They are chronologically organised, with the Viking Age adventurers looking west, the early modern era seafarers (17th/18th centuries) looking north, the 19th-century seamen looking east, and the 20th-century sailors looking south. The monument is cuboid, and the statues arranged into four triads, facing out in different cardinal directions. The male-exclusive representation and this omission of the later Middle Ages is especially odd given the striking evidence from Bryggen of the town’s commercial activity at this time, but also of women’s roles in seafaring expeditions in both the Viking and medieval periods (see also Judith Jesch’s paper here). Specifically given my interests, it is notable that this begins with the Viking Age but then skips the later Middle Ages to honour the modern era all at sea. Together they afford a sculptural idealisation of the history of Bergen’s (and Norway’s?) maritime adventures and exploration, trading and commerce, through a millennium. It comprises an artistic timeline of the city’s relationship with seafaring via exclusively male bronze statues, 12 in total. On a recent visit to Norway, I saw an example of how this is enshrined in public art.ĭyre Vaa‘s sculpture in the Norwegian city of Bergen – the Maritime Memorial – is a prominently situated nautical monument at the highest point and the northern end of Torgallmenningen.

Much has been said of late about the romantic hyper-masculinity of the Vikings in popular culture.

Monument of the lost vikings