Brunhilda
Is Not Amused.
Posted on 09/14/2024 2:48:00 PM PDT by algore
Controversy over a 15-foot tall Viking statue in Canada has heated up in the town of Gimli - specifically over the horns on its helmet, which some say aren't realistic.
With a battle axe in one hand, a horn in the other and a cape hanging down its back, the Viking statue is almost entirely realistic aside from one recognizable detail - the horns that poke out on the side of the battle warrior's helmet.
'There's never been a Viking helmet found with horns,'
The historical accuracy of the horns was put into question and prompted a debate on social media
'It's kind of embarassing,' the resident wrote, according to CTV News.
Another native agreed, writing that they were hoping they were removed when the statue underwent a two-week refurbishing process that cost a grand total of $60,000 in 2015.
But others seemed to find the debate silly, noting that the statue 'would feel naked' without them, and whether it had horns or not didn't take away from how impressive it is.
The 57-year-old statue was conceptualized by Gissur Eliasson, a respected Canadian painting instructor, whose original sketch left out the horns.
But the Gimli Chamber of Commerce intervened - they had already ordered a substantial amount of plastic helmets with horns, and urged the artist to use them, according to Public Delivery.
'Without a doubt, the ones with the horns sell way faster than the ones without the horns,' Roberts added.
Similar to the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Viking statue that towers along the shores of Lake Winnipeg is a staple for those visiting what is known as the 'Heart of New Iceland'.
'It's great! It brings a lot of people and it's been here forever!' added another resident, Mark Quberko.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Beat me by one post.
Gimli is home of the Gimli Glider. Quite a story if you go ogle it.
Oh, fer bleep’s sake...
Leave the dang horns.
Bloody ignoramuses.
Heh... the horned helmet was probably more of a fashion statement rather than a piece of combat armor. Thanks for the reminder, I was going to add this and got distracted by freevee documentary on the Medicis.
It has to be historical? How much crap modern art out there and the complaint is this?
How about a satan statue in Illinois or whatever? How do we know he has horns?
I’ll bet viking women saw plenty of horny vikings.
I wouldn’t be surprised if helmets with horns were reserved for high status Vikings and/or particularly bad @$$ warriors.
My high school mascot is/was a horned Viking. We went un-defeated for four years. The guys we beat felt pretty sure they got the horn.
Amazing story of a female Viking warrior!
This is how irrelevant and petty people get their 15 minutes.
Seems like an easy matter just to knock off the horns and sand the bases.
KILL DA WABBIT!...KILL DA WABBIT!...KILL DA WABBIT!................
One of our local HS football mascots is the Fort Walton Beach Vikings.
They don’t have horns on their helmets...............
There have been horned helmets found in Denmark but they were bronze aged, almost 1000 years pre-viking.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veks%C3%B8_Helmets
The modern myth of the horned helmet was created in 1876 by a guy doing costume design for a performance of Wagner’s Ring cycle.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/viking-helmet
If you were randomly visiting the town of Gimli would you rather see the statue with or without a horned helmet ?
I personally like the horns, but a little fact check sign saying
“There have been horned helmets found in Denmark but they were bronze aged, almost 1000 years pre-viking.
Some believe the modern perception of the horned helmet was created in 1876 by a guy doing costume design for a performance of Wagner’s Ring cycle, but there is really no evidence either way.”
would be fine
I notice the artist was originally right in his depiction...until a dumbass committee “corrected” him.
If only he had a stars and bars flag then they could really take them down
The Viking horned helmet seems to have originated with a costumer who gave such a helmet to Brunhilde the Valkyrie in the Wagner epic Ring opera. Although some illustrations show her with a winged helmet, the horned image stuck in the popular imagination.
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