Viking Helmets


Did the Vikings wear horned helmets?

We’ve seen many movies and pictures of large men who wore helmets with horns on them, conquering and pillaging nearby lands. These helmets must be real, right? Wrong.

Horned helmets were worn by many people around the world, but not by the Vikings. To date, there is no evidence that any Viking warrior wore a horned helmet.

In depictions dating from the Viking age—between the eighth and 11th centuries—warriors appear either bareheaded or clad in simple helmets likely made of either iron or leather.

The popular image of the strapping Viking in a horned helmet dates back to the 1800s, when Scandinavian artists like Sweden’s Gustav Malmström included the headgear in their portrayals of the raiders.

Sure, the helmets could help intimidate enemies and maybe even poke out a few eyes, but they would have been even more likely to get entangled in a tree branch or embedded in a shield.
They were practically impractical in close combat situations.

Debunked!

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_helmet
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/10/viking-warriors-didnt-wear-horned-or-winged-helmets/
http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/did-vikings-really-wear-horned-helmets
http://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/exposing-roots-viking-horned-helmet-myth-005292
http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/thevikings/a/histmyths6.htm


P.S. - If you have any urban legend or superstition that you are doubtful of, just comment it and I will try to debunk that.

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