The Only Surviving Viking Helmet Has No Horns

The popular image of the Vikings is one of fearsome warriors wearing horned helmets. The National Museum of Denmark says the evidence does not support it. There is only one preserved helmet from the Viking Age, and it does not have horns. It was found in a warrior’s burial at Gjermundbu, north of Oslo in Norway, together with the only complete suit of chain mail from the period. The museum gives practical reasons to doubt the horns as well. In a battle situation, horns on a helmet would get in the way, and they would have caused problems on board the warships, where space was already at a premium. In addition, the museum notes, none of the contemporary sources mention Vikings wearing horned headgear. It is even possible that relatively few Vikings wore helmets at all.