# Did Vikings really wear horns on their helmets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 7, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611 "2004-12-07T19:53:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![erangel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5fc32e/32.png) [@erangel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erangel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/1 "2004-12-07T19:53:13Z")
While reading [this staff report](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhornedhelmet.html) , I noticed the following sentence: > [@](#): > > The only major figure in the whole cycle who wore a horned helmet in the early productions was Hunding. Those who have somehow managed to stay awake through the entire four-hour production of Die Walküre may remember Hunding as the boor who objected to his wife sleeping with her brother. In latin american cultures the cheated husband is usually called cabrón, cornudo or any other names that suggest “wearing horns.” I wonder if Hunding’s horned helmet was a joke from Wagner or his costume designer. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/2 "2004-12-07T21:03:49Z")
Also in English culture, though few remember it any more. In Shakespeare’s time, though, it was clear what it meant for a man to wear horns. I wouldn’t be surprised if the concept were German, too. ---
**Author:** ![likkerpig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc29f/32.png) [@likkerpig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/likkerpig)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/3 "2004-12-08T19:52:00Z")
Another reason why horns or wings on a helmet is a dumb idea: cock your arm back like you were going to chop overhand with a sword (or throw a football)… those horns would certainly limit the range of motion, or maybe get things tangled up. You might be the coolest looking Viking at the battle, but I don’t think you’d be the most effective… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/4 "2004-12-08T23:27:27Z")
The real problem with horns and such in battle is that when the other guy’s sword comes swinging down towards your helmet, it will catch the horn and knock the helmet off, not good. The standard conical-rounded helmets of the time were shaped precisely that way to defend against such swings. You want the other guy’s sword to deflect a little sideways away from your head. Smooth is good, protrusions are bad. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/5 "2004-12-09T19:07:36Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The real problem with horns and such in battle is that when the other guy’s sword comes swinging down towards your helmet, it will catch the horn and knock the helmet off, not good. Unless there’s a chin strap on the helmet. And wouldn’t this be preferable to a glancing blow on the head? The sword will be deflected onto your shoulder, possibly chopping your arm off. I think I read somwhere that this is the reason for the protrusions on Japanese armor, i.e. to stop the sword at the helmet rather than allowing it to swing down further. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/6 "2004-12-09T20:38:10Z")
> [@erangel](#): > > While reading > [this staff report](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhornedhelmet.html) , I noticed the following sentence: > > In latin american cultures the cheated husband is usually called cabrón, cornudo or any other names that suggest “wearing horns.” > > I wonder if Hunding’s horned helmet was a joke from Wagner or his costume designer. So, if I’m “horny”, I’m saying I’m a cuckold? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/7 "2004-12-09T20:42:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Also in English culture, though few remember it any more. In Shakespeare’s time, though, it was clear what it meant for a man to wear horns. I wouldn’t be surprised if the concept were German, too. Wow, it never occurred to me…“A horned man’s a monster and a beast!” (_Othello_) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/8 "2004-12-09T23:01:29Z")
I included an obscure cuckolding pun in an early draft of the report but thought better of it. I never considered it in relation to Hunding, but it does fit. I suspect Wagner et al. intended it as theatrical shorthand to indicate primitiveness more than anything else. Cecil discusses horns, cuckolding, and horniness in this column: [What’s the origin of “horny”?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_286a.html) ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/9 "2004-12-09T23:13:39Z")
This place is, as always, amazing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/10 "2004-12-10T03:34:40Z")
But did the vikings wear 'em or not? I know they had little metal cones, and perhaps wings- but did they wear horns? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-vikings-really-wear-horns-on-their-helmets/278611/11 "2004-12-10T03:44:26Z")
Though my wife is half Swedish, she couldn’t help. So I had to consult another [Viking answer lady](http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/armor.htm).