page_title: Old Norse religion
section_title: Iconography and imagery
hierarchical_section_title: Old Norse religion / Iconography and imagery
context_page_description: Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is the most common name for a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peoples. It was replaced by Christianity during the Christianization of Scandinavia. Scholars reconstruct aspects of North Germanic religion by historical linguistics, archaeology, toponymy, and records left by North Germanic peoples, such as runic inscriptions in the Younger Futhark, a distinctly North Germanic extension of the runic alphabet. Numerous Old Norse works dated to the 13th century record Norse mythology, a component of North Germanic religion.
  Old Norse religion was polytheistic, entailing a belief in various gods and goddesses. Norse mythology divided these deities into two groups, the Æsir and the Vanir, who engaged in an ancient war until realizing that they were equally powerful. Among the most widespread deities were the gods Odin and Thor. This world was inhabited also by various other mythological races, including giants, dwarfs, elves, and land-spirits.
context_section_description: The most widespread religious symbol in Viking Age Old Norse religion was Mjöllnir, the hammer of Thor. This symbol first appears in the ninth century and may be a conscious response to the symbolism of the Christian cross. Although found across the Viking world, Mjöllnir pendants are most commonly found in graves from modern Denmark, south-eastern Sweden, and southern Norway; their wide distribution suggests the particular popularity of Thor. When found in inhumation graves, Mjöllnir pendants are more likely to be found in women's graves than men's. Earlier examples were made from iron, bronze, or amber, although silver pendants became fashionable in the tenth century. This may have been a response to the growing popularity of Christian cross amulets.
  The two religious symbols may have co-existed closely; one piece of archaeological evidence suggesting that this is the case is a soapstone mould for casting pendants discovered from Trengården in Denmark. This mould had space for a Mjöllnir and a crucifix pendant side by side, suggesting that the artisan who produced these pendants catered for both religious communities. These have typically been interpreted as a protective symbol, although may also have had associations with fertility, being worn as amulets, good-luck charms, or sources of protection. However, around 10 percent of those discovered during excavation had been placed on top of cremation urns, suggesting that they had a place in certain funerary rituals.
  Gods and goddesses were depicted through figurines, pendants, fibulas, and as images on weapons. Thor is usually recognised in depictions by his carrying of Mjöllnir. Iconographic material suggesting other deities are less common that those connected to Thor. Some pictorial evidence, most notably that of the picture stones, intersect with the mythologies recorded in later texts. These picture stones, produced in mainland Scandinavia during the Viking Age, are the earliest known visual depictions of Norse mythological scenes. It is nevertheless unclear what function these picture-stones had or what they meant to the communities who produced them.
  Oðinn has been identified on various gold bracteates produced from the fifth and sixth centuries.
  Some figurines have been interpreted as depictions of deities. The Lindby image from Skåne, Sweden is often interpreted as Oðinn because of its missing eye; the bronze figurine from Eyrarland in Iceland as Thor because it holds a hammer. A bronze figurine from Rällinge in Södermanland has been attributed to Freyr because it has a big phallus, and a silver pendant from Aska in Östergötland has been seen as Freya because it wears a necklace that could be Brisingamen.
  Another image that recurs in Norse artwork from this period is the valknut (the term is modern, not Old Norse). These symbols may have a specific association with Oðinn, because they often accompany images of warriors on picture stones.
caption: Mjölnir pendants were worn by Norse pagans during the 9th to 10th centuries. This drawing of a 4.6 cm gold-plated silver Mjolnir pendant was found at Bredsätra in Öland, Sweden.
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