I think the title of this thread is self-explanatory.
I found this site, which covers Viking food, but it doesn’t mention what they drank from. Cartoonists, Hollywood, fantasy novelists, etc… seem to agree that they did in fact drink from horns, but I don’t know where the idea originated from or whether it’s historically accurate. It seems a little odd to me, since most horns have low volume compared to your average stein. Furthermore, a horn of ale won’t stand up on a flat surface, so you’d have to hold on to it until you were finished.
So what does the almighty Straight Dope have to say on the issue?
Not all the time, though - a basic mug of wood or earthenware would do for everyday use - but the ceremonial use of horns as drinking vessels for nobles is well-documented. Horns (and decorative metal ornaments for horns) have been found in graves from back in the bronze age, through iron age and, obviously, viking age. Having the lady of the house offer you a drink from a horn was a sign of friendship and recognition.
Viking mythology mentions drinking horns. In one tale, Thor is challenged to empty a giant horn in one quaff, not knowing that it has been magically extended to reach into the sea - not an easy task to drink the ocean, and he fails - even though he’s allowed to take three(!) drinks from the horn
Artificers would copy the horn shape in other materials - wood, silver, gold - as late as the 15-1600s, again, often for ceremonial use. The guilds, for insatnce, would have the members drink fro the same horn to symbolize unity.
More than you need to know of Viking drinking habits:
Ya sur ya betcha they did. And “horns” made of glass & metal, too. Glass was considered very high class.
But the “horns on the helmet” thing is mostly Hollywood. They did sometimes have short metal “horns”, but I have not yet seen a real period helmet or drawing with “real” horns.
The Vikings did not quaff. Quaffing is like drinking, except you spill more, and that’s a waste of perfectly good mead
Seriously, as others have said, yes, drinking from animal horns and vessels made in the shape of animal horns was well-known in Scandinavia before, during, and after the Viking period. They were not everyday cups, but meant for celebrations. And you could often put them down if you wanted to. Some had a belt with two short legs (made, for instance, of pewter) which, together with the hook of the horn itself, formed a tripod. Others had a metal tripod stand made to fit.
I’ve seen little horn-shaped shot glasses (with molded glass legs) in Oslo souvenir shops; probably the only “Viking” souvenirs with any degree of authenticity.
Scroll down here for a pretty cool looking horn that sits on a table top. Granted it’s circa 1800’s but i’m looking for more online photos of viking era artifacts.
I’ve made a couple of drinking horns myself and I learned that you can just use the horn with the tip cut and bent over like a handle, then plug the large openning (where it would attach at the skull) with a disc of wood and you have a pretty cool mug.
scroll down a bit here and you see a photo of Viking re-enactors. The one in the hooded robe is holding a drinking horn, not proof, but a cool photo.
Here’s one more, this one is cool because it’s period and it mentions personal hygene, eeeewww…
Nope. I was at a party this weekend where somebody dressed up as a Viking. Someone else mentioned the “quaffing from a horn” aspect of Vikinghood, and I figured that I needed to get to the truth of it.
The links people posted here are fascinating. I’m always amazed by the sort of stuff that somebody will actually bother to post on the internet.
And “horns” made of glass & metal, too. Glass was considered very high class.