Valknut
Three interlocked triangles carved on Viking Age picture stones from Gotland. Scholars read it as a sign of Odin and of death in battle; today it is called the valknut, “knot of the slain”.
Meaning
The valknut appears on the picture stones of Gotland, Sweden, among scenes of myth and cult. Store norske leksikon describes a stone from Lärbro that shows a human sacrifice carried out with a spear, and says that the ravens and the valknut on it indicate the offering was made to Odin. The Anti-Defamation League, which catalogues how symbols are used today, describes the valknot as “an old Norse symbol that often represented the afterlife in carvings and designs”, often considered a sign of Odin, and notes that pagans also use it today.
Origin and history
Its meaning is read from where it is carved: on the Lärbro stone it stands beside Odin’s ravens at a sacrifice. The drawing shows three triangles interlocked around a centre.
The other valknute of Norwegian folk art
In Norwegian the word valknute also names a knot in folk decoration. Store norske leksikon lists valknuter among the common motifs of the coverlets called ruteåkle, alongside eight-petalled roses, crosses and chequers, and describes the valknute as “a knot without beginning or end”, used both to protect against evil powers and as a symbol of eternal love. It appears in the simple carved decoration called kroting, and the coat of arms of Lødingen in northern Norway, adopted in 1984, shows “a five-pillared valknute in gold on a red ground”, standing for the town as a junction.
See also
Mjölnir (Thor’s hammer), Gungnir, Sleipnir, Huginn and Muninn, Yggdrasil, Triple horn of Odin.
Sources
- Blot (Store norske leksikon), Store norske leksikon
- Valknot (ADL Hate Symbols Database), Anti-Defamation League
- Ruteåkle (Store norske leksikon), Store norske leksikon
- Kroting (Store norske leksikon), Store norske leksikon
- Lødingen (Store norske leksikon), Store norske leksikon
Last reviewed September 26, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research