(ORDO NEWS) — Prior to the release of the popular Canadian-Irish historical series Vikings, popular culture aggressively promoted the image of Scandinavian warriors wearing horned helmets.
Remarkably, archaeologists have never been able to find a Viking Age helmet that was adorned with horns. Where did this ridiculous image come from? Who is to be blamed for the historical lie that has given rise to the general delusion?
The myth of the Vikings in horned helmets was born by the Catholics, who immortalized it in the church annals of Europe. Representatives of the Catholic Church went on a conscious lie in order to denigrate the warlike peoples of the north, attributing to them all the most terrible and vile things that bring them closer to the “devil’s offspring” and “devils.”
This myth spread across Europe at a fantastic rate and retained its relevance for centuries. When illustrated works began to appear, the Vikings had to be horned so as not to anger the Catholics.
This myth was revived and popularized at a new level in the 19th century by the Swedish artist August Malmström , who, illustrating the poem of Esaias Tegner “The Saga of Fridtjof”, painted huge horns on the helmets.
Then the German costume designer Karl Doppler took up the promotion of the lie, who made horned helmets for the production of Richard Wagner’s opera Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Historical fact: the Scandinavian warriors wore ordinary rounded helmets or did not wear protection at all, since getting into Valhalla is the dream of any Viking.
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