---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <authfriend@...> wrote :
Well, in any case, Valkyries had winged helmets: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valkyrie_bearing_Hero_to_Valhalla.jpg (The guy she's hanging onto is dead, slain in battle, BTW. She isn't kidnapping him. Presumably he'll be revived once they get to Valhalla.) Oh, God, love that medieval jewelry. Just spectacular. So much for the Vikings being crude barbarians. You have to see it to really appreciate it, I was expecting some nice swords, hats and a boat or two but the brooches came as a nice surprise and are something to behold close up. There was a news item about the exhibition on TV and they took one of the more intricate brooches to a top jewellers in London and asked how much it was worth at today's prices and how long it would take to make. And they said it was basically priceless as they couldn't make one if they wanted to! I love stuff like that because it isn't mass produced and everything about it was dug out of the ground by someone and the tools were handbuilt too, just hammers and gougers smelted over an open fire, and hair thin strands of gold and silver. Some real talent in the so-called dark ages. http://philipparker.net/2014/03/06/the-raven-has-landed/ http://www.urweg.com/list/broaches.html Sigh. I can't stop thinking about Emma with a nice brooch on her shawl. No wonder they invaded us so easily....
