Germanic boar helmet
Germanic boar helmets or boar crested helmets are attested in archaeological finds from England, Denmark and Sweden, dating to
Context
Roman, Celtic and Baltic
The boar was an important symbol in prehistoric Europe, where, according to the archaeologist
Germanic
Boars had a prominent role for the Germanic peoples and were closely associated with battle. The
In mythological sources, the boar
Boar symbolism and religious practice is closely associated with
Despite the numerous associations between boars and the Vanir, Freyr and Freyja, it is to be noted that the boar also has symbolism in its own right and is not always linked with the gods.[18][19][20]
Archeological record
Helmets and fragments
Both boar-crested helmets and crest fragments dating to the
The Benty Grange boar has been suggested to have originally been fitted with boar bristles which would form an accentuated dorsal crest, a motif that has been suggested to point towards the animal's aggression and ferocity, consistent with martial associations.[23][24] It has also been proposed that the golden decoration of the boar represents Freyr's boar Gullinbursti who has golden bristles, however there is no direct evidence that this story was known in England at the time of construction.[25][26]
Images
Unlike those found in England, no Scandinavian helmets have yet been discovered with boar crests, however plates depicting them have been found in Sweden, dating to the
Literary attestations
Old English
Beowulf
Boar helmets are referenced in the
Com þa to Heorote, ðær Hring-Dene |
She came to Heorot. There, inside the hall, |
—Old English text[38] | —Heaney Translation[39] |
In another case,
Ne frín þú æfter saélum, sorh is geníwod |
Ask not for news of happy hours! Sorrow is come anew upon the |
—Old English text[40] | — Tolkien Translation[41]
|
In two instances, boars are referred to in the plural, such as when Beowulf and his men leave their ship as "[b]oar-shapes flashed above their cheek-guards" (
Elene
In the poem Elene, the word eoforcumbol appears twice and has been translated as "boar-crest on a helmet" or "boar-banner". In this context, it is presented both as a symbol of protection, and as a heathen symbol that is contrasted with the Christian cross.[46]
Old Norse
In
Holt felr hildigelti |
The outstanding one covers the hill of the dwelling of the brain (his cranium) with a battle boar (helmet) |
—Old Norse text[53] | —Faulkes translation[54] |
The heiti valgǫltr is also used in Hrafnsmál as part of a battle kenning:[52]
Feldi folks valdi |
First the Folk-wielder |
—Old Norse text[55] | —Morris translation[56] |
It has been further proposed that the helmet heiti valhrímnir and hallhrímnir refer to swine through the component -hrimnir, a heiti for swine attested in Nafnaþulur also found as a suffix in the name Sæhrímnir.[51][57]
Function of imagery
Boar imagery on Anglo-Saxon helmets is associated explicitly with protection in Beowulf where the poet describes the figures on helmets kept watch over the warriors wearing them.[58] It has been proposed that the figures have an apotropaic role and that cutting them off will result in the death of the warrior. In the latter case, the boar and warrior appear to be regarded as a singular entity with a shared life.[59]
It has also been proposed that, similar to
Notes
- ^ The impression of design 4 on the top left corner of the replica cheek guard is actually upside down.
See also
Citations
- ^ Foster 1977b, p. 1.
- ^ a b Frank 2008, p. 78.
- ^ a b Foster 1977b, p. 5.
- ^ Tacitus 1868, p. 31.
- ^ Tacitus 1886, p. 25.
- ^ Foster 1977b, pp. 15, 19, 26.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 164–165.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 153, 158–161.
- ^ Simek 2007, pp. 122, 147, 273.
- ^ Simek 2007, pp. 309, 351.
- ^ Simek 2007, p. 298.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, p. 196.
- ^ McKinnell 2005, p. 60.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 203–212.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 113–117.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 118–119.
- ^ Sundqvist 2000, p. 141.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 212.
- ^ a b Foster 1977b, p. 27.
- ^ Frank 2008, pp. 80, 86.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, p. 181.
- ^ a b Chaney 1970, pp. 123–124.
- ^ Museums Sheffield boar on replica.
- ^ Aldhouse-Green 1992, p. 152.
- ^ Bruce-Mitford 1974, p. 238.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, p. 174.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 176–177.
- ^ Hatto 1957, p. 159.
- ^ Foster 1977a, p. 167.
- ^ Klaeber 1922, ll. 303–306, 1110–1112, 1286, 1327–1328, 1448–1454.
- ^ Hatto 1957, pp. 155–156.
- ^ Speake 1980, p. 80.
- ^ Bateman 1861, p. 33.
- ^ Klaeber 1922, ll. 1110–1112, 1286, 1327–1328.
- ^ a b Cramp 1957, pp. 62–63.
- ^ a b Davidson 1968, p. 354.
- ^ Stiegemann, Kroker & Walter 2013, p. 189.
- ^ Klaeber 1922, ll. 1279–1291.
- ^ Heaney 2000, pp. 89–91.
- ^ Klaeber 1922, ll. 1326–1328.
- ^ Tolkien 2014, p. 51.
- ^ Klaeber 1922, ll. 303–306, 1448–1454.
- ^ Heaney 2000, pp. 21–23.
- ^ Chaney 1970, p. 123.
- ^ Bruce-Mitford 1972, p. 122.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 182–183.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, p. 176.
- ^ Newton 1993, p. 42.
- ^ Byock 1999, p. 105.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 203–204.
- ^ a b Sturluson.
- ^ a b Kovárová 2011, p. 179.
- ^ Sturluson 2007, p. 5.
- ^ Sturluson 1987, p. 168.
- ^ Trefilsson.
- ^ Morris & Eirikr 2019.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 107–108, 179.
- ^ Klaeber 1922, ll. 303–306.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 181–182.
- ^ Kovárová 2011, pp. 153–156.
- ^ Hatto 1957, p. 156.
Bibliography
Primary
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- Byock, Jesse (1999). The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. The Penguin Group. ISBN 014043593X.
- ISBN 0-393-32097-9.
- ISBN 9789353705411.
- Sturluson, Snorri. "Nafnaþulur". heimskringla.no. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- Sturluson, Snorri (1987). Edda. Translated by Faulkes, Anthony. London: Everyman.
- ISBN 978-0903521680.
- Tacitus (1868). "Germany and its Tribes". The Agricola and Germania of Tacitus. Translated by Church, Alfred John & Brodribb, William Jackson. London: Macmillan.
- Tacitus (1886). "Germania". In Church, Alfred John & Brodribb, William Jackson (eds.). The Agricola and Germania of Tacitus: With a Revised Text, English Notes, and Maps. London: Macmillan.
- ISBN 9780007590070.
- Trefilsson, Þormóðr. Quinn, Judy (ed.). "Hrafnsmál". Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
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- Bateman, Thomas (1861). Ten Years' Digging in Celtic and Saxon Grave Hills, in the Counties of Derby, Stafford, and York, from 1848 to 1858; with Notices of some Former Discoveries, Hitherto Unpublished, and Remarks on the Crania and Pottery from the Mounds. London: John Russell Smith. pp. 28–33.
- JSTOR 4423116.
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- McKinnell, John (2005). Meeting the other in Norse myth and legend. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: D.S. Brewer. ISBN 1843840421.
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- ISBN 9780859915137.
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- Stiegemann, Christoph; Kroker, Martin & Walter, Wolfgang, eds. (2013). CREDO: Christianisierung Europas im Mittelalter (in German). Vol. II: Katalog. Petersberg: Michael Imhof Verlag. ISBN 978-3-86568-827-9.
- Sundqvist, Olof (2000). Freyr's Offspring. Rulers and Religion in Ancient Svea Society. Uppsala: Uppsala University Press. ISBN 9155452639.
- "The boar on the replica Benty Grange helmet". I Dig Sheffield. Museums Sheffield. Retrieved 3 February 2018.