Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A second figure holds a ring in his hand. A cross is in the center of the design. Similar to the Sigurd stones U 1163, U 1175, Sö 327, and Gs 2, this combination of a cross and the Sigurd figure is taken as evidence of acceptance and use by Christianity of legends from the Völsung cycle during the transition period from paganism. [3]
Other evidence for such a triad includes Adam of Bremen's description of the Temple at Uppsala as containing statues of these gods. [6] These three are also the only Norse gods known to have been actively worshipped during the Viking Age. [7] The runic inscription is carved in the younger futhark and consists of three personal names.
The most powerful of their gods was Thor, and not only is the Faroese capital Tórshavn (Thor's Harbor) named after him, but so is Hósvík (hós- comes from tórs-, and -vík means bay). Accordingly, Thursday (Thor is the god of thunder) is called hósdagur on the Faroe Islands, or tósdagur in the Suðuroy dialect.
Heitstrenging (pl. heitstrengingar) is an Old Norse practice of swearing of a solemn oath to perform a future action. They were often performed at Yule and other large social events, where they played a role in establishing and maintaining good relationships principally between members of the aristocratic warrior elite.
The martyrs of Iona were a group of 68 Celtic Christian monks who lived at Iona Abbey (on the island of Iona, Scotland) and were massacred there in the early ninth century. [ 1 ] Viking raids of the British and Irish coasts began in 793 AD, when the Vikings conducted a bloody attack on the monastery of Lindisfarne on the English coast; so began ...
A sword, depending on the make, was often associated with prestige and value due to the importance of honour in the Viking Age. While the Vikings used their own swords in battle, they were interested in the Frankish battle swords because of their acclaimed craftsmanship. [76] Weapons often served more than one purpose.
Raud the Strong was a Norse chieftain, blót practitioner and seafaring warrior, who resisted conversion to Christianity in the late 10th century AD, described in Heimskringla. Olaf Tryggvason was King of Norway from 995 to 1000 AD. He played an important part in the conversion of the Vikings to Christianity. According to the Sagas, Olaf ...
The Stentoften Stone, bearing a runic inscription that likely describes a blót of nine he-goats and nine male horses bringing fertility to the land. [1]Blót (Old Norse and Old English) or geblÅt (Old English) are religious ceremonies in Germanic paganism that centred on the killing and offering of an animal to a particular being, typically followed by the communal cooking and eating of its ...