File:Odin and the Horned Spear-Dancer

Viking and Anglo-Saxon artwork often includes a man with bird shaped horns. This mysterious figure is known as the horned man or the weapon dancer. The motif shows up in various different contexts and over a huge geographic range and timeframe - from early Anglo-Saxon England to Viking age Russia. It is commonly associated with the cult of the Nordic god Odin or the Anglo-Saxon god Woden and with extraordinary shamanic rituals as I shall explain in this video.

Sources: Mortimer, Paul, 'What Colour a God's Eyes' (2018) Oehrl, Sigmund, 'Horned ship-guide – an unnoticed picture stone fragment from Stora Valle, Gotland' (2016) Oehrl, Sigmund, 'DOCUMENTING AND INTERPRETING THE PICTURE STONES OF GOTLAND' (2017)

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Art: Horned spear dancers by Hungerstein https://www.instagram.com/hungerstein_sketchbook

WAINEs and Odin art by Christian Sloan Hall https://www.deathlord.co.uk

Music in order: Theme song - Wolcensmen - Sunne Torulf - Freja Xurious -Steppe expansion Stark Von Oben - Praetorian Germanicus Bark sound productions - Vrm Borg - The choosing ceremony Borg - The Leaf King returns