Product Code Database
The valknut is a symbol consisting of three interlocked forming subliminal triskelion at its center. It appears on a variety of objects from the archaeological record of the ancient Germanic people. The term valknut is a modern development; it is not known what term or terms were used to refer to the symbol historically.
Scholars have proposed a variety of explanations for the symbol, sometimes associating it with the god Odin, and it has been compared to the three-horned symbol found on the 9th-century Snoldelev Stone, to which it may be related.Simek (2007:163).
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.Davidson (1967:125).
Additionally, the valknut appears prominently on two from Gotland, Sweden: the Stora Hammars I stone and the Tängelgårda stone.
The historically attested instances of the symbol appear in two traditional, Topology distinct forms. The symbol appears in unicursal form, topologically a trefoil knot also seen in the triquetra. This unicursal form is found, for example, on the Tängelgårda stone. The symbol also appears in tricursal form, consisting of three linked triangles, topologically equivalent to the Borromean rings. 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. Although other forms are topologically possible, these are the only attested forms found so far.
In Norwegian Bokmål, the term valknute is used for a polygon with a loop on each of its corners.Coat of arms for Lødingen Municipality, blazoned in the Norwegian Royal Decree of 11 May 1984, quoted in Hans Cappelen og Knut Johannessen: Norske kommunevåpen, Oslo 1987, page 197. The term is also used in Anders Bjønnes: Segltegninger fra hyllingene i Norge 1591 og 1610, Oslo 2010, pages 64–65. In the English language, the looped, four-cornered symbol is called Saint John's Arms.
For 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 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 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.Davidson (1990:147).
Davidson says that similar symbols are found beside figures of wolves and ravens on "certain cremation urns" from Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in East Anglia.
In Europe, the Swedish forest products company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget uses a triquetra valknut as their logo, which can be commonly 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.
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 also used as a logo by American engineering firm RedViking. RedViking home page . In Civilization VI, the valknut is the national symbol of Norway, which in the game is led by Harald Hardrada and mostly representative of Vikings rather than the modern country.
Bogd Bank of Mongolia uses the same symbol as their main corporate logo.
In modern Norway, the word "valknut" means "knot of those fallen in battle", connecting the symbol to the god Odin and representing the glory of death in battle.
The valknut has seen some use by White supremacy. "Hate on Display - Hate Symbols Database: Valknot" . Anti-Defamation League. The Anti-Defamation League notes that "nonracist pagans may also use this symbol, so one should carefully examine it in context rather than assume that a particular use of the symbol is racist."
Other
Because 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.
Topology
The valknut is Topology equivalent to either the Borromean rings, the trefoil knot, or (in modern use only) a closed three-link chain, depending on the particular artistic depiction:
Modern popular culture
The symbol is used for a variety of purposes in modern popular culture. The valknut symbol is used as a religious symbol by some adherents of Heathenry, a new religious movement inspired by historic Germanic paganism.Harvey 2007: 59.
See also
Citations
External links
|
|
