Odense Birds Silk

The original silk is from the shrine of King Canute IV of Denmark, which stands in the Odense Cathedral. Canute and his brother were murdered by Danish rebels in 1086, he recognized as a saint in 1095 and his remains were installed to the shrine of King Canute in 1100. He is the first and only saint king of Denmark, who ruled the country between 1080-1086.

We know several textile finds from the Odense Cathedral shrines (there were originally two: Saint Canute and his brother's shrine). One of them is from a pillow which was discovered in the shrine of King Canute IV. This silk is depicting confronting birds standing on the two sides of a cross-like (or possibly originally tree of life) pole. Nowadays, the pattern is highly faded, hardly recognizable, however thanks to the emerging of the two shrines in 1833 when during the construction works the textiles were brought for investigations to the National Museum of Denmark. Thanks to the researcher's work of these times, we have a drawn and colored image of the pattern from a stage when it was less faded. From this image we were able to reconstruct the original pattern. 

Colorized drawing made by the National Museum of Denmark's finest draughtsmen, Professor Magnus Petersen in the XIXth century

The textile is often referenced as "yellow silk" because in its current faded form the background looks yellow, however there is a strong possibility that what we can see as a faded yellow was originally a red color. This is why we choose red with our reconstruction.

Sadly, the exact dating of the textile is uncertain. It isn't unusual that the contents of a European reliquary of an important person consist textiles, which times of creation aren't exactly matching the establishment date of the grave. The pattern of the pillows was compared to Sassanid Persian silks from the VIII-IXth century. The most educated guess for the creation of the silk is the IXth century. However, it is clear that somehow it was preserved and put into the shrine of Saint Canute at the turn of the XIth and XIIth century. 

The researchers are uncertain to determine the birds as well. Sometimes they are interpreted as doves, sometimes as peacocks.  

The remains of King Canute IV of Denmark in the Odense Cathedral. The saint king laying his head on the pillow upholstered by the faded bird patterned silk. 

Our main source for the text and for the pictures:
Anne Hedeager Krag: The Eagle Silk and other silks in the shrine of St. Canute in Odense Cathedral. Herning, Poul Kristensens Forlag, 2010
​Anne Hedeager Krag: Byzantine and Oriental silks from a Royal Shrine in Denmark AD 1100. Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. 987. 2016
 

Reconstruction project requested and coordinated by: Ulla Mannering, Research Professor of National Museum of Denmark
Artwork: Balázs Szakonyi