This winter I may have done a little reconstruction of a painting by Swedish artist Carl Larsson, famously depicting the story of a human sacrifice (not pictured above).
These pictures are taken at the supposed historic site as well.
So, historically being in your shirtsleeves only was seen as something quite unchaste. People could really see everything if the wind came from the right direction.
However, in Sweden there was one exception that made it acceptable: if you were wearing a belt!
Wearing a belt meant you were wearing something on top of your shirt and therefore you were “dressed”. This was good as harvest time was sweaty work and you would want to wear as few garments as possible while working. So in the late summer you’d often see women toiling away with rakes under the sun. Wearing next to nothing, according to the standards of the time.
Peasant girl, Sweden ca 1850.
Just kidding it’s me this morning.
In Swedish folk costume there is a special belt called a list
Lister are common around the south eastern coast of Sweden: Småland, Blekinge, Skåne.
These are contested areas of Sweden historically and there is a story concerning the List and the Danish.
So the story of the Blendabelt goes:
Once upon a medieval century the Danes were invading Småland from the neighbouring provinces to the south. The men had already gone to fight them along the border but a piece of the Danish army got into Värend and started raiding. The women who had been left behind by their husbands did their best to defend their homes, and one of them - lady Blenda - decided to call them all to her house. There she presented her plan.
The women of Värend would put on a feast and invite the Danish invaders. They would ply them with drink and food. The men of course accepted and revelled in the hospitality of the Swedes. And when night fell the women left the Danes sleeping in the feast hall. Then they barred the doors and set the roof on fire.
Some of the Danes escaped but according to legend they were captured and dragged to the nearby lake where they were put under the ice to drown instead.
When morning came no Danes remained and when the king heard of the Smålandian bravery he allowed the women of Värend to wear the royal seal on their List.