Izvestiya of Saratov University.
ISSN 1819-4907 (Print)
ISSN 2542-1913 (Online)


animal symbolism

Wolf, Raven and Serpent Images in the Old Norse Weapon Symbolism

In the current article the author makes an attempt of interpretation of three most significant animal symbols of Viking Age – the Wolf, the Raven and the Serpent – in their mythological, ritual and social sence. The author’s aim was to demonstrate and analyze the indissoluble connection between bestial symbolics and the cult of weapons, the inherent part of the Old Norse mythologic and poetic traditions, in the different aspects.