700-1100 AD, Viking Age. A heavy silver coiled bracelet intended to evoke the form of a snake. In Viking society, arm rings and bracelets were not just decorative, but also served to mark bonds of loyalty between a lord and his followers in a culture where honour was a matter of life and death. Such items were also. given to young men to mark their coming of age and bracelets of precious metals were also used as currency in a time before the widespread availability of coinage. In Norse mythology, Jormungand (pronounced “YOUR-mun-gand;” Old Norse Jörmungandr, “Great Beast”), also called the “Midgard Serpent,” is a snake or dragon who lives in the ocean that surrounds Midgard, the visible world. He was so enormous that his body forms a circle around the entirety of Midgard. He’s one of the three children of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, along with Hel and Fenrir. Good condition; beautiful patina;Size: L:30mm / W:30mm ; 19.2g; Provenance: From an old British collection, acquired on the UK art market in the 1990s.