Princess Mette Marit Became a Weaving Student – And Now There are Full Weaving Courses and Waiting Lists.”
The tapestry has been given a place of honor in her office at the palace. Photo: Eskil Wie Furunes/NRK
New Fiction and Historical Norwegian Tapestries
Norwegian author Lars Mytting wove the legend of the Hekne sisters, conjoined twins who were master weavers in Gudbrandsdalen, into his Sister Bells trilogy of novels. Book one is The Bell in the Lake, followed by the The Reindeer Hunters. The third book has been published in Norway as Skråpånatta, and will be available in translation soon.
You can listen to a Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum bokprat [book talk] on The Bell in the Lake with Lars Mytting and Dr. Maren Johnson on YouTube.
Marianne Vedeler, Professor in Archaeology at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, has been studying the legend. See: “Tales of Magical Weavers Keep a Medieval Tapestry Tradition Alive.” Although no one has found tangible evidence that the conjoined Hekne sisters actually existed, researching this legend reveals a great deal about how tapestries fit into a rich storytelling tradition. And weavers have power!
“In stories from the Middle Ages, weavers are not simply visual story tellers. They often have magical capabilities that can change the course of history. They can see into the future, but also cause ill fortune and sickness, rob people of their wits and strength, open mountains and grave mounds, and even commit murder.”
Marianne Vedeler examined the Hekne sisters, visual storytelling through tapestry, and legends about the powers of weavers in “Gudbrandsdalen Tapestries and the Story of the Hekne Sisters.” The article, from Viking: Norsk Arkeologisk Aarbok [Viking: Norwegian Archaeological Yearbook], Vol. 86, No. 1, 2022, is translated and reprinted with permission.
Katherine (Kay) Larson translated this important article (which stretches to 20 pages in the accompanying pdf version, 26 with the literature list). It was a long job to translate, and tricky to get just right, but also enjoyable. Kay wrote,
Marianne Vedeler’s thoughtful article on the tapestries of Gudbrandsdalen has been a pleasure to translate. Like many who have studied these textiles, I have focused on their practical and artistic elements, but Vedeler casts a far wider net. Certainly they were used as coverlets, but other possibilities are explored, and each new angle from which Vedeler views the tradition adds depth to our understanding of the time in which they were created, and to their place in a tradition of visual imagery and oral storytelling that stretches back to the Viking Age. One can easily imagine the flickering light of a fire bringing the figures in a tapestry to life, while storytellers regaled their audience with well-known tales.
Learn about a Historical Fiber Craft
Karen Keenan is helping to revive the almost forgotten art form of Swedish hairwork jewelry in the Midwest and beyond. Read: “Swedish Hairwork.” Karen noted, “While it may seem strange, using human hair to make jewelry was once as widely practiced as embroidery, knitting or crocheting is today. In fact, the contemporary practice of keeping hair from a child’s first haircut may be an example of hairwork’s 19th century residual effect.” Learn a bit about the history of hairwork, and how it is done.
Hairwork crown made by Karen Keenan for an exhibit at the Nordic Center in Duluth, Minnesota, 2021
Folk Dress – Historical and Still Evolving
In a review of the book, Dressing With Purpose: Belonging and Resistance in Scandinavia, contributing authors explore the history, preservation, and evolution of folk dress in Sweden (folkdräkt), Norway (bunad), and Sámi (gákti).
Sami Winter Market in Jåhkåmåhkke
Thank you for reading — feel free to forward this notice to any friends who would be interested. The other special section of this Norwegian Textile Letter issue, on post-pandemic travel to and classes in Scandinavia, will be highlighted in a separate post.
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Robbie LaFleur
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