Quote:
Originally Posted by MatthewM
Great, now my medievalist brain is confused. My Professor said that Vikings did indeed wear the horned helmets.
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There is no evidence to suggest that warriors of the Viking Era had pronounced horns jutting from their helms. Here is a decent cross section of notable helmets...
http://www.regia.org/helmet.htm
And another...
http://www.hurstwic.org/history/arti...ng_helmets.htm
The idea of horned helms is basically a misinterpretation of the historical record, and figments of Wagner's ostentatious 19th century operas (where Viking helms sprouted horns or wings); however, there is evidence that horns might have appeared atop helmets in Bronze Age Scandinavia (800 - 400 B.C.). The Viking Era is generally given as 700 or 800 to 1100 A.D.
Even the Sutton Hoo helm (500-600 A.D.), a great relic of the Vendel style, is beautifully ornamented, but has no horns whatsoever...
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main...y-thefinds.htm
I'd like to see your professor's evidence, as there are very few helmets of the Viking era still extant.