Quick & curious · History

Vikings didn't wear horned helmets.

The iron Viking helmet from Gjermundbu with an eye guard, no horns
Photo: NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet · CC BY 2.0 · Original

5known Viking helmets

The story behind it

Vikings didn't wear horned helmets.

The image dates from the 19th century, popularized by Richard Wagner's operas. Real Viking helmets are extremely rare: only five are known – one of them from Gjermundbu in Norway, pictured here.

Sources

Every statement in this discovery is backed by one of these sources and was checked before publication.

  1. Wikipedia: Horned helmet (accessed 2026-10-05)
  2. Wikipedia: Gjermundbu helmet (accessed 2026-10-05)

Image credits

  • “Gjermundbu helmet - cropped.jpg”, NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet, CC BY 2.0