Viking jewelry is more than a piece of jewelry and there is a whole long story behind its creation and existence, and hence people are crazy for it.
Vikings were a group of craftsmen probably from the 8th to 11th century who used to create unique pieces of jewelry by melting coins and further giving them shapes using different tools. They were also great traders, travellers, and warriors.
The designs and symbols they carved on the jewelry are still loved by people in this era since each of their carvings was so unique. Their designs were further recognized as specific symbols that used to hold deep meanings and also reflected powerful spiritual beliefs.
Viking jewelry belongs to a specific group of people from the past that were known as Vikings. They belonged to Scandinavia which is now the region on the map that includes countries like Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
They were all great travellers and were skilled in trade and craft-making. Both of these trading and crafting traits resulted in something really great when combined by the Vikings.
In other words, these Vikings used to make pieces of jewelry by melting coins they earned from their trades. The melted coins were then supposed to be poured into molds to get the shape, made either from wood or wax.
Since the coins were made from gold, silver, bronze, and pewter, even the unfinished jewels looked so precious, and the jewelry they were making always turned out really aesthetic and unique.
They further used different tools to create designs and carved a various number of symbols each having its own deep meaning. They also carved animals and plants on this jewelry. The interesting part is that they created almost all types of jewelry just because of their limitless passion. Bracelets, pendants, earrings, necklaces, rings, brooches, and bands; all were crafted with unique designs for both men and women.
You can say, it was their passions that led them to this stage since this wasn’t the need of their survival, and not even the resources for this artwork were easily accessible.
All types of Viking jewelry represented something really specific.
For example, rings were used to represent the statuses of people. One made from gold represented a higher level of status as compared to one made from bronze.
Necklaces or bracelets were meant to protect one from evil things. Amulets, on the other hand, were linked with magical beliefs.
Whereas, the symbols of Norse Pendants were more specific to particular gods of Norse mythology and represented the idea of protection. They are one of the leading reasons why Viking jewelry is this much popular.
Here is the list of other most common symbols of Viking jewelry:
Thor’s Hammer or Mjolnir: Thor is one of the great gods from the concept of Norse mythology. He was basically the god of thunder and his hammer had the power of lightning. This symbol is usually crafted in pendants and is one of the most popular symbols of Vikings.
Yggdrasil: It is known as the “tree of life” as it covers all the 9 worlds from the concepts of Norse mythology underneath, and is also known for connecting things of this world together.
Valknut: This three-triangle graphical design symbol represents death or the world of the afterlife.
Helm of Awe: It is a graphical design and is a symbol of protection. It is known for causing fear in the heart of the opponent.
Huggin and Munnin: This symbol represents two ravens (who belonged to the father of Thor, Odin). The two ravens represent the term “thought and memory”.
All of the above meanings relate to strong and mysterious terms like strength, power, luck, death, magic, loyalty, destruction, and bravery; which hence make these pieces of jewelry meaningful crafted pieces.
Other than typical conceptual symbols taken from Norse mythology, Viking people also carved different animals. They all had their own specific meaning though. The animals range from dragons and falcons to ravens, wolves, and snakes.
Vikings were all so much passionate about artwork and carvings that they carved every single thing possible and turned them out into something really unique.
They also carved runes; alphabetical letters that were similar to Roman alphabets. Moreover, they also crafted jewelry with decorative graphical designs known as Celtic knots.
Moreover, these craftsmen didn’t just work with coins but also tried their hands on wood and stones. They also used clay to make molds to pour melted coins into it in order to bring unique shapes.
Since all these jewelry are made from materials like gold, silver, bronze, and pewter, they all hold a specialty and uniqueness within themselves even if there was no prominent history described.
This jewelry has gained popularity also because both men and women can wear it after knowing its unique history and becoming obsessed with it. It comes up with so elegant and decent looks and also gives a person a completely interesting and aesthetic personality.
Moreover, these pieces can be used as gifting material for your friends, either male or female, as each unique piece of this jewelry holds a beautiful and spiritual meaning which ultimately makes it a meaningful gift item.
One of the leading Norse shops namely Norsesprit.com offers a wide variety of Viking jewelry ranging in different sizes and prices. They offer all different types of jewelry ranging from bracelets and necklaces to bands, rings, chains, and pendants. The brand makes all the pieces of jewelry from stainless steel. All the jewelry is extremely well-crafted and gives an elegant look because of its beautiful design.
Norse Spirit also offers Viking mugs, Viking t-shirts, and Viking tumblers. You may shop your gifting material “by type” or “by theme” and you’ll easily find a gift with a specific Viking design you are having in your mind.