HORNED VIKING HELMETIR80581 INDIA This Horned Viking Helmet is a basic ''skull cap'' design with top spike and features steel sleeves that support real buffalo horns mounted to each side of the helm. Full size and wearable, the cap measures 9-1/4 from front to back, 7-3/4 wide and is unlined. The front of the helmet is adorned with a brass lion's head medallion giving it's owner a symbol of power and prestige. Hand forged 18 gauge steel construction, this helm is hand forged and polished using the old world methods by artisan smiths of India. Perfect for a long day of reenactment, historical interpretation, costume or roleplay. One size fits most. (See the optional leather liner kit linked in the recommended accessories list to make your helm a custom fit and long comfortable wear on the Nordic Noggin!) Note: Because the horns are real animal horn, their coloring and patterning will vary.
• Overall Height: 8-1/2''
• Overall Width: 15" • Front to Back: 9-1/4" • Side to Side: 7-3/4" • Circumference: 26'' • Height Base to Spike Tip: 8" • Horns: Real Buffalo • Medallion: Brass • Weight: 2 lb 7 oz • Gauge Steel: 18
Specs may vary slightly from piece to piece.
HORNED VIKING HELMETS -A History Mystery
Although horned helmets are in popular culture often associated with Vikings, there is scarce physical evidence that Viking Age Scandinavians found them popular as actual headgear. The attribution probably arose in 19th century Swedish Romanticism. The image was so widespread by the mid-20th century that the helmet logo of the present day Minnesota Vikings football team is a horn on each side of the helmet. However, there is some evidence that they are featured in Norse mythology: Odin's chosen warriors, the Einherjar, reputedly wore helmets "horned like bulls" and "beaked like eagles".
A Migration period (5th century) metal die from Öland, Sweden, depicts a warrior with a helmet adorned with two dragons or serpents, arranged in a fashion similar to horns. Also, a decorative plate affixed to the famous Sutton Hoo helmet (ca. 600 AD) shows a depiction of a similar helmet. This strange headgear, of which only depictions have survived, seems to have fallen out of use with the end of the Migration period.
There is a single depiction on a Viking Age amulet found in Uppland, Sweden that shows a figure with two snakes or dragons on its head. Another instance of a possible depiction of a Viking Age horned helmet, is found on a dubious tapestry illustration uncovered in the Viking age Oseberg ship burial which was found in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway.
Below are recommended accessories for wearing, displaying, and maintaining your hand forged Horned Viking Helmet:
