A number of Viking monuments feature a curious design known as the valknut, the "knot of the slain" or, more loosely, "the knot of death". On an 8th century CE picture stone from Hammers in Larbro, Gotland, it consists of three interlocking triangles. This stone, now in Stockholm's National Historical Museum, is divided into several panels; one of the central panels, in which the valknut occurs, depicts several motifs that suggest some sort of connection with the cult of Odin - an eagle, a flying figure - possibly a valkyrie - holding a ring, a man being hanged from a tree and a group of three warriors - with shields and upraised swords - led by a fourth man who seems to be holding a large bird of some kind. The valknut is adjacent to the eagle and below it are two men, one with a spear, who appear to be engaged in placing a corpse inside what looks like a burial mound. Between them and the hanged man is what appears to be another, smaller, valknut of the same design. This type can also be seen on a rather splendid golden ring discovered near Peterborough, Cambs, and currently on display at the British Museum in a cabinet labelled as containing Anglo-Saxon "secular" metalwork. Another picture stone from Gotland (Tangelgarda also in Larbro) has a panel showing a rider being welcomed by a woman holding a drinking horn with four men who are holding rings. The woman may be a valkyrie, a "chooser of the slain", one of whose functions was to serve ale to the Warriors in Valhalla, another pointer to the cult of Odin. The rider has a valknut behind his head and there are two more among his horse's legs. On this stone, which can also be seen at the Swedish Museum, the valknut is made up of a single line, interlaced to make three triangles.
A fourth type of valknut, rather different from those described so far, occurs on a stone cross from Andreas on the Isle of Man and is now in the Manx Museum, Douglas. This version is basically a simple knot "tied" in such a way as to retain the basic tripartite structure of the versions mentioned above. Unlike the others it is not a closed structure but its identity as a valknut, while mildly contentious, is not really in doubt. The scene in which it appears shows a man, evidently Odin, holding a spear pointing downward as he is devoured by a great wolf. An eagle perches on the man's shoulder and the valknut is at his side. The same design appears elsewhere, on a stone discovered in 1822 at Gosforth and now incorporated into the structure of the local church. It is between the back legs of a horse. On a picture stone from Alskog, in Gotland, it occurs twice among the eight legs of Odin's horse, Sleipnir. Despite this seeming wealth of examples and the diversity of styles the valknut itself has remained enigmatic. It seems to be associated with horses, particularly with the steed of Odin, and the cult of Odin in general. Motifs associated with the symbol include the hanged man, valkyries, bears, and the scene from Ragnarok on the Manx Cross, all indicating some connection with Odin. According to HR Ellis Davidson, the valknut also appears on the funeral ship excavated at Oseberg, Norway in 1904, and on the tapestry found in that vessel, indicating some sort of funerary association.
The origin and meaning of the symbol are extremely difficult to discern, as is its association with Odin. Obviously it has a decorative value as distinct from its symbolic meaning. The valknut has been used as a motif by Scandinavian weavers since the Viking Age. Indeed, it is recognised as a traditional design in that part of the world quite apart from its alleged occurrence on the Oseberg tapestry. Davidson opines that it is related to the Celtic triskele, the three-legged symbol most familiar as the emblem of the Isle of Man and linked with the Irish God of the sea, Manannan. The triskele is essentially a variety of the swastika, a common enough cosmological symbol, but neither can be said to possess the characteristic interweaving of the valknut. While it may be unwise to dismiss a possible relationship between triskele and valknut, it must be said that any resemblance is purely superficial, lying solely in their tripartite structures. Structurally the valknut has more in common with the Celtic triple spiral motif which is also found on Old English and Pictish artifacts and much older objects. Unfortunately there is a dearth of hard evidence for the mythological or religious significance of the triple spiral, which tends to occur within wholly abstract or symbolic designs, but it occurs within funerary contexts and has been linked with the female principle by various scholars. The various types of valknut, their contexts aside, share two important characteristics: they are tripartite and they are constructed by interweaving or interlinking.
In Old English texts the term "wyrd" is, despite its other connotations, frequently used to denote death rather than a structured and unfolding future that is suggested by the functions of the Nornir and their Greek and Roman counterparts. There is of course an intimate relationship between the two concepts and death is after all the fate of every being. Scandinavian myth makes it clear that there are only two things which the gods cannot avert; fate and death. In Norse myth the name of the senior Norn is Urdr, a word in Old Icelandic that can also denote a burial mound or cairn. "Beowulf" and other texts characterise wyrd as a weaving of webs but the word usually means nothing less than the moment of death, or at least the events leading up to death.
The "Beowulf" motif is revealing, however; it has already been noted that the fates tend to be spinners or weavers and in this instance there is also the idea of a snare, which can refer back to the Indo-European goddess of death as described by Lincoln. Like Hel, the Nornir reside in the far north, at or near the celestial axis and like her they reside "below ground", where the World Tree has its roots. The Nornir determine life, span and the time of death, while Hel takes the dead to her cold bosom. All these characteristics are shared to some extent with Odin, as is their femininity, apparently adopted by Odin in order to engage in seidr – the natural magic of womankind.
At the very least, Hel and the Nornir are closely related, perhaps even deriving from the same proto Indo-European goddess, and Odin has acquired some of their characteristics by virtue of his association with the cosmic centre, the structure of which reflects their own nature. If the valknut symbolises anything then, it is probably either wyrd, death, or perhaps even the Nornir themselves, who are more or less the same as wyrd anyway. Exactly when the valknut would have come to represent these is difficult to estimate. Certainly the examples here all date from the Viking Age and appear to range in time from about the 7th to the 10th centuries CE. I am not aware of any valknuts of a significantly earlier date. It is interesting that in England the use of the valknut seems to have died out with the establishment of Christianity and the consequent decline of heathenism. The Nornir are not represented pictorially anywhere in the Germanic world, which is rather surprising. A panel of the Franks Casket shows three hooded figures who might be intended as a likeness of that fateful trinity, but it is by no means certain. Until any conclusive artifacts come to light the truth of the matter must remain as uncertain as the workings of the Fates themselves.
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