Viking Dagger Symbolism: When Preparation Determines Success
Among the Viking weapons, dagger seemed to be quite insignificant. The most common weapons included axe, sword, or spear. Regarding the Viking dagger, seldom can we see its appearance in Viking sagas.
Despite the small size, Viking dagger turned out to be a useful and deadly weapon for any warrior. And by far, the Viking dagger symbolism has excited many Viking enthusiasts.
THE HISTORICAL VIKING DAGGER
Truth is, a dagger is actually a knife. But the only difference is that a dagger is double-edged. This means the edge of a dagger is symmetrical and both sharp edges run down to the point.
Viking knife and dagger were made from the cut-down iron from the Viking sword or sax (short sword). For example, when the Vikings had used their sword or sax until they could no longer be used. They would cut the usable iron pieces from the worn-out weapon to make a new dagger. The length of common Viking dagger was about 31cm (~12in).
Dagger blades and spearheads artifacts
The Viking knife resembled the Viking sax because sax was the Viking weapon with a single sharp edge. Meanwhile, the Viking dagger resembled the Viking sword because both of them were double-edged. But of course, Viking dagger was much smaller.
Indeed, the warrior could not attack their enemy from a distance with the dagger. But they could deal an unexpected and deadly blow to the enemy in hand-to-hand battle. A Viking saga told the story of a warrior hid his dagger behind the shield. He captured his opportunity and stabbed the dagger in the chest of his foe, permanently ending his life.
DAGGER SYMBOLISM
Like a knife, dagger might not have many positive and uplifting ideas when it comes to symbolism. But being the Viking enthusiasts, we believe the Viking dagger carries the inspiring Viking spirit and tales.
When we look the Viking dagger through the lens of the weapon, it speaks to us of the hidden potential, deadly attack, military skills, dominance over the difficulties, and accomplishment. Because not all Viking warrior could utilize the dagger to its fullest potential. One needed a certain set of skills to wield a dagger and took the life of the opponents.
However, in the world of relationships, a dagger is not a positive symbol. Maybe because we care a lot about the topic of love and relationship, we show little favor toward the dagger. Generally, dagger presents the betrayal and separation in relationships.
Dagger often presents the separation and betrayal in the relationships. But in the lens of the weapons, it is the symbol of military power, authority, hidden potential, and accomplishment.
But the Viking dagger presents the connection between humanity and the gods. Because in the saga, the Vikings used their dagger to thrust into the sacrificial animals. So sacrifice and dedication to gods are the other symbolic meanings of the Viking dagger.
The most personal meanings of the Viking dagger are the duality of the mind and the unpredictability of the action.
Regarding the duality of the mind, the dagger focuses on the battle within our heads which is a nature of the minds. On one side, we are conscious, always speaking of clarity, fine judgement, understanding, and kindness. It is rational and logical. This is the great side of our mind that all of our goodness live in. The other side can be a trickster always causing us troubles. It tortures us allowing the negative vibes into our life.
In the modern sense, Viking Dagger jewelry often presents the unpredictability of the actions.
The unpredictability of the action is the figurative meaning derived from the actual usage of the Viking dagger. Viking warriors once hid their dagger to deal an unexpected blow toward the enemies. These days, the Viking dagger presents our good preparation for the upcoming challenges. We do not boast about our plan. We work hard and prepare everything carefully in silence. We just let the success be the noise. It is the unpredictability of the Viking dagger in the modern sense.
