RARE VARIATION, VIKING LUNAR PENDANT NECKLACE, 11TH-12TH CENTURY AD

Late Viking era, the period of conversions to Christianity. Circular, just over ¾” diameter. Central crescent moon with its tips touching and beaded edges, enclosing a low rounded further crescent. Four supports at the cardinal points. This form is very similar to the crusader’s crosses of the First Crusade (1096-1099) in which the quartered bars describe a cross. The common elements are undeniable and it seems almost certain that this amulet is meant to combine the Pagan icon with the newly embraced cross. Viking converted to Christianity largely in the second half of the 12th century and fought in numbers in the First Crusade.