You may be looking at all of the Viking Hammer designs showing images of Thor and Odin and scratching your head wondering, "I thought this was supposed to be Celtic artwork. What's with all this Viking/Nordic stuff?"
Well let me answer that with, "I'll draw whatever the HELL I want! OK?!?!" Only kidding (but not really). In all seriousness though, here are some reasons why I think Celtic and Nordic imagery not only complements each other aesthetically, but that the blending of the two is rooted in history as well. In other words, why it's not just a mix that I made up off the top of my head (keep in mind I don't claim to be a historian. This is not meant to be an academic article. It's just a blog post based on my own readings, research, and general exposure to the topic and reflects my understanding of the truth of it.):
- The Vikings had raided Celtic lands for centuries. From about 793 AD till the mid 1,000's AD, Viking raiders had raided, colonized (Orkney and Shetland Islands in Scotland and the Isle of Man, for ex.), and established cities (Dublin, Ireland, for ex.) throughout Celtic lands. For me, I would think that centuries of interaction and co-existence (whether violent or cooperative) would cause the cultures to influence each other. I mean, the CAPITAL of Ireland is a Viking city! The name Dublin derives from the Norse language rather than the Irish!
- The Vikings and other Germanic invaders (Saxons, Angles, Jutes) brought the insular (knot work) style that is now associated almost exclusively with Celtic culture. Prior to Germanic influence, Celtic art was comprised mostly of spiral motifs. For example, the image below is of a triskele. It's just three connected spirals, but it is a clinical example of what I'm talking about when I say spiral motif. The Germanic Tribes that invaded the British Isles during the Middle Ages (the Vikings, Saxons, Angles, and Jutes) brought with them the insular (knot work) and animal styles (see Viking Hammer (5) in the Celtic - Norse Art collection for an example of this). The Celtic monks adopted these styles and made them their own. The most famous and brilliant examples of Celtic art is the Book of Kells. The book is full of both the insular and the old spiral motifs. It is because of the adoption of the insular art form by the Celtic monks that our modern day societies associate the insular style almost exclusively with Celtic culture. Although I still see a lot of Viking imagery that uses the insular style, but I think that just shows that the Norse and Celtic cultures are intertwined and share common ground.
example of a Celtic triskele
- Iceland. A genetic study of the modern Icelandic population showed that the Icelandic females were more closely related to peoples from Scotland and Ireland (Celts). It is thought that Viking raiders/explorers took Celtic wives from Scotland and Ireland and then settled Iceland. If you want to get more in depth information about this check out this article.
I point all of this out only to exemplify the fact that, even though the Celts and Vikings are two very distinct peoples, they do share a gray area of commonality. And it's this common, gray, mixed area that a lot of my art is meant to reflect and represent. I'm hoping to give you a glimpse into my thinking. A glimpse into what inspired me to create a lot of my work because I think if you can see it through my eyes you would realize how the idea of these strong, battle hardened, horned helmet and kilt wearing, blue tattooed, battleaxe and battle hammer wielding raiders and fighters are just bad ass! So please tat, display or wear this imagery proudly!
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