A Beautifully Carved Horn: Horn Carving in the Dark Ages
By Oswald of Mercia
The Germanic peoples (the Danes, Franks, Anglo-Saxons,
Swedes, and other tribes speaking Germanic languages) were amongst the last of
Europe to give up the use of horns for drinking vessels. The use of drinking
horns, are attested to from archaeological finds in Anglo-Saxon and Viking
graves, and throughout the Eddas, and such Icelandic Sagas such as the
Orkneyinga Saga:
After they had carried on drinking for some time they
went out for Nones, then came back and drank toasts from horns. Next, Svein
Breast-rope wanted to exchange horns with his namesake, believing that Svein
Asleifarson's was smaller. Eyvind thrust a large horn into the hand of Svein
Asleifarson who offered it to the other Svein. (Orkneyinga Saga, Palsson and
Edwards translation)
Carved horns are mentioned in the Elder Edda (compiled about
1000 CE):
On the horn’s face were there All the kin of letters
Cut aright and reddened, How should I rede them rightly? The ling-fish long Of
the land of Hadding, Wheat-ears unshorn, And wild things inwards. (“The Second
Lay of Gudrun”, Morris and Magnusson translation)
And the Prose Edda as well:
Next I see a finely inscribed serpent on the splendid
yeast-flood tunic (a kenning for a drinking horn).
From this verse we know that motifs similar to those used in
wood carving and metal working of the period were used on horns. Serpents were
a favorite topic of metal and wood workers as witnessed by the artifacts that
have survived such as those from Oseberg and Sutton Hoo. The use of serpents or
dragons was part of what is known as animal ornamentation. From about 100 BCE
onwards to 1200 CE, often highly abstract representations of birds, horses,
dragons, dogs and other animals appeared on Germanic goods of all kinds. The
Oseberg finds included a ship that contained a bed and cart both intricately
carved with representations of faces, people, and various beasts. Similar
carvings are found throughout Northern Europe on objects made of bone and
antler. Combs, sword mounts, bracelets, knife handles, and weaving tools, found
in archaeological digs, all made of bone or antler show carvings similar to
those of the metal and wood work.
Unfortunately, few intact drinking or blowing horns from the
Viking or Anglo-Saxon ages have survived. Horn (being softer than either bone
or antler), decays rather rapidly in nearly any type of soil.
However, while few drinking horns have survived from the
Dark Ages, two gold representations of drinking horns did. The Gallehus Horns
found in Jutland, Denmark in 1639 were gold drinking vessels in the shape of
aurochs horns. One bore a runic inscription and both had carvings of animals
and people arranged in bands around them. Both horns were unfortunately stolen
and melted down, but replicas were made from a study of the horns. Both were dated
to around the 5th century. Glass horns from the 4th century onwards, on the
other hand, do not seem to use animal and human forms, but geometric designs.
While no Viking or Anglo-Saxon horns have survived for the most part their
metal mounts have. The tips and rims of horns buried at Sutton Hoo are
decorated with geometric designs. Unfortunately, the horns themselves did not
survive. Six horn rims found at Taplow show similar designs. Many rims and tips
found throughout Scandinavia and England are close to these in design.
The precise way horns were carved in the Viking and
Anglo-Saxon ages is lost to us. Many of the wood working skills of the era
however, would have translated into the polishing and carving of horns. They
probably used chisels, files, awls, and saws similar to those they used for
wood, only finer. The first step in making a drinking horn involves removing
the core from the horn. One method of removing the core is by soaking the horn
in water for several weeks, and then boiling for an hour or two. This method
produces a clean, sterile horn. The drawback is that boiling can warp the walls
of the horn if the heat is too intense, or if the horn is boiled too long.
Another method of removing the core is to place the horn in a warm, dry area. The
core gradually shrinks, and after a few weeks can be removed. This method
leaves a lot of material in the horn that must be cleaned out, but will not
warp the walls of the horn. Dark Age horners could have used either method or
both to remove horn cores. Once the core is removed, the horn is polished. Dark
Age horners did not have access to modern sand paper. Polishing of the horn is
likely then to have been done by scraping the rough horn with a fine blade, and
then polishing using any variety of methods. One that was most likely used was
a leather strap soaked in water. This method can give as good a polish to a
horn as modern steel wool, and was in use by horners up to one hundred years
ago. Charcoal, ash, or powered pumice may also have been used with a wool
cloth, and produces similar results. Wet sandstone could also have been used to
smooth and polish horns, however, this method is likely to produce scratches.
The carving of the horn was likely done by an awl, probably
specially made for the purpose. The horner would have scratched in the designs
with a fine tipped awl and then deepened them with a larger awl. Knives and
chisels may also have been used. Regardless of the tools, the carving is likely
to have been a gradual process of scratching in the design and then deepening
and widening the grooves until the desired affect was achieved. While I have
tried using Dark Age methods in horn carving, I rely on the most part on a
Dremel tool using a fine engraving bit to carve, and try to obtain horns that have
already been cored. When I do get horns that still have the core, I rely on the
second method described above (after several bad experiences with boiling).
Once the core is removed, I judge what sandpaper grade to start the sanding
process with. For very rough horns, I start sanding with a very rough grade
sand paper (usually 60), and then proceed to a medium grade sandpaper. If the
horn is already relatively smooth, I start with a medium grade sandpaper
(usually 120) to remove any deep scratches. I then continue to step down to
finer grade sandpapers, finishing the sanding process with medium or fine grade
emery cloth, and very fine steel wool. One could alternately finish the sanding
process by stepping down to a very fine grade sandpaper such as 360 and then
1000. By using a finer grade sand paper each sanding, one makes the polishing
process much easier. When sanding, one must always go against the grain of the
horn. If one sands with the grain of the horn, deep scratches can be the
result. Once the horn had been sanded smooth, I begin the polishing process. In
the past, I have used jeweller’s rogue or polishing compounds to achieve a nice
shine. In recent years though, I have been using nylon stockings to shine the
horn after buffing it with a cotton buffing pad and Dremel tool. This results
in a beautiful shine, almost a mirror finish in some cases at a cheaper cost
than using jeweler’s rogue or polishing compounds.
Once the horn is polished I carve the horn. For my designs I
use a paper template glued to the horn (using a non-toxic glue stick). Horn is
difficult to draw on, and both pencil and ink will smear. I then use an
engraving cutter bit (Dremel bit #107) and Dremel tool to carve through the
paper and into the horn. Once the design is carved into the horn, I then deepen
it, alternating between carving and engraving bits. The engraving cutter bit
#108 manufactured by Dremel is excellent for fine work while bit #107 is best
for general carving. I occasionally use the #7103 Diamond Ball Point by Dremel
to get a smoother cut than the other bits. There are really no tricks to
carving a horn. Every horn is different, and only experience can really tell
anyone which bit to use at what time. The main concern when carving a horn, be
it with a Dremel tool, awl, or knife is to keep the hand steady (with a Dremel
using a pencil grip on the rotary tool) and with a rotary tool making sure the
bits are locked tightly into the collet. When using a Dremel, higher speeds
(10,000 RPM and above) seem to work best when carving a horn, but slower speeds
are safer for detailed work. Once the carving is complete, all rough areas left
from the carving, can be smoothed down by buffing and polishing. I have found
one can smooth the grooves of a carving using a bit of steel wool or emery
cloth on the tip of a matchstick or toothpick.
It is likely Dark Age horns were painted. Paint colors
available to the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings were generally blacks, browns,
greens, blues, yellows, and reds. All of these colors have been noted on both
Anglo-Saxon and Viking artifacts. I generally use Testors enamel modeling
paints as these do not seem to peel off or crack after long periods of use. It
is not unlikely that horns may have been inlaid with gold or silver. Horns can
also be dyed by soaking them in water with dyes or chemicals. A horn soaked
with Black Walnut husks will yield a brown or blackish horn. A more modern
method is to use Kool Aid as a dying agent, but this works with rather
unpredictable results.
To make the horn fit for drinking from, one must first cure
it. This can be done after the horn is cored and cleaned out, or after carving.
In order to cure a horn, one must make sure that the horn is clean. This can be
done by filling the horn with water, and then adding a teaspoon of bleach, and
allowing the horn to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. One should then rinse the horn
thoroughly. Alternately, denture cleaner can be used, a tablet or two in a horn
filled with water. Once the horn is clean, one can then cure it by allowing
ale, mead, beer, or wine to set in it overnight. This should get rid of the
horn taste, although it may have to be done more than once to totally eliminate
the taste. Some folks use beeswax to coat the inside of the horn or some form
of chemical sealant. Neither method seems to work as well as curing in my
opinion however. Beeswax will melt in the hot sun as well as attract dirt.
Chemical sealants may leach into any drink placed into the horn.
If one wishes to make a blowing horn, the same steps can be
taken to sand, polish, and clean the horn. However, before one begins carving
designs in the horn, they will want to carve the mouth piece. The first step is
to saw off the tip of the horn at the point where it becomes solid. Take a
dowel, and place in the horn until it hits the solid tip. Mark the dowel at the
horn’s mouth. Then use the dowel to measure on the outside of the horn, and
make a pencil mark about 1/8 to 1/4 inch beyond end of the dowel towards the
tip. This is where you will want to saw the tip off. A hacksaw or bone saw
works best to saw horn. Once the tip is off you will need to drill a small hole
through the solid end into the open section of the horn. A brace or a hand
drill can be used to do this. The bit should be no larger than 1/8 inch. If one
wishes to be authentic, they would use a gimlet (a miniature auger with a cross
handle and bit) to drill the hole. Once the hole is drilled, you can begin
carving the mouth piece. You do this by carving a "V" shaped mouth
piece leading into the horn. This is easiest done by inserting the blade of a
small but sturdy knife into the horn at an angle, blade tip pointing inward and
slowly carving around the entire circumference of the horn tip in a circular
pattern. Be careful not to widen the hole nearest the mouth of the horn too
greatly. Once you have a slight "V" shape started, and after clearing
away any splinters, stop and sound the horn. If the horn sounds as you wish,
you can stop carving, and begin smoothing and rounding the edges around the mouthpiece.
Bibliography
Evison, V. I. ‘Germanic glass drinking horns,’ Journal of
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MacGregor, Arthur M. “Bone, Antler, Ivory, and Horn, the
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Story of the Volsungs,” Walter Scott Press, London: 1988
Palsson, Hermann and Edwards, Paul (translators),
“Orkneyinga Saga,” Penguin Books, 1978 Ritchie, Carson, “Bone and Horn Carving
A Pictorial History,” A..S. Barnes and Co., Inc., Cranbury, NJ: 1975
Salzman, L.F. “Building in England Down to 1540,” Oxford
University Press, Oxford: 1952 Scurlock, William (editor), “The Book of
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