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On the left unicursal trefoil forms; on the right tricursal linked triangle forms. Valknut variations.On the leave unicursal clover forms ; on the right tricursal linked triangle forms. The valknut is a symbol consist of three interlock triangles. It appears on a diverseness of objects from the archaeological record of the ancient Germanic peoples. The term valknut is derived from the modern earned run average, and the condition or terms used to refer to the symbol during its historic employment is unknown.
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Scholars have proposed a assortment of explanations for the symbol, sometimes associating it with the deity Odin, and it has been compared to the three-horned symbol found on the 9th-century Snoldelev Stone, to which it may be related. [ 1 ]
archaeological record [edit ]
The valknut appears on a wide diverseness 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. [ 2 ] A wooden go to bed in the Viking Age Oseberg Ship buried near Tønsberg, Norway features a carve of the symbol on an ornately stylized bedpost and the Oseberg tapestry fragments, a partially keep tapestry found within the embark burying, besides features the symbol. [ 3 ] Additionally, the valknut appears prominently on two picture stones from Gotland, Sweden : the Stora Hammars I stone and the Tängelgårda rock. The historically attest instances of the symbol appear in two traditional, topologically distinct, forms. The symbol appears in unicursal form, topologically a medic knot besides seen in the triquetra. This unicursal form is found, for exemplar, on the Tängelgårda pit. The symbol besides appears in tricursal imprint, consisting of three linked triangles, topologically equivalent to the Borromean rings. This tricursal shape can be seen on one of the Stora Hammars stones, deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as upon the Nene River Ring, and on the Oseberg ship bed mail. Although other forms are topologically possible, these are the only attest forms found thus far. In norwegian Bokmål, the terminus valknute is used for a polygon with a loop on each of its corners. [ 4 ] In the english linguistic process the loop four-cornered symbol is called Saint John ‘s Arms .
Theories and interpretations [edit ]
several explanations for the symbol have been proposed :
Hrungnir ‘s kernel [edit ]
chapter 17 of the thirteenth century Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál contains the comply description of the kernel of the jötunn Hrungnir ; “ Hrungnir had a heart that was celebrated. It was made of heavily stone with three sharp-pointed corners just like the carved symbol hrungnishjarta [ Hrungnir ‘s center ]. ” [ 5 ] Comparisons have been made between this symbol description and the symbol known as the valknut. [ 1 ]
Odin and mental binds [edit ]
The Tängelgårda stone from Gotland, Sweden features valknuts below a depicting of a cavalry Hilda Ellis Davidson theorizes a connection between the valknut, the idol Odin and “ mental binds ” :
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For exemplify, beside the figure of Odin on his sawhorse shown on several memorial stones there is a kind of knot depicted, called the valknut, related to the triskelion. 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 take care, so that men became helpless in conflict, and he could besides loosen the tensions of fear and song by his gifts of battle-madness, drunkenness, and inspiration. [ 6 ]
Davidson says that alike symbols are found beside figures of wolves and ravens on “ sealed cremation urns ” from Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in East Anglia. [ 6 ]
other [edit ]
ascribable to 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. [ 1 ]
regional anatomy [edit ]
The valknut is topologically equivalent to either the Borromean rings, the trefoil nautical mile, or ( in modern use lone ) a close three-link chain, depending on the particular artistic depicting :
Modern popular acculturation [edit ]
The symbol is used for a assortment of purposes in modern popular acculturation. The valknut symbol is used as a religious symbol by adherents of Heathenry, a new religious drift inspired by historic Germanic paganism. [ 7 ] In Europe, the swedish forest products company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget uses a triquetra valknut as their logo, which can be normally seen on many products produced by the company ; the DFB has used a logo inspired by the unicursal form of the valknut for the Germany national football team since 1991. [ 8 ] The symbol appears as the fretboard inlay on some of Arch Enemy / Carcass guitarist Michael Amott ‘s signature Dean Guitars “ Tyrant ” models, and it is besides used as a logo by american mastermind firm RedViking. [ 9 ] In Civilization VI, the valknut is the national symbol of Norway, which in the game is led by Harald Hardrada and largely representative of Vikings rather than the modern country.
The valknut has seen some practice by White supremacists. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] The Anti-Defamation League notes that “ color-blind pagans may besides use this symbol, so one should cautiously examine it in context quite than assume that a particular manipulation of the symbol is racist. ” [ 10 ]
See besides [edit ]
- Mjölnir, a symbol representing the hammer of the god Thor, particularly popular during the Viking Age
- Looped square, a symbol that produces a square with outward pointing loops at its corners
- Triquetra, a symbol composed of three interlaced arcs
Citations [edit ]
References [edit ]
Media related to Valknut at Wikimedia Commons
