Viking & Medieval Belts
Viking & Medieval Belts
The belt is a band worn around the waist that holds your garment together and serves to fasten objects or equipment. Often, the belt is used to narrow the waist. Belts with metal links and bronze decorations with hooks as fasteners have already been found in Bronze Age graves. The belt buckle common today, by the way, comes from antiquity and can probably be attributed to the Romans. In the Middle Ages, the belt often served both status and purpose. It served the warrior as a sword belt for his weapon or was displayed as an ornamental belt made of the finest fabrics with elaborate decorations by wealthy merchants and nobles. The medieval long belt was the most striking, as it could sometimes be wrapped around the body twice, simply because people could afford it!
Which belts can I wear as a Viking?
It depends on whether you want to stroll around the medieval market as a Viking because you like it, or if you practice historical Viking reenactment and want to be historically very accurate. As a Viking at the medieval market or even a Norseman in LARP, you can wear all the Viking belts from our online shop that say "Viking" and that you find visually appealing. They are designed in the so-called Viking style and perfectly match your Viking clothing, whether it's an ornamental belt, long belt, or weapon belt! If, however, you are a Viking reenactor, you should probably pay more attention to materials like bronze, iron, or brass for buckles and decorative elements, whether colors are authentic (no black), and whether there might even be evidence of finds (Birka, Haithabu, Gokstad) of belts. You are also welcome to visit us in our store in Magdeburg for this; we are happy to help.
What do I need to consider when buying a medieval belt?
The important question is, what do you need it for? If you want to attach a drinking horn, a leather pouch, and a dagger holder to your medieval belt, then that's not a problem with any belt. However, if you want to carry a long sword with you at the medieval market, then the belt should be more robust and wider to better handle the weight; a separate sword belt might even be better for that. To cinch a medieval dress with a belt, a narrow belt is sufficient, perhaps even a long belt with some decorations on the leather strap as a small eye-catcher.
