Did the Vikings wear Horned Helmets?
For long, the Viking warriors have become a wonderful source of inspiration for art, music, theatre, literature, etc. But the most common image that we might see is the bearded, brutal, and unclean warriors wearing horned helmets and drinking greedily vessels of alcohol. Seriously horned helmets? It looks cool but is it true?
Left or Right helmet is the Viking helmet?
The answer to the question "Did the Vikings wear Horned Helmet?" is an instant NO. No, they didn't. The Viking warriors did not wear horned helmets like what many modern arts have been displaying.
The Viking warriors made their name by voyaging and raiding through their aesthetic ships. They succeeded many times but not solely based on ships or great fighting skills and attitude. It also boiled down to the armour that the wore into the battles. But imagine what would have happened if they had worn the horned helmet into the battles? Would they have used the sharp horn to thrust into their foes? The horned would prove to be useless, not to mention a hindrance to the Viking warriors. That is to say, wearing a horned helmet in a melee, like bloody wars, was impractical.
The historical Viking helmet for Viking warriors
The Viking helmet in the ancient time was just a bowl with a nose guard. It was the simplest war protectors at that time. They were made of iron and only helped to protect the head of the warriors from the blows of the enemies. The Viking helmet could absorb not only the force of the blow but also the sweat that would make the iron helmet rust from the inside. The Viking helmet would cost a sum of money so it was not really common among the majority of the Vikings. Any Viking warriors wanted to have a helmet into the battles but not many of them could afford one. Helmets were prized, carefully preserved, repaired if necessary, and passed down from generations to generations. (See Viking Helmets)
Once again, the Viking warriors did not wear the horned helmets in their ancient times. If they had had that type of helmet, they would have used it in rituals only. But generally, we still hold a firm belief that horn helmets only exist in the modern fabrication from the 19th century, long long after the glorious Viking age had come to an end.
