Why do we believe the Vikings wore horned helmets?

Hi,





I did some research and found out that people around Greece wrote of the Vikings as barbaric people with helmets with horns. We all know that horns just provide a handle while slitting a man's throat. It's been proven their helmets didn't have horns on them.





My question: Why did they spread this false word? How did it all begin?

Why do we believe the Vikings wore horned helmets?
Horned and winged helmets of this type have been traced to mostly pre-Viking German (and in one case Norse) fanciful ceremonial garb, but was originally thought by archaeologists to be battle gear. This is now known to be false. Such adornments would be a hindrance in actual combat, but they make for great imagery, and as such were used in battle scenes during the Romantic period (late 1700s to mid-1800s).





"Romantic artists rejected the constraints of Classicism and started to explore, among other themes, ancient Germanic and Celtic history and mythology. These artists weren't always careful about the details and sometimes depicted a hodgepodge of Germanic, Celtic, and classical motifs. (Would you believe a Viking driving a chariot?) Romantic artists gave Vikings Celtic-style winged helmets before they got horned ones. In the 1820s the Swedish artist Gustav Malmström was the first to give horns to Vikings."





The imagery made its way into children's books about Vikings and Warner's operas which were misconstrued by many to be about Vikings. The image stuck, and now appears in movies, comics, tattoos and mascots





In short, I'd say it's three factors:


%26gt; the initial confusion between the clothes of a priest and those of a warrior


%26gt; a lack of discernment between the cultures of Germanic, Celtic and Norse cultures


%26gt; the power of this intimidating image to inspire both fear and awe.





Thus the idea of the horned-helmeted Viking becomes iconic in the popular imagination.
Reply:Both Juicy and Why Me? are correct.


The Japanese Samurai also had horned helmets - amongst other cultures as well.


Bottom Line: It's NOT a false rumor!
Reply:I have been studying Vikings for 25 years and no mention ever has been made of helmets with horns. None have been unearthed or found anywhere. It is not strange for people to say of those who are not in their culture that "they have horns." I was told all my life that Mormons had horns
Reply:It's been proven? Are you sure? I'd really like to see that proof, sounds interesting.





I know that many cultures have used horns in their battle regaila for several reasons. Some did it to look fiercer, more beastial or just bigger. Some did it because they thought it would give them the capabilities of the animal. And some used horn becasue it was some of the best armor material their technology level had access to.
Reply:They did wear helmets with horns, although not all of them may have. As well as making themselves look fiercer



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