Trichinopoly: An Untreasured Treasure of the Medieval World

After completing the annotated bibliography for our Trichinopoly project, I realized a few things.

1.  Trichinopoly chains seem to be dated between the eighth and eleventh century.

2.  Trichinopoly chain finds seem to be centered around Ireland and Great Britain, though there is always room for more discoveries in the future.

3.  While Trichinopoly has been associated with prolific finds (the base of the Ardagh Chalice, the Derrynavlen treasures, and the Tara Brooch), there doesn't seem to be any scholarly-based studies on Trichinopoly itself.

Not exactly comforting news for those who wish to construct an experiment involving the manufacture of Trichinopoly-based chains.

In the humble opinion of this student, there is something to be said about a knitted wire chain that is well-preserved.  If it's true that these chains were created between the 8th and 11th centuries, then one can't help but be amazed at how these chains managed to survive for up to and over one thousand years before excavation.  (Meanwhile I've never had a chain that lasted more than six months).  In studying photos of discovered Trichinopoly chains, not only do they appear to be study and well-constructed, they are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.  In the articles I read, many Trichinopoly chains were thought to be attached to brooches and pins, which signifies to me that while these chains are beautiful, they also had a functional, practical purpose.   Most chains appeared to silver, but again, only future research can confirm this.

Trichinopoly appears to be apart of Irish/British material culture, associated with significant treasure finds of the nineteeth and twentieth centuries.

So why hasn't there been more of an effort by the scholarly community to study this art of wire knitting with regards to the material culture of Medieval Great Britain?  If material culture is one way of understanding a society at a given point in time, why wouldn't trichinopoly be studied more?

While our research has only indicated Trichinopoly's use in Ireland and Great Britain, it is widely referred to as "Viking Wire Knitting".  However, we couldn't find  any peer-reviewed articles that spoke of it's discovery in Scandinavia.  The sources we did find (Jewelry books, jewelry websites, message boards) couldn't be used.  Even Wikipedia offered nothing in the way of this art form.  This lack of information is unsettling.  While there are plenty of tutorials on Viking wire knitting, there is hardly any information on Trichinopoly as material culture in Medieval society.

We have no idea of who made Trichinopoly chains.  There is no insight as to whether its manufacture was limited to trained artisans or if was more widespread, or whether it was a gender-based craft (did males make these chains? Or females?)

While it's attached to treasure/artifact of considerable importance, we cannot prove conclusively that only affluent people/people of high status and esteem had these items.  While I myself haven't read any articles about Trichinopoly grave finds, it isn't for me to conclude that it isn't the case.

We don't even know if silver was the only metal used with these chains.  Most find are made of silver, but there are been no studies to determine if this was due to aesthetics or functionality.

The only good side of all this is that it opens up all sorts of possibilities for experimentation. When shopping for items (to be outlined in another post), we purchased wires of various gauges and material.  In creating the chains, we hope to determine why most finds seem to be made of silver.

Hopefully, in the future, someone takes the time research trichinopoly chains and their usefulness. If the treasures attached to the chains are important, then should the chain be just as important, by extension.  There had to be a reason why this form of manufacture was used, especially if there are hints of it being wider spread (Scandinavia and Britain), even if it continues to afford no answers as to who made these chains.

- N.  Russell

Project Proposal continued and Annotated Bibliography

The main questions we will be examining throughout our analysis are: Was trichinopoly a specialized craft made by craftsmen or was it done in the home? Was it a masculine or feminine trade? And does the specific metal used affect the ease of production of the trichinopoly pieces? Our reconstructions of trichinopoly chains will be made from copper jewelery wire and silver-plated jewelery wire, depending what is available in local craft stores and within our range of affordability. We will be creating the chains based on instruction from hobby jewelerymaker Katie Gibson, who is experienced in 'viking knit', another name for the modern hobbyist form of trichinopoly chains, using her supplies and equipment. The main challenges we forsee in this project are the apparent lack of documentation of the original process of making trichinopoly chains, the low number of known samples of the chains, and the learning curve involved in working with metal. We will be doing most of the recreation work during the week of Congress at Uvic, while classes are not in session. This will vary slightly depending on our individual schedules, however we have each other's contact information and can arrange meetings as needed. 

Bellingham H 1906. Annual Address. Journal of County Louth Archaeological Society 1(3): 5-14.

In his address to the County Louth Archaeological Society, Sir Henry Bellingham discusses the Ardagh Chalice, an antiquity of interest to the Irish reading audience. While Bellingham states that Ireland has a particular interest in the preservation of relics discovered in the region, it is the Ardagh Chalice that is of great interest to him. Bellingham then goes on to discuss the chalice in detail, including the design of the chalice, the metals used to manufacture the metal, inscriptions and animal forms, and two silver wire chains thought to be created by the process of Trichinopoly. Dated between the tenth and the early eleventh century, Bellingham points to the chalice as a motivational tool for continuing to study relics found within Ireland. With regard to the project, this article is useful because of its mention of Trichinopoly, its dating of the Ardagh Chalice, and its relative location in Ireland which can help us place the practice of Trichinopoly into a historical/archaeological context.

Petrie, G 1850-1853. On an Ancient Brooch found near Drogheda. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 5: pp36-40

Dr. George Petrie discusses his find of an ancient brooch, or a fibula, belonging a Mr. Waterhouse of Dame-street. Petrie describes the brooch as consisting of two “peculiarities”; the brooch is made of copper and tin alloys rather than bronze and has an attached chain made of silver created by the process of Trichinopoly. These peculiarities are important, as they were not found in any other specimen at the time of this article’s publishing. Petrie goes on to say that this type of brooch design may be associated with Celtic art as well as the Moorish tribes of Africa and could also be associated with Irish Antiquity. Petrie assigns the date of manufacture between the eleventh and early twelfth century. Finally, as the brooch is a piece of early Irish art, Petrie calls for the brooch to be placed in a museum. This article is relevant to our project not only for its mention of Trichinopoly, but also for its mention of silver, which seems to be the metal of choice with regard to its manufacture. This article also ties in with the others in terms of dating and its location within Ireland.

Richardson, H 1980. Derrynavlan and Other Early Church Treasures. The Journal of Royal Society of Antiquaries in Ireland 110: 92-115

In this paper, Richardson describes to finding of the Derrynavlan treasure, which the author classifies as early Christian Irish art. Richardson goes on to describe each of the treasures, providing illustrations as well as historical context as to the manufacture and the uses for each one. The Silver Scourge, discovered with the Trewhiddle Chalice is of particular interest to our project, as it is a silver chain created through Trichinopoly. Richardson goes on to mention that Trichinopoly was also discovered at the base of Ardagh Chalice and with the Tara Brooch. This article is useful to our project because in addition to the dating of the artefact, the historical discussion of art styles and manufacturing methods within a historical context would be of help to us as well.

Somerville O 1993. Kite-Shaped Brooches. The Journal of Royal Society of Antiquaries in Ireland 123: 59-101

 Somerville compares and contrasts twelve different brooches, discussing possible parallels in terms of style and construction, in addition to determining which time period they may have been manufactured in (Irish, Viking, Christian). Somerville discusses each brooch in detail, including designs, inscriptions, measurements, and manufacture methods, using illustrations to give a better idea of what each brooch looks like. Finally, the author goes on the order the brooches chronologically. A point of interest in the article is the mention of Trichinopoly chains, which was discovered with the number eleven brooch and may have been associated with a few others. Somerville states that one of the Derrynavlan treasures, a paten, also possessed a Trichinopoly chain, as was dated within the eighth century. This article is important to our project because of its dating of paten with the Trichinopoly chain and its implication that knitted wire might have been used with other brooches as well. Somerville also associates the brooch with other Trichinopoly-related artefacts, which helps us with dating and with context.

-N'Donna and Dylyn

Trichinopoly Project Proposal Introduction

Trichinopoly, a form of metal working, is the intended technology to be examined within the context of an experimental archaeology framework. This form of metal working is often referred to as a “braiding technique”(Stevens 2004, p.5) although when searching for examples results do appear under Viking Knit and Viking Wire Weaving as well. Viking Knit had many probable uses and could be worn around the wrist or neck(with or without adornment), made to be used as an edge for fabrics, and made into chains for other decorative purposes(Bjornsson as cited in Haley, p.1) on fabric or metal objects. It is found in Northern European burials and amongst hoards(Stevens as cited in Standen 2008, p.1; Haley, p.1) in countries such as: Denmark, Ireland, Scotland, and Sweden (Gunnarsdottir 2005) as well as even earlier in Rome, Greece, and sites relating to the Byzantine Empire ranging from 1^st century BC – 4^th century AD(The British Museum as cited by Haley, p.1). The Anglo-Saxon Norse used trichinopoly from the 8^th century – 10^th century AD(The British Museum as cited by Haley, p.1) and it is not as common in the archaeological record as other similar techniques from contemporary locations, both within time and space, perhaps because of the process being labour intensive with it's narrow diameter(Haley, p.1; Fitzhugh; Bjornsson; Stevens cited by Standen 2005, p.1) and weaving. Knitting with metal is perhaps also quite time consuming as well. It was most likely utilized by prominent or wealthy men and has never been found in a grave identified as being female(Stevens; Graham & Campbell cited by Standen 2005, p.1). Silver tends to be the most common material used(Graham & Campbell as cited by Standen 2005, p.1) but search results with gold have appeared thus far. General Google and Wikipedia searches seem to link trichinopoly to a city in India although none of the formal sources appear to do so.

Bibliography

Gunnarsdottir S. 2005. A Collection of Knit Wire Chains.


Haley J. N/A. Trichinopoly (or Viking wire weaving).


Standen D. 2005. Documentation for: (Example) Silver Trichinopoly Chain.

Stevens L. 2004. A Research Journey: Trichinopoly Chainwork Is It Viking Chain Knitting?. http://userweb.suscom.net/~apolloniavoss.

-Maia

Pre-Proposal Post: Trichinopoly

Trichinopoly
Research questions that have been decided on in the last meeting:

Was trichinopoly a specialized craft made by craftsmen or was it done in the home?
Was it a masculine or feminine trade?
Does the specific metal used affect the ease of production of the trichinopoly pieces?

Group Members: I have also found this site which mentions some of the archaeological items that we had looked at within our initial research. I have not looked into it any further but will when I get the chance to. 

Trichinopoly is a form of metal working sometimes referred to as Viking Knit
Some photographic examples:

Perhaps Gold?

A Progress Piece?

A SIlver Chain

A Close Up

Tools of the Trade

An Older Piece with Damage

- Maia Biel