Viking Age yarn winders / niddy noddies: The archaeological finds
A niddy noddy is a tool used in textile production. It can have different purposes, like storing the yarn in a practical manner or making it easier to dye. There are two Scandinavian places with Viking Age finds of niddy noddies: Oseberg/Norway and Hedeby/Germany (Viking Age: Denmark).
Oseberg
The two niddy noddy finds from Oseberg are described in detail in Grieg, S. (1928). Osebergfunnet II. Oslo. One (No. 171c) has survived only in fragments, but is still almost complete. It was found in the south-western part of the big grave chamber. The other one (No.173a) is complete except for a small missing piece at one of the arms. It was found in the western half of the grave chamber, next to the chest No. 178. They were both made of beech wood.
No. 171c -- On the first, more fragmented one, the middle piece is almost completely missing, but there is more left of the arms. The left arm consists of six fragments which could be put together again. Only the outer part of the lower end is missing here. The arm is slightly bent, triangular in section and the outer edge egg-shaped. There is a protrusion in the middle towards the middle piece of the niddy noddy decorated with a simple contour line. There's a hole in the protrusion in which the tenon of the middle piece would have fitted. The chord length of the left arm is 40cm, the greatest width 4.9cm.
The middle piece, which, as stated above, is not complete, is now 11.1cm long. It is broken towards the middle. There is some decoration in the form of simple contour lines on each side of the left part. The greatest width is 2.8cm. From the handle there is only 4.7cm left. It would have been longer and would have connected the left and right middle pieces. It is oval in cross section and has a ring-shaped bulge at one end. There is some band-shaped ornament on the top side. Its greatest width is about 2.3cm. The right part of the middle piece is broken towards the handle; the tenon towards the right arm is well preserved. There are no decorations on this piece. It is 13.2cm long, the greatest width on the right end is 2.7cm. It is quadrangular in cross section.
Of the right arm there is less preserved than of the left one and that which is preserved consists of five fragments. It is decorated in the same manner as the left one. The chord length of the remaining parts put together is around 28cm, the greatest width 4.9cm.
No. 173a -- The second niddy noddy is made of three parts, the two arms and the middle part, of which the left arm is completely preserved. The arms are slightly convex and triangular in cross section, the outer edge is egg-shaped. They too have a protrusion towards the middle part and is connected to the latter one via a tenon. The left arm piece has a chord length of 43.3cm, the greatest width is 7cm.
The middle piece's part left of the handle is 6.5cm long and decreases in width towards the handle. On its upper side it is decorated with a band ornament. The handle, now in two fragments, used to be round in cross section but was compressed by the weight of the grave mound. Like Nr. 171c, there are two ring shaped bulges on each side. The handle's complete length is 15.5cm, the part between the bulges 11.5cm. One of the bulges is decorated with a triangle. The middle piece's right part is complete, but slightly damaged. It is 6.5cm long, rectangular in cross section and has a 2.5cm long tenon with an oval cross section.
The right arm piece is worked on the same manner as the left one. It now lies in five fragments. The chord length is 43.5cm, its greatest width 7cm.
Hedeby
There is no complete niddy noddy from Hedeby, but eight fragments (seven from the harbour, one from the settlement) from which the general shape is extrapolated. They are describes in: Westphal, F. (2006), Die Holzfunde von Haithabu, Wachholtz Verlag Neumünster. The fragments contain three arm parts, two middle parts and three handles. The type of wood most commonly used was maple, second most were beech and willow.
The measurements are reconstructed from all the fragments combined. The width of the arm pieces is 38cm, their thickness 0.9-1.1cm. The complete length between the arm pieces couldn't be reconstructed, but two handles have a length of 6.5-7.5cm. There are signs that the arms could be oriented in a 90° angle. Three arm pieces have almost identical measurements.
The arm pieces could be removed from the middle part. They were constructed with a tongue which would have fitted into the groove of the middle part.
The middle parts were rectangular in cross section, cubic towards the handle. The handles were round in cross section, thicker towards the middle and with bulges on each side.
The decoration of some fragments is quite extensive. There is one arm piece with stylized animal heads as its ends. Some middle parts (not the handles) are decorated with chip carving, sometimes on both sides.
Similarities and comparative material
Although there are some differences in the design, it's striking that the tools from Oseberg and Hedeby are very similar in certain aspects, like the overall shape. They are of roughly the same size and they all have bulges on each side of the handle. The middle part is not straight, but grows wider towards the arms. On the other hand, the arms of the Hedeby niddy noddy are quite straight and only curve down at the ends, whereas the ones from Oseberg are curved all the way.
Westphal (2006) mentioned some comparative finds from medieval Schleswig and Bergen. The Bergen finds are shaped similar to the Hedeby ones, but are smaller (22-23.2cm arm length). The Schleswig finds have an arm length very close to the ones from Oseberg.