Let's talk about #AssassinsCreedValhalla and Vikings

(*Possible spoilers down this thread
**I'm no historian, but I will share what little I know for the curious minds)

First, my favorite area of "expertise": clothing.
It's no simple task to dress your Norse folks, as many findings are just tiny pieces of fabric. But devs went with what is commonly accepted and did a pretty decent job.

You can see quite a few classics: paneled or tube hängerock/smokkr (apron dress) with several layers of wool/linen, pairs of oval "turtle" and round brooches (inspired by findings), tablet-woven or leather long belts, and coats attached with one or two pins for the ladies...

...Layers of v-collar tunic + short-sleeved tunic with leather belt(s) and trousers worn with either boots or leg wrapping (less common) for the gents. Some wore fur, but I saw very few with cloaks or hoods, which are thought to have been pretty common in these cold regions.

Good job on the hats. The examples above (↑Men: conic cap & Birka-style cap - Women: scarf↑ & woven headband+scarf↓) show what we assume was worn in the Viking era from Birka, Jorvik, etc... (But again, findings not being well preserved means using deduction/imagination.)

Colors also respect what we know was available (chemicals in wool were analyzed to find dyeing materials used).
Mostly, it's bright reds, yellows, blues, browns, natural whites...
I'm skeptical about the availability of black, which we see on Eivor's robes and on some civilians.

As far as I know, darker shades of blue and black were EXTREMELY difficult to achieve with medieval dyestuffs, no matter what the fabric. They are known to be the colors of the kings and nobility for that reason. But again, I am no historian, so maybe someone will prove me wrong.

It is worth noting that Viking era Norse outfits did not come with pockets. Women would often hang their home's key, their comb, purse, scissors and other useful items to their belt as seen here. Note the 3 different interpretations of the smokkr (apron dress) here. Good job Ubi.

I already mentioned oval and round brooches, but let's talk about jewelry a bit. Again, good job.
Beads and Thor's hammer pendants hanging from Randvi's brooches are 100% plausible. Wealthy married women often wore those, and Randvi is both!
And the fibula on her cloak!

Jewelry of all sorts was worn by men and women alike: necklaces, bracelets, beads made of glass and metal hanging from brooches... Bronze, iron and silver were the most commonly used metals (the game got that right: you pay in silver!)

It is worth noting though that the "fealty bracelets" seen in Valhalla and in the Vikings series are very likely a myth. Findings do not support this usage.
But, when lacking resources, bracelets made of precious metal could be melted and used as a currency.

Valki wears all sorts of interesting jewelry, among which are Asian-looking coins on her headband. This is somewhat likely. Trade routes did exist, and intermediaries imported silk in small quantity. But those coins would be rare, so I think it makes sense to use them as jewelry.

Last one for today (and O'll come back to this thread later with Saxon clothing and other details): the wedding scene.
White was not used for weddings until the Victorian era. I'm also not sure this pure white would be very "trendy" in the 9th century, which favored bright dyes.

Before diving into Saxon fashion, a note on this tall building seen in Norway. It's in fact a Christian stave church, which were apparently built from the 12th century on.
The real-life photo shows a reconstitution of an actual place of worship, way more modest in structure.

This is a very recent find, you can read more here: https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology-iron-age-viking-age/remains-of-what-may-be-a-temple-where-norse-gods-were-worshiped-have-been-found-in-norway/1755851

So, Anglo-Saxon clothing.
9th century means the "Danes" have been here for a few decades. You can see the Viking influence here if you look at this Saxon man's trefoil brooch, typically Viking. His tunic is very Saxon in its embroidery motif. I'm skeptical about his boots tho...

The woman's dress SCREAMS Anglo-Saxon to me, as does this one↓. Christianity is still pretty new at this point (the 590-600s) so you'll find women with skin-showing clothes and with/without headgear. Leather belts with elaborate hardware (metal) are typical Anglo-Saxon fashion.

Short-sleeved overdress and contrasted underdress is (we believe) very typical, although the collar I know of would be a bit higher on the shoulders. Women typically wore an undyed linen underdress too. Color-wise, the shades I saw in Lunden + elsewhere were mostly accurate.

Here's an example (pic 1) where you can see the underdress and get and idea of all the layers. Medieval fashion was all about layers. And short hoods.
Also, men wore "dresses", deal with it. See that padding-like texture on his outfit? That's gambeson. We'll talk about it again.

Another typical woman's garment: the Anglo-Saxon version of an apron dress. Note that the fastening brooches have a different, typically Anglo-Saxon shape. It could be worn with/without an extra apron (in a shape that's more familiar to us). Tablet-woven belts weren't uncommon.

Two typical anglo-saxon head coverings: the veil (more prevalent in the 11th century, as Christianity progressed and women were advised to cover their hair) and the simpler cap (this one is called Jorvik/Coppergate cap).
Similarly to Vikings, some A-S women also wore headscarves.

I'm a bit skeptical about these two ladies' belt (first pic), as most Anglo-Saxon people wore thin leather belts (pic 2) or tablet-woven fabric belts (mostly women, pic 3). I have never encountered that style of belt for this period before. But that might be me being ignorant.

This woman's overdress looks like it's from a later period, but her accessories are on point, so this might be another interpretation of the apron dress.
But let's talk about men fashion now. This man also wears a bit of an uncommon style, so scroll down for traditional A-S men!

Typically, Anglo-Saxon men would wear a knee-length tunic with short sleeves over an undergarment, and trousers wrapped in bands of fabric called winingas from under the knee to the ankle. Some also had a dagger called a "seax" (which the word "saxon" derivates from).

Unfortunately, the game doesn't have that many typical Saxon men (at least where I'm at). Most are wearing boots with hardware, which is uncommon at that period (laces would be preferred, and boots would be short).

Many Lundeners also go bare-foot, which is a bit of a cliché. Even poor people would have shoes by then. Not all, but very likely a good percentage.
Fabrics are very precious in the 9th century though, so patched-up outfits are a common thing, and that they nailed.

Wealthier men would very likely wear these longer tunics with elaborate embroideries/tablet-woven ornaments, rich colors and brooches + round pendants.
Usually in medieval times, the longer the clothing, the higher the status was. Long meant less freedom of movement to work.

From what I've read though, this is most seen in illustrations from the 10-11th centuries on, and especially on kings. But I'll buy it, because long tunics are nice and men look great in them. ;)

Interestingly, I saw many men wear gambeson-like fabric (the diamond-shaped fabric here). Used to protect armor wearers, gambeson jackets consisted of layers of linen and thick wool. We don't know that they were worn daily, but illustrations from later periods (13th?) seem to...

...indicate so. And after all, it would make sense to wear one in colder months, since it would be a very warm and probably expensive piece of clothing.