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The Valknut (Old Norse valr, "slain warriors" + knut, "knot") is a symbol consisting of three interlocked triangles, and appears on various Germanic objects. A number of theories have been proposed for its significance.
The name Valknut is an unattested modern invention used to describe the symbol, and was not used contemporaneously when the symbol was used. The Valknut has been compared to the three-horned symbol found on the 9th century Snoldelev Stone, and may be related to it.[1]
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Archaeological record
The symbol appears in a unicursal form, such as on the 7th century Tängelgarda stone on the island of Gotland, Sweden. The symbols also appears in tricursal "brunnian linked" form, such as on the Lärbro stone, also on Gotland, Sweden, as well as upon a ring found in the River Nene in England, and on a bedpost found within the 834 Oseberg ship burial from Slagen, Norway. The only traditionally and historically attested forms found so far have been the Borromean tricursal, and the triquetra unicursal.
Theories
Hrungnir's Heart
Chapter 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. It was made of hard stone with three sharp-pointed corners just like the carved symbol hrungnishjarta [Hrungnir's Heart].[2]
Comparisons have been made between this symbol description and the symbol known as the Valknut.[1]
Odin and mental binds
Hilda Ellis Davidson theorizes that the Valknut:
..is thought to symbolize the power of the god Odin to bind or unbind [a man's 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.[3]
Other
Due to the Norwegian name for the symbol, valknuter, and the fact that the symbol appears on picture stones with Odin and on burial gifts in the Oseberg ship burial, Rudolf Simek states that the symbol may have been be associated with religious practices surrounding death.[1] Some speculation has been put forward relating the Suebian knot hair style recorded by Tacitus to the valknut.[4]
Geometry
Geometrically, it is topologically equivalent to the Borromean rings, the trefoil knot, or (in modern use only) a closed 3-link chain, depending on the particular artistic depiction:
 The Valknut as Borromean rings |
 The Valknut as trefoil knot or triquetra (unicursal) |
 The Valknut as closed 3-link chain |
Modern use
The Valknut symbol plays a role in modern Germanic Neopagan faiths, where numerous explanations and interpretations of the symbol are given. The Swedish pulp and paper manufacturer and consumer goods company Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget uses a triquetra Valknut as their logo, which can be commonly seen on many products produced by the company. The symbol has also been used by a number of neo-Nazi groups.[5]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Simek (2007:163).
- ^ Byock (2001:88).
- ^ Davidson (1946:146).
- ^ "The knots of death" by Alby Stone
- ^ According to the Anti-Defamation League's website: [1].
References
- Byock, Jesse (Trans.) (2006). The Prose Edda. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0140447555
- Davidson, H. R. Ellis (1946). Gods and Myths of Northern Europe. Baltimore: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-020670-1
- Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0859915131
