The Viking World: A History in Objects

Odin Pendant

Pendants were mainly worn by vikings as a personal object, rather than a decoration for others to admire. This pendant was discovered in September of 2014 in North Lincolnshire via metal detector. It was made from cast silver, with decorations on the front depict the Norse god Odin and his attendant ravens, Huginn and Muninn (Thought and Memory). Odin’s head, shown skull-like, is below the suspension loop, which is decorated of the front with a sunken panel of a series of short transverse gilded ridges. His arms are thin and are holding his ravens to his chest. One eye, the right one, is a circular groove, while the other is a pair of horizontal grooves close to his cheek, which is suggestive of Odin’s blind eye. The head has a relief line, which might represent hair, touched the beaks of the birds, possibly indicating that they are whispering into Odin’s ear. This is significant because in Norse mythology, Odin’s ravens fly out in to the different worlds and bring back news and whisper it into Odin’s ears.[2] Each bird is on either side of Odin and are identical. The birds are turned towards the center, and their necks are long and their eyes are large. The bird to the left has a groove around the eye while the other has a groove on the beak. Between the god’s head and the ravens’ necks are pellets, representing Odin’s shoulders. The reverse side is undecorated, but has some scratches, probably accidental. Pendants, specifically ones in reference to a god, were used for protection or warding, and were more symbolic than finger or arm rings.[1]

There is significance in the choice of owning a pendant that depicted not only Odin, but his ravens as well. There is another symbol for Odin: three interlocking horns. This symbol is a sign of commitment to the paganism of the Norse.[3] But rather than that this pendant has Huginn and Muninn, which symbolize Odin’s vast knowledge. Therefore, one can conclude that the wearer of this pendant would likely be a seeker of knowledge.

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