slithering viking snake

a google search always produces something....

Pipe

Brooch

and an interesting article on viking serpants

The Swedish dragon, though reptilian in appearance, had a supernatural rather than natural origin. It was said that when a greedy old miser hid away the inheritance due his relatives, his soul would leave his body at the moment of death and take the form of a scaly, serpent-like monster to guard the hoard. Said dragon would on occasion leave its treasure and soar across the sky in the shape of an elongated, flame-encircled object,

That has a thousand adventures written all over it.

Davis