The three-horned symbol may have been a derivative of earlier triquetras combined with Norse mythology. Since the story of how Odin stole the mead is detailed above, here we will focus on the potential alternative. The symbol may also have come from Odin’s association with mead and the symbolic importance of the number three in Norse mythology. The most likely explanation for the three horns of Odin comes from the story of how he stole a special brew of poetic mead from the jotun Suttungr. Why are there three horns in Odin’s horns symbol? SkaldskaparmalĪlthough the mead was notably stored in two vats and a kettle, this story is taken as the most likely meaning behind the symbol. Therefore we call poesy Odin’s Booty and Find, and his Drink and Gift, and the Drink of the Æsir. Suttungr discovered the theft and tried to give chase in his own eagle form, but Odin reached safety first and shared the mead with his fellow Aesir and humanity.īut Odin gave the mead of Suttungr to the Æsir and to those men who possess the ability to compose. Knowing he wouldn’t have much time, he transformed into an eagle and flew away. While he did only take one drink from each, he managed to gulp their entire contents down with each one. The time he spent with her likely played a role in her accepting Odin’s request to get a drink from each of the three vats. Once there, he made himself comfortable with Gunnlod for three days. Odin transformed into a snake to go down the hole after making Baugi finish it, narrowly dodging a blow from the giant as he slithered inside. First, he lies about boring all the way through the rock, which would have left Odin trapped had the Asa gone inside. Baugi agrees to help, but he instead attempts to backstab Odin. His price was one drink from the mead of poesy (probably saying skol like the Vikings).Īfter fulfilling his end of the deal, Odin had Baugi help bore a hole into the place where the mead was guarded by Gunnlod, Suttungr’s daughter. After somehow gaining knowledge of where the mead ended up, Odin tricked Baugi’s thralls into killing each other, then he offered to do all their work for Baugi under a false name. Suttungr had a brother named Baugi who had a farm and some thralls to work the land. The dwarves offered him the mead in exchange for their lives, and he accepted the deal. They had continued their devious ways by killing Gillingr, Suttungr’s father, plus his unnamed wife, and the giant had come for revenge. It wasn’t long before the dwarves lost the mead to a giant – known as “Jötunn” in Norse mythology – named Suttungr. Norse runes spelling out the name Woðinz (read from right to left), which is considered as being a likely form of how Odin was written in the pre-Viking age Instead of a good conversation, he got a quick death before the dwarves brewed him with some honey to make a special mead that contained poesy, the art of creating poetry. From that unsanitary collection came Kvasir, a deity who was wise and intelligent beyond any other deity.Įventually, two dwarves named Fjalar and Galarr ask Kvasir to join them for a chat. After the Aesir and the Vanir – another group of gods – finished warring with one another, they spit into a vat as part of their peace negotiations. This story is told in the Skaldskaparmal section of the Prose Edda. The most commonly ascribed meaning comes from the story of how Odin brought poetry to the Aesir and mankind. Horns were commonly used as drink containers in the time of the Vikings. The exact meaning of the three horns of Odin is not detailed in any of the surviving sources from near the Viking Age. Interested in Viking symbols? Find out more: Vegvisir Meaning: The Ultimate Guide to its Origins and Symbolism What do Odin’s horns mean? In the triple horns of Odin, one extended portion of each arc is snipped short so that they resemble a drinking horn. The symmetrical design looks the same with every 120 degree, 240 degree, and 360 degree rotation. The arrangement of the three horns is the same seen in triquetras, a network of three arcs that curve around a central point with each carefully arranged so that one of its ends touches the end of another. The symbol bears a strong resemblance to triquetra and triskelion, though it is seen as a distinct variation of those designs. The triple horns of Odin are a symbol that consists of three horns stylized as arcs that intertwine with one another. Is there any meaning of the horns of Odin in religion today?.Why are there three horns in Odin’s horns symbol?.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |