Gugel

Underneath the floor in Uvdal Stave Church, a child-sized skull wearing a Gugel was found. A Gugel is a headdress with a wide collar covering the shoulders, fastened together by two symmetrical pieces fitted with wedges in the collar. The hood had a long trailing point in the back. The point was cut with the fabric or added later as a separate piece.

The Gugel was a fashionable item of clothing in Europe during the 14h century. So far, the medieval Gugel from Uvdal is the only one found in Norway. It is however likely to believe that the Gugel was a well-known headdress here in the north during the Middle Ages. How did this fashionable piece of clothing make its way to Uvdal? Was this a part of the standard clothing customs in the area or was this child buried with the Gugel a foreign traveler from the south? The Gugel is today preserved in the collections of the Historical Museum in Oslo.