11th-century Scandinavian reindeer antlers

Archival note & context

11th-century Scandinavian reindeer antlers is attested in the primary archival record for Abbots Bromley Horn Dance in Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, United Kingdom.

Every September on Wakes Monday, twelve performers collect six pairs of painted reindeer antlers from St Nicholas Church in Abbots Bromley and walk a ten-mile parish circuit across farms, lanes, and pub yards.

Radiocarbon testing of the antlers showed the reindeer lived in eleventh-century Scandinavia, making the horns the oldest surviving dance regalia in Britain.

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