The Mammen grave was discovered originally in 1868 and its contents date back to the winter of 970-971 where a magnate was buried. The ornate designs present on the axe as well as the other objects and textiles found in the grave suggest that this magnate was a rich man. The axe itself is forged of iron with and features an intricate silver design inlay. One side of the axe blade features a tree-like image. This image has been interpreted as either Christian as a depiction of the tree of life, or Pagan as a depiction of Yggdrasil. On the opposite side, there is an animal figure much like a rooster who appears to be intertwined with the tree structure.¹ As a pagan symbol this figure would represent the rooster in ancient Norse Mythology is called Gullinkambi. He sits atop the tree of Yggdrasil and serves to wake viking warriors each morning. This rooster could also be a phoenix which is commonly considered a sign of rebirth in Christianity. These designs on the axe spurned the deliniation of what is now considered “Mammen Style” after the Mammen find where the axe was discovered.
While the Mammen axe saw no battles and was merely for ceremony’s sake, itd designs still show us some of the ambiguity surrounding the interplay between the religions at this time. As evidenced by scholar A Reader, both Christianity and pagan religions were practiced at the time and the conversion from paganism to Christianity was not a linear one.² The Mammen grave and the axe within both support the notion that indeed both religions were being practiced. Since we cannot interpret the silver inlays as being distinctly pagan or Christian, this also supports that the two religions probably intersected and the art styles overlapped. Because there is a clear record of the intersection and intermingling of the Norse culture and Christianity, there would have also been borrowing of the visual culture that would have appeared on these ceremonial axes.

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