10. Contrary to their fearsome and savage image, Vikings did not use the skulls of their defeated enemies as drinking receptacles.
Many myths exist regarding the lifestyles of the Vikings during the Middle Ages, due in part to the frenzied writings of terrified Christians. One of the more prominent, and disturbing, regards the use of human skulls as cups from which Vikings allegedly drank. Despite widespread regurgitation continuing to this day, there is no evidence to support this claim whatsoever. In fact, the belief that Vikings used the skulls of their defeated enemies originates entirely from a 1651 mistranslation of a Norse poem, which included the line: “the heroes hoped to drink in Odin’s hall from the skulls of those they had killed”.
Instead, the line was actually “‘drink beer at once from the curved branches of skulls”. Within the Viking poetic tradition, “curved branches of skulls” was a common reference not to human skulls but animal horns. Whilst only a few such drinking horns have survived, it is clear the horns of goats and cattle were frequently used by Vikings. Outfitted with metal decorations, these horns often included religious iconography, such as Valkyries. Vikings also used cups made from glass, wood, and metal, akin to the rest of Europe. The only recorded instance of a skull being employed in this fashion during the Middle Ages was when Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria used Baldwin I of Constantinople’s in 1205.