Viking Haithabu bag with duck embroidery

Linen Hedeby bag with ash wood arched handles

Back in the 8-11 centuries, the settlement of Haithabu was an important intersection of the commercial routes between Northern lands and Central Europe and beyond – a flourishing center of trading and cultural life. Nowadays, the place can be found under the name of Hedeby in northern Germany, not far from the Baltic Sea. That's where archeologists discovered the wooden frame with signs of wear and textile fragments attached. Later, they will find similar objects made of wood or bones in Birka and Uppsala. The upper part comes in various shapes, and some of the finds are decorated with carvings. The arched shape of the solid ash wood we've used for this bag is very close to the one from the Haithabu excavation, but the handmade embroidery design on the rectangular linen part is our own creation. It perfectly matches the trim and engravings in the "Ingrid" series of ArmStreet's Viking collections.

The bag's design allowed to keep all the valuable belongings secured inside: when worn over the shoulder, the rope strap brings two parts of the wooden frame attached to the textile part together and keeps them tightly shot. The value of not losing your small possessions in a pocketless era while still having them close was so high that even in later works, we can still see the bag of a similar type (such as in the "Tacuinum Sanitatis" by Ibn Butlán). We've updated the classical rectangular shape of the bag with neatly folded side panels, lining, and decorative stitching along the oil-treated ash frames. Popular at modern medieval events, the historically based design of the new addition to our Viking accessories will keep your phone, wallet, ID, or small DIY project in handy, even if your medieval lifestyle includes some jumping, running, or climbing trees. The bag's outer layer is made of 100% natural flax linen, and we've left two options for the inner layer. The adjustable hemp rope strap allows endless ways to carry the Hedeby bag.

Please contact us if you have any additional questions.