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The valknut (Old Norse valr, 'slain warriors' and knut, 'knot') is a symbol consisting of three interlocked triangles. It appears on a variety of objects from the archaeological record of the ancient Germanic peoples. The compound noun valknut is from the modern era. The term used for the symbol during its historical employment is unknown.
Contents
- Archaeological record
- Theories and interpretations
- Hrungnirs heart
- Odin and mental binds
- Other
- Topology
- Modern use
- References
Scholars have proposed a variety of explanations for the symbol, sometimes associating it with the god Odin, and it has been compared to the three-horned symbol found on the 9th-century Snoldelev Stone, with which it may be related. The valknut receives sporadic use in modern popular culture and is again associated with Germanic paganism by way of its modern day revival, Heathenry.
Archaeological record
The valknut appears on a wide variety of objects found in areas inhabited by the Germanic peoples. The symbol is prominently featured on the Nene River Ring, an Anglo-Saxon gold finger ring dated to around the 8th to 9th centuries. A wooden bed in the Viking Age Oseberg Ship buried near Tønsber, Norway features a carving of the symbol on an ornately stylized bedpost and the Oseberg Tapestry, a partially preserved tapestry found within the ship burial, also features the symbol. Additionally, the valknut appears prominently on two picture stones from Gotland, Sweden: the Stora Hammars I stone and the Tängelgårda stone.
The historically attested instances of the symbol appear in two traditional, topologically distinct, forms. The symbol appears in unicursal form, topologically a trefoil knot also seen in the triquetra. This unicursal form is found, for example, on the Tängelgårda stone. The symbol also appears in tricursal form, consisting of three linked triangles, topologically equivalent to the Borromean rings. This tricursal form can be seen on one of the Stora Hammars stones|Stora Hammars stone I, as well as upon the Nene River Ring, and on the Oseberg ship bed post. Although other forms are topologically possible, these are the only attested forms found so far.
In Norwegian Bokmål, the term valknute is used for a polygon with a loop on each of its corners. In the English language the looped four-cornered symbol is called Saint John's Arms.
Theories and interpretations
Several explanations for the symbol have been proposed:
Hrungnir's heart
Chapter 17 of the 13th century Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál contains the following description of the heart of the jötunn Hrungnir; "Hrungnir had a heart that was famous. It was made of hard stone with three sharp-pointed corners just like the carved symbol hrungnishjarta [Hrungnir's heart]." Comparisons have been made between this symbol description and the symbol known as the valknut.
Odin and mental binds
Hilda Ellis Davidson theorizes a connection between the valknut, the god Odin and "mental binds":
For instance, beside the figure of Odin on his horse shown on several memorial stones there is a kind of knot depicted, called the valknut, related to the triskele. This is thought to symbolize the power of the god to bind and unbind, mentioned in the poems and elsewhere. Odin had the power to lay bonds upon the mind, so that men became helpless in battle, and he could also loosen the tensions of fear and strain by his gifts of battle-madness, intoxication, and inspiration.
Davidson says that similar symbols are found beside figures of wolves and ravens on "certain cremation urns" from Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in East Anglia.
Other
Due to the Norwegian name for the symbol, valknuter, and the fact that the symbol appears on picture stones with Odin and on burial gifts in the Oseberg ship burial, Rudolf Simek says that the symbol may have been associated with religious practices surrounding death.
Topology
The valknut is topologically equivalent to either the Borromean rings, the trefoil knot, or (in modern use only) a closed 3-link chain, depending on the particular artistic depiction:
Modern use
The valknut symbol plays a role in modern Heathenry, where numerous explanations and interpretations of the symbol are given, has been used by various political groups, and sometimes sees use in modern popular culture. Examples of usage include the Swedish pulp and paper manufacturer and consumer goods company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget's use of a triquetra valknut as their logo, which can be commonly seen on many products produced by the company. The Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB) has (since 1991) used a logo for the German national football team inspired by the unicursal form of the valknut.The symbol is also used as a logo for the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. The symbol appears as the fretboard inlay on some of Arch Enemy/Carcass guitarist Michael Amott's signature Dean Guitars "Tyrant" models. It is also used as a logo by American engineering firm RedViking.
The symbol, like many others associated with Germanic paganism, is used by some white supremacists but has not been classified as generally objectionable by, for example, the German government (Strafgesetzbuch section 86a).