Viking Helmet With Horns Not True

But here is the thing. One has never been found in use. Ever.

Not in the historical record, from cultures they have encountered they had encountered in over 500 years of existence, from the 7th to the 11th centuries. And this record is vast, stretching from North America to England, into the Middle East and North Africa, and Eastward into edges of China.

They met thousands of cultures. The Chinese, the Egyptians, North American Indians, the Romans, the Byzantines, and nobody wrote about these helmets, or painted pictures of them or made carvings?

And they left behind plentiful records of their own. Paintings, etchings, writings (they were actually a highly literate culture for the period). And none of them recorded this either?

Not one depiction of such in art work. Not one depiction of such in writings about them. Not one ever found on a historical battlefield or grave. Not one, ever.

No, it is fictional. As much as the anachronistic "Knights in armor" of King Arthur. Yet another piece of historical fantasy romanticism that was invented centuries after the actual events.

By the way, the image of Valkyrie with wings on their helmets? It also dates to the same 1876 play. In the tens of thousands of artifacts recovered, not one ever depicted them like that. Now that is the almost universally accepted image of a Valkyrie, but it is not accurate. The Vikings never put wings on their helmets.

I can only assume you get your history from Mel Brooks.

 

You are simply WRONG. Deal with it the best that you can.

 

Then prove it.

Show me a single contemporary depiction of such a helmet attributed to the Vikings.

 

"Prove it"? Is it a letter from my employer you're asking for? You may be used to intimidating other people but you are making a big mistake if you think it will work with me, sonny boy.

 

I said contemporary, as in contemporary to the period itself. Not a modern interpretation.

As in "proof that existed at the time of the event". Not some modern "proof" that dates to something that is happening now.

Your letter means as much as a letter from the SCA that somebody was a "good knight".

Now show me a document, painting or carving from the 7th through 11th centuries depicting a helmet with horns.

A "living history" exhibit? Is that a joke? It must be, since it is nothing but play-acting. Pretending all of the romanticized and good parts of a historical period, done for the entertainment more than the education of the viewers.

 

The Vikings were primarily traders. And they ran one of the largest trading networks of the era, ranging from China to Africa, and throughout Europe. But like many traders, they would resort to piracy also if they thought they could get away with it.