What would you feel if you saw a guy with a runic tattoo? Many would probably feel uneasiness, including myself. The question is why. I perfectly know that ancient Germanic peoples used the Elder Futhark not because they were white supremacists. I realize that vikings used the Younger Futhark not because they were racist skinheads. So where comes the uneasiness from? Let’s take another example. If you use the Bluetooth technology on your mobile phone, you should remember their logo. Do you? It is actually a bindrune, that is two blended runes: Hagall (hail) and Bjarkan (birch). These two represent the initials of the 10th century viking king Harald Blåtand (Bluetooth), who ordered the Jelling stones to be erected. Bluetooth team are certainly not a hate group, and their rune logo does not scare people away from buying their technology. However, tattooed on someone’s shoulder, it may make others feel uneasy. The question remains: why? My answer is: because western civilization has been too long obsessed by Classical Antiquity as its treasured source. All we usually know about Norse or ancient Germanic symbols is that nazis used them and neo-nazis still use them. That’s not a lot. The other answer is: many people with Christian background still feel that heathen convictions may be dangerous, especially if associated with Norse or Scandinavian culture (or with anything ancient Germanic). Even atheists have been educated in schools long dominated by Christians who admired Classical Antiquity. “Virgil and Homer, not Edda and Beowulf” has been their slogan for many centuries.
True, Norse heathen symbols were used by Nazis. For instance, the Hagall rune used in the Bluetooth logo is present on the SS Totenkopfring. In his description of the ring, Himmler wrote: “The swastika and the Hagall-Rune represent our unshakable faith in the ultimate victory of our philosophy.” This rune was also used during the SS wedding ceremonies. Does it mean that the Hagall rune is in itself a hate symbol? No way.
The origins and the cultural meaning of Norse symbols or Germanic heathen symbols, which may point to racism in certain contexts, are treated in a series of articles on this web site. Some are already written, and more will be added soon. Each time an article is published, it’ll be linked to the corresponding item in the list below.
- Runic and rune-like symbols
- Valknut (knot of the slain)
- Thor’s hammer
- Black sun
- Irminsul
- Triskele
All the articles will be in the Germanic Heathen Symbols category.
Please take a moment to complete the survey below. That will help me better understand what people think about the topic.
Photo courtesy Prince Heathen. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic Licence. The tattoo represents the so-called dancing warriors from the Sutton Hoo helmet.
Hmm, Vikings as racist skinheads… Didn’t they shave the heads of their slaves? I know the Irish did.
My own tattooed left-arm is full of Germanic/Viking symbolism and I’m about as far from neo-NAZI as you can get. As far as I am concerned those thugs are more akin to Christian fundamentalists than Viking warriors. Same cultural ethic.
Oh, great site by the way, very informative and well researched. Can’t wait to see a post about the Irminsul :)
September 4th, 2009 at 6:50 am
Hi Jenny,
I am not aware of a Viking practice of shaving the heads of slaves. As for Norsemen’s own hairstyle, Sviatoslav, son of Igor (Old Norse Ingvar), a Varangian ruler of Kievan Rus, was described by Leo Diaconus, who saw him in 971, as follows: “His head was shaven except for a lock of hair on one side as a sign of the nobility of his clan.” An 11th-century letter in Old English mentions that Norman men shaved the back half of their head, while on the front half the hair was left to grow long: “Danish fashion with bared neck and blinded eyes.” However, these traditions do not seem to have anything to do with modern hate groups.
Thanks for the feedback!
September 7th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Oftentimes, I think that the ignorance of the masses and wanton following of christian clergy has cast a dispersion upon Norse Asatru, as a religion. And the Third Reich fell over 50 years ago. When will the public just believe that Norse pagans are not skinheads and aren’t devil-worshipers. Besides runes were traditionally used as a communications tool by the Vikings to leave a written record of exploits and voyage history to honor family and comrades. Should we then say that the Internet is a tool of satan or that it is a tool of neo-nazism, just because it is a communication tool? When will we get over the reality that everyone is not a christian and that people should be able to believe what they wish without fear of repercussions from the christian “right”?
November 16th, 2009 at 6:12 am
Admin:
The “Viking Answer Lady,” Christie Ward, has a well-researched website on early Norse culture, including the keeping of thralls.
Short hair was the mark of a male thrall, according to her.
http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/thralls.shtml
Look a little more than halfway down the page.
I myself keep a short head of hair because I feel a spiritual duty to do so, as the keeper of a modern day Temple (no, I don’t hang sacrifices off trees, but I do keep horses and a pig).
Regards,
Jalkr
December 5th, 2009 at 10:57 am
The Germanic peoples were a practical lot. And of course we still are.
Men kept long hair back then not just for fashion or status, but because their two long braids could be wrapped around the head for extra helmet padding (or so I read somewhere).
But, as mentioned above, some eastern Germanics shaved the head (like Sviatoslav I of Kiev) and if a warlord could do it (even if he did still keep his scalplock), why not others of lower status?
And I’m sure some Norsemen may have experienced male pattern baldness even back in the old, virile Viking days. A shaved head is usually seen as a little bit more fearsome than a combover!
I myself keep a shaved head. Not because I’m balding (I’m not) but for such practical reasons as it’s convenient, clean and safe (I work with potential hair-pulling and scalping clients).
As to the Runes been seen as something malignant; I risted the futhark on a pine cupboard’s doors in my younger days. When my brother moved into a group house he took the cupboard with him. It ended up as the property of a fundamentalist Christian, who subsequently sanded them off. Still too evil for some!
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:29 pm
It is true that there is a lot of ignorance when it comes to runes. I have a bind rune tattoo on my arm and I used to get some angry looks at the gym, especially from black guys. I found this extremely ironic, because I am married to a mixed race woman. If runes are symbols of hate, then the same logic says that the cross is a symbol of oppression and the star and crescent are symbols of terrorism.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:00 am
I am a big fan of viking, and Norse culture, so much so that I was thinking of getting a Norse Leben Rune of life branded on me. Being of african decent, will those of viking decent find this offensive?
January 31st, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Hey Jerry Shabazz,
I seriously doubt that anyone will find it at all offensive that you’re considering a Viking style tattoo, in fact I’d personally feel very honoured.
And really, aren’t we Homo sapiens all of African descent originally anyway?
I say go for it, however (someone correct me if I’m wrong) isn’t the “Leben” rune in actuality the algiz/elkhaz rune of the elder futhark that was simply re-named “Leben” (life) by the SS?
February 5th, 2010 at 2:30 pm