Inquiry Question #3

Where did the horns come from?

One of the biggest myths in history of the Vikings is of their horned helmets. At special events, when someone is dressed as a Viking, you can expect to see them wearing a helmet with horns or wings with intricate designs, as the average person seems to expect that this is what Vikings armour entails.

The most likely reason for this is all because of Carl Emil Doepler, costume designer for Richard Wagner's (image on the top right) famous opera 'Ring des Nibelungen' in 1876. Many left the opera believing that Vikings had had horned helmets after seeing all of the performers' costumes.

Out of all carvings and tapestries from the Viking age, only two or three of them have a picture of someone who appears to be wearing a horned helmet, including the image on the right. However, these 'horns' are arguably of ravens. In this case, archaeologists believe that the helmets may have been used for religious ceremonies, as Odin supposedly had two ravens; Hugin and Munin, who he told to travel the world to gather news and then to tell him what they had seen.

http://www.vikingage.com/vac/horns.html
http://www.ulsterorchestra.com/blog/2013/02/the-many-faces-of-richard-wagner/