The Vikings, without the nonsense
We put horns on our helmet, so we feel we owe the real Vikings an honest write up. These guides cover what they wore, what they carved, what they called their children and which famous Viking facts were invented a thousand years later.
Myths and history
Did Vikings wear horned helmets
The short answer is no. Here is what they really wore into battle and who gave them the horns.
Read →What did Vikings wear
Wool, linen, brooches and dyed cloaks, pieced together from graves and trade records.
Read →Viking sayings
Old Norse wisdom on friendship, drink, courage and reputation, and a few famous lines that are not Viking at all.
Read →Symbols and runes
Viking symbols and their meanings
Sixteen symbols explained, with a plain verdict on which ones the Vikings really used.
Read →Viking symbols of protection
Which protective symbols are truly Viking age, and which were drawn centuries later.
Read →Viking symbols of strength
Hammers, spears, bears, wolves and boars, and what each one stood for.
Read →Viking rune meanings
All 24 runes of the Elder Futhark with their names and meanings, plus the 16 the Vikings used.
Read →Names
Male Viking names
Thirty Old Norse names for men with their meanings, and the nicknames that went with them.
Read →Female Viking names
Thirty Old Norse names for women, from queens and settlers to goddesses and valkyries.
Read →Viking names for dogs
Gods, wolves, heroes and a hound from the gates of Hel, with a note on real Viking dogs.
Read →Norse gods
Norse gods and goddesses
Who is who among the gods of the Vikings, from Odin and Frigg to Hel and Heimdall.
Read →Odin
The one eyed chief of the gods, who traded an eye for wisdom and hanged himself to learn the runes.
Read →Thor
The red bearded thunder god, his hammer, his goats and the day he dressed as a bride.
Read →Loki
The trickster who got the gods into trouble, out of it again, and finally brought about their end.
Read →Freya
The goddess of love who also claimed half the warriors killed in battle.
Read →Tyr
The one handed god of war and law, and the god behind Tuesday.
Read →Norse gods and the days of the week
How Tyr, Odin, Thor and Frigg ended up in the English calendar, and why Saturday is the odd one out.
Read →Who were the Vikings
The Vikings were seafaring people from what is now Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The Viking age is usually dated from the raid on the monastery at Lindisfarne in 793 to the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, a little under three centuries in which Scandinavians raided, traded and settled from Newfoundland to the Caspian Sea.
The word Viking described something you did, not who you were. Most people in Scandinavia at the time were farmers, and going on a viking meant joining a sea expedition for a season. Those who went left their mark on Britain in particular, where they ruled half of England for a time, founded Dublin and left hundreds of place names ending in by, thorpe and thwaite.
How we write these guides
A lot of what gets sold as Viking was made up much later, including some of the most popular symbols and nearly every horned helmet. Where the evidence is solid we say so, and where something is a later invention or an educated guess we say that too. If you spot something we have got wrong, please tell us.
Wear the horns anyway
History aside, the horned helmet is a great look, which is why it sits on everything we make. You can find it on our Viking t-shirts, and if you are shopping for someone else our Viking gifts page is the place to start.