Reference

Norse symbols

8 symbols that turn up constantly in Norse-themed design, each with the date of its earliest verifiable appearance. A few are Viking-Age. The rest are considerably younger than they are usually said to be.

ValknutThree interlocking triangles found on Viking-Age picture stones and grave goods, usually in scenes involving death. Genuinely old, but every name we have for it is modern.Earliest:8th–9th century VegvísirAn eight-armed Icelandic magical stave. Despite being marketed everywhere as "the Viking compass", its earliest known appearance is in an Icelandic manuscript from 1860.Earliest:1860 ÆgishjálmurAn eight-armed Icelandic stave of protection and terror. The word is Old Norse; the design that people tattoo is early modern.Earliest:Word 13th century; the drawn stave 17th century MjölnirThor’s hammer, worn as a pendant across the Viking world. Around a thousand examples survive, and one is even labelled in runes: this is the best-attested Norse symbol there is.Earliest:9th–11th century Web of WyrdA nine-line grid said to contain every rune shape. It is a modern design with no historical attestation whatsoever.Earliest:Later 20th century TriquetraA three-cornered interlace knot found across early medieval northern Europe: in Insular Christian manuscripts, on Viking-Age objects, and on Swedish runestones.Earliest:7th century Troll crossA bent-iron amulet sold as traditional Swedish protection against trolls. Its documented history begins in the 1990s.Earliest:1990s SvefnþornThe "sleep thorn" of Old Norse saga, used to put someone into an enchanted sleep. The word is medieval; the drawn stave is not, and no two sources draw it the same way.Earliest:Word 13th century; the drawn staves post-medieval