![]() ĭavidson says that similar symbols are found beside figures of wolves and ravens on "certain cremation urns" from Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in East Anglia. 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. This is thought to symbolize the power of the god to bind and unbind, mentioned in the poems and elsewhere. ![]() Hilda Ellis Davidson theorizes a connection between the valknut, the god Odin, and "mental binds":įor 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. ![]() The Tängelgårda stone from Gotland, Sweden, features valknuts below a depiction of a horse. " Comparisons have been made between this symbol description and the symbol known as the valknut. It was made of hard stone with three sharp-pointed corners just like the carved symbol hrungnishjarta. Several explanations for the symbol have been proposed:Ĭhapter 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. In the English language, the looped, four-cornered symbol is called Saint John's Arms. In Norwegian Bokmål, the term valknute is used for a polygon with a loop on each of its corners. Although other forms are topologically possible, these are the only attested forms found so far. This tricursal form can be seen on one of the Stora Hammars stones, as well as upon the Nene River Ring, and on the Oseberg ship bed post. The symbol also appears in tricursal form, consisting of three linked triangles, topologically equivalent to the Borromean rings. This unicursal form is found, for example, on the Tängelgårda stone. The symbol appears in unicursal form, topologically a trefoil knot also seen in the triquetra. The historically attested instances of the symbol appear in two traditional, topologically distinct forms. Īdditionally, the valknut appears prominently on two picture stones from Gotland, Sweden: the Stora Hammars I stone and the Tängelgårda stone. A wooden bed in the Viking Age Oseberg Ship buried near Tønsberg, Norway, features a carving of the symbol on an ornately stylized bedpost and the Oseberg tapestry fragments, a partially preserved tapestry found within the ship burial, also features the symbol. The symbol is prominently featured on the Nene River Ring, an Anglo-Saxon gold finger ring dated to around the 8th to 9th centuries. The valknut appears on a wide variety of objects found in areas inhabited by the Germanic peoples. The Valknut is also an important symbol to many followers of the Asatru religion, who often wear it as a symbol of the faith.A section of the Stora Hammars I stone in Gotland, Sweden, depicts a valknut in a central and predominant position, appearing alongside figures interpreted as Odin with a characteristic spear shunting another figure into a burial mound while a raven is overhead and another man is hanged. The symbol’s nine points have an obvious correlation with childbirth the placement of the symbol on funeral monuments mark it as a sign of rebirth of reincarnation. Their interwoven shape suggests the belief of the interrelatedness of the three realms of earth, hel, and the heavens, and the nine domains they encompass. The number nine also suggestive of the Nine Worlds (and the nine fates) of Norse mythology. The nine points suggest rebirth, pregnancy, and cycles of reincarnation. The Valknut’s three interlocking shapes are suggestive of related Celtic symbols of motherhood and rebirth- it may have been a goddess symbol at some point in history. The valknut can be drawn unicursally (in one stroke), making it a popular talisman of protection against spirits. The emblem is often found in art depicting the God Odin, where it may represent the gods power over death. It is best known as the Valknut, or “knot of the slain,” and it has been found on stone carvings as a funerary motif, where it probably signified the afterlife. Also known as: Hrungnir’s heart, heart of the slain, Heart of Vala, borromean triangles The emblem at left found on old Norse stone carvings and funerary stelés, is sometimes called “Hrungnir’s heart,” after the legendary giant of the Eddas.
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