Paper short abstract:

The paper explores the Scandinavian Iron Age bird brooches. The initial perspective is on falconry in terms of "the Animal Turn" and the dynamics between the bird and the human. The second perspective follows the pictorial language on the brooches and how the image may have acted in the society.

Paper long abstract:

The images on certain types of bird brooches in Iron Age Scandinavia suggest a close relation between the birds of prey and humans. To understand the visual art of the bird brooches my focus will be on the visual quality in the images. What do we see in this sort of visual art? Is it possible to structure the visual perception?

The pictorial language of the bird brooches as representations of birds of prey reveals an interpretation based on the form and stance of the bird's body with the stout aerofoil of the shoulders and the folded wings with the claws in diving position. As well, the ornamentations consist of a bird with straps, human features and human faces.

The paper explores the images on Scandinavian Iron Age bird brooches in the line of two perspectives. The initial and basic perspective is about falconry in terms of "the Animal Turn" and the importance for the falconer to have the sense of the birds' needs and personality, and the dynamics between the human and the bird. The second perspective follows the pictorial language of the bird brooches with an attempt to find out how the visual perception may have acted in the Iron Age society.