Viking ring castles
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Image:Trelleborgen.jpg Trelleborg is a collective name for six Viking ring castles, located in Denmark and the southern part of modern Sweden. Five of them have been dated to the reign of the Harold Bluetooth of Denmark (d. 986). The fort in Borgeby has been dated to the vicinity of 1000 AD, so it is possible that it too, was built by the same king.
The castles (or forts) are named after the first discovered castle, Trelleborg near Slagelse, excavated 1936-1941). The so-called Trelleborge are described as ring castles because of the strictly geometrical shape, in contrast to ring castles with the castle work encircled by a rampart that is not necessarily circular.
Ring castles
- Aggersborg near Limfjorden, Denmark.
- Borgeby north of Lund at Lödde Å in Skåne, modern Sweden.
- Fyrkat near Hobro, Denmark.
- Nonnebakken in Odense, Denmark.
- Trelleborg near Slagelse, Denmark.
- Trelleborg in Trelleborg, Skåne, modern Sweden.
Traditionally, the name Trelleborg has been explained as a fort built by slaves (the Danish word for slave being træl), but the word trel (pl trelle) in a more plausible explanation. This relates to the wooden staves covering both sides of the protective circular walls.
Comparisons of the different ring castles
| Name | Inner diameter | Rampart width | Number of houses | Length of houses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggersborg | 240 m | 11 m | 48 | 32.0 m |
| Borgeby | 150 m | 15 m | ||
| Fyrkat | 120 m | 13 m | 16 | 28.5 m |
| Nonnebakken in Odense | 120 m | |||
| Trelleborg near Slagelse | 136 m | 19 m | 16 | 29.4 m |
| Trelleborg in Trelleborg | 125 m |
The ring castles and the contemporary bridge over Ravning Enge/Vejle Å (Vejle river) — together with minor bridges erected on Zealand (Bakkendrop bridge between Gørlev Tissø and Risby bridge by Præstø) and Lolland (over Flintinge river) — differ clearly from others from the Viking Age. Unlike other ring castles from the period the ring castles which follow the Trelleborg model are constructed after a strictly geometrical plan and measured with the Roman foot. The pointed bottoms of the moats are other elements borrowed from the Romans.
In spite of searches no real parallels have been found in the rest of Europe. On the coasts of the Netherlands and Belgium there are ring castles with certain points of resemblance and on the island Walcheren there are the remnants of a castle with gateways in the four points of the compass, combined with streets. Trelleborg (Zealand) and Fyrkat are dendrochronologically dated to 980 and the remainder have been carbon-14 dated to about the same time. Around 974 the Danish Viking king Harald Bluetooth lost the Danevirke and parts of Southern Jutland to the Germans. The whole complex of castles, bridges and roads which were built around 980 as a small part of an extensive defence work, are presumed to be Harald’s work.
Another theory is that the ring castles were boot camps for the troops used by Sweyn Forkbeard in his attack on England. Sweyn and his men sacked London in 1013.