I have heard that there is no historical evidence that the Vikings actually wore the stereotypical horned helmets. But where did people get the idea that they did? Any info about this myth would be appreciated.
I’m guessing drinking horns were found in gravesites along with helmets .
Doesn’t take too much imagination to piece those together if you don’t know that much about the days of yore.
And now I fully expect someone to prove me completely wrong.
The Master’s minion speaks :
Who started the idea that Vikings wore a pair of horns on their helmets in battle? Ancient Greek and Roman writers got the ball rolling. They described the inhabitants of northern Europe wearing all manner of outlandish things on their heads. For example, Plutarch described the Cimbri, the likely ancestors of at least some of the Vikings, wearing “helmets, made to resemble the heads of wild beasts,” horns included. Diodorus Siculus had earlier described a similar habit of the Gauls, who were a Celtic rather than Germanic people. The Gauls, he writes, wore winged helmets or helmets with horns or antlers or whole animals attached.
The Viking Answer Lady is wonderful, isn’t she?
BTW, The Straight Dope is cited on her page. Kicks ass, doesn’t it?
S^G
Nevermind, beaten to the SDSAB punch.
