Authenticity is at the heart of the new Viking movie The Northman, according to a jeweller and costume designer from Co Down who helped create some of the looks in the film.
Robert Eggers’ revenge epic tells the tale of warrior prince Amleth, played by Alexander Skarsgard, who sets out to avenge the murder of his father King Aurvandil, played by Ethan Hawke.
The rampaging Vikings are seen pillaging homes and fighting each other with swords against the backdrop of some of Northern Ireland’s most beautiful locations.
Not only was much of the film shot here, but a great deal of the costumes and jewellery were made here too.
Downpatrick man Conor Sweeney and his partner Audhild, from Bergen in Norway, were involved in making some of the most eye-catching looks, which they said had been “authentically recreated, down to the last inch”.
They started their company Valhallas Silver — named after the Viking afterlife — in 2012.
The couple told the Belfast Telegraph that when Vikings died in battle, they were buried with their prized possessions. These would mostly be swords, brooches, necklaces and armbands.
“We were so inspired by what people would find on archaeological digs in Scandinavia, where Vikings would have been buried, that we wanted to recreate these authentic pieces of jewellery for others to enjoy,” said Conor.
“We called our business Valhallas silver because that is who owned the silver, not the person.”
Conor and Audhild have been very involved in Northern Ireland’s booming film industry for the past nine years.
During that time, they have worked on movies such as King Arthur, Dungeons & Dragons and Dracula Untold, as well as the TV series Vikings and Game of Thrones. They admitted that when they were brought on set for The Northman, they thought it was “just another Viking movie”, but they could not have been more wrong.
Some of their jewellery which appeared in the film
Conor was one of the jewellery designers and silversmiths, and Audhild used her costume design skills and knowledge of Viking fashion as a costume fabricator and consultant.
She said it was “an honour” to recreate something “people wore thousands of years ago, inspired by our ancestors”.
“We really thought that this would just be like working on another Viking movie, but we were so surprised at just how committed the director and producers all were to create a truly authentic story,” Audhild added.
“It is probably the only Viking movie to ever do so.”
The couple met with costume designer Linda Muir in December 2019 and took some of the jewellery and clothes they had been working on to show her.
“She was so blown away [by] the knowledge we had on Viking culture, clothing and jewellery that she brought Robert Eggers down to the meeting halfway through,” said Audhild.
“He is a man of few words, but when he came down he started looking through all our stuff and was just blown away.
“He said, ‘I hope to see more of you two’, and the next day I got the job as a costume fabricator, and Conor was brought on as jewellery designer.
“We couldn’t believe we were meeting him on our first meeting. We thought it was just to talk about ideas — we didn’t know what this would lead to. It was just amazing and a real honour.”
Some of their jewellery which appeared in the film
Conor created some of the silver pieces using traditional Viking methods and the lost wax process, including the bear head armbands worn by Amleth on the film’s poster and a raven brooch worn by King Aurvandil.
He said that different patterns and symbols meant different things in Viking culture, and this was important to consider in the design process.
“Some wore Thor’s hammer as a sign of protection and others used animal heads to symbolise their role,” Conor added. “In The Northman, Amleth is a berserker — the elite of the Viking warriors — and he wore a mix between a wolf and bear hide, so I used bear heads to decorate the armbands, in keeping with his character.”
Conor also used a brooch discovered during an archaeological dig in Sweden to design King Aurvandil’s piece.
“His name was War Raven, so Linda wanted a brooch to represent his character,” he said.
“I couldn’t find any artefacts from history which represented a raven, so I took a brooch which was found in a dig in Sweden and reshaped it to add bird heads and made it into a striking penannular brooch.
“We went back and forth with a few design ideas after presenting her with authentic pieces which had been found. We eventually came up with one which suited King Aurvandil.
“While authenticity was key in many aspects of our work on the movie, the director and designers also wanted the pieces to be in keeping with the characters themselves.
“Every single piece you see on the screen was handmade in either silver, gold or bronze. There were no plastic or cheap copies anywhere.”
Conor was just one of the talented jewellery designers on set. He was joined by Belfast-based Cyril Flannigan from Ember Jewellery, who made the crown for King Aurvandil.
Audhild said all the clothing viewers see on screen was made by hand.
“Where it would have taken minutes to create with a sewing machine, the designer was adamant that everything was kept as authentic as possible,” she explained. “It was clear that the director and designer had been researching for years on Viking culture. It was amazing to see.
“It was so special to be part of the journey of the film, and they were so keen to support local [enterprise]. Every piece of fabric was sourced from all over Europe and some were handwoven, in keeping with the style.
“It really was a team effort. The whole team was just fantastic in the workroom, but I was so excited to do some stitching on Nicole Kidman’s character, Queen Gudrun.”
The dressmaker said the production company ensured everyone’s safety on set throughout the pandemic.
Filming was due to get under way in March 2020 but was delayed because of the health crisis. It later became one of the first productions in the UK to shoot under pandemic protocols.
Audhild said that the actors and crew were tested three times a week for Covid and “were made to feel so safe”.
“It was so professional and there really was a great sense of community created while filming,” she added.
“Belfast really has so much to offer in terms of world-class movie-making — on all levels — so it was great to be a part of it.”
Eggers, who co-wrote the script with the Reykjavik poet Sjon, wanted to film the historical revenge saga in Iceland, where it is believed the legend of Amleth originated.
But after a visit to Northern Ireland to explore potential locations, the American filmmaker changed his mind and shot much of the $90m movie here.
