Viking Volva amulet Tissø, bronze

Product description

This pendant is made in the form of a Valkyrie. The Valkyries were considered celestial beings in the service of Odin, the supreme god of the Viking pantheon. Literally translated, "Valkyrie" means "chooser of the slain". According to Viking tales, Valkyries are responsible for selecting the brave warriors on the battlefield who are worthy of being brought to the mythical Walhalla, the great hall of the fallen. Valkyries are also warrior goddesses who themselves participate in combat and help the chosen heroes. Historically, depictions and stories of Valkyries can be found in Old Norse literature, particularly in the Eddas and sagas.

Valkyrie amulets depict female figures that may symbolize valkyries. They have been found in England, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, often in female graves, which allows them to be associated with Freya. With some of these amulets it is clearly visible that they represent a valkyrie, given the weapons the figures carry. With other amulets it is more likely to be Freya.

Sometimes these ornaments can be associated with völvas, since Freya was the mistress of seidr. This amulet possibly represents a völva during a shamanic trance in which she pulls at her hair to enter a trance state.

Tissø was an important religious center in the Viking Age. The lake is located in West Zealand in Denmark and takes its name from the god Tyr, one of the Æsir. Archaeological finds show that the area was a place of sacrificial practices before the beginning of our era. However, most of the finds date from the Late Iron Age and the Viking Age.

Religious rituals also took place on the land around the settlement of a local ruler. Around a size hall stood several enclosed buildings that may have had a cultic function. Many amulets have been found in and around this settlement, including Thor's hammers and small silver pendants and fibulae in the form of female figures that are often interpreted as Valkyries.

On a hill near the settlement, animal bones, ornaments, silver objects and coins were also found. These finds may have originated from an open sacrificial site. The religious landscape around Tissø thus encompassed both the lake and natural sacrificial sites and specially constructed cultic buildings.