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Theraven banner (Old Norse:hrafnsmerki[ˈhrɑvnsˌmerke];Middle English:hravenlandeye) was aflag, possiblytotemic in nature, flown by variousViking chieftains and otherScandinavian rulers during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries.[citation needed] Period description simply describes it as a war banner with araven mark on it,[citation needed] although no complete visual description or depiction of the raven banner is known from the time.Norse and European period artwork, however, depicts war banners[citation needed] as roughly triangular, with a rounded outside edge on which there hung a series of tabs or tassels, some with a resemblance to ornately carved "weather-vanes" used aboard Vikinglongships, indicating that some raven banners may have been constructed in a similar manner.
Scholars[who?] conjecture that the raven flag was a symbol ofOdin, who was often depicted accompanied by two ravens namedHuginn and Muninn. Its intent may have been to strike fear in one's enemies byinvoking the power of Odin. As one scholar notes regarding encounters between theChristianAnglo-Saxons and the invadingpagan Scandinavians:
The Anglo-Saxons probably thought that the banners were imbued with the evil powers ofpagan idols, since the Anglo-Saxons were aware of the significance of Óðinn and his ravens inNorse mythology.[1]
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Theraven is a common iconic figure inNorse mythology. The highest godOdin had two ravens named Huginn and Muninn ("thought" and "memory" respectively) who flew around the world bringing back tidings to their master. Therefore, one ofOdin's many names was the "raven god" (Hrafnaguð). InGylfaginning (c. 1220), the medieval Icelandic historianSnorri Sturluson explains:
Hrafnar tveir sitja á öxlum honum ok segja í eyru honum öll tíðendi, þau er þeir sjá eða heyra. Þeir heita svá, Huginn ok Muninn. Þá sendir hann í dagan at fljúga um heim allan, ok koma þeir aftr at dögurðarmáli. Þar af verðr hann margra tíðenda víss. Því kalla menn hann Hrafnaguð, svá sem sagt er:
| Two ravens sit on Odin's shoulders, and bring to his ears all that they hear and see. Their names are Huginn and Muninn. At dawn he sends them out to fly over the whole world, and they come back at breakfast time. Thus he gets information about many things, and hence he is called Rafnagud (raven-god). As is here said:
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Odin was also closely linked to ravens because in Norse myths he received the fallen warriors atValhalla, and ravens were linked with death and war due to their predilection forcarrion. It is consequently likely that they were regarded as manifestations of theValkyries, goddesses who chose the valiant dead for military service in Valhalla.[4]A further connection between ravens and Valkyries was indicated in theshapeshifting abilities of goddesses and Valkyries, who could appear in the form of birds.[5]
The raven appears in almost everyskaldic poem describing warfare.[6] To make war was to feed and please the raven (hrafna seðja,hrafna gleðja).[6] An example of this is found inNorna-Gests þáttr, whereRegin recites the following poem afterSigurd kills the sons ofHunding:
Nú er blóðugr örn | Now theblood eagle |
Above all,kennings used in Norse poetry identify the raven as the bird of blood, corpses and battle;[9] he is the gull of the wave of the heap of corpses, who screams dashed with hail and craves morning steak as he arrives at the sea of corpses (Hlakkar hagli stokkin már valkastar báru, krefr morginbráðar er kemr at hræs sævi).[10]
In black flocks, the ravens hover over the corpses and theskald asks where they are heading (Hvert stefni þér hrafnar hart með flokk hinn svarta).[11] The raven goes forth in the blood of those fallen in battle (Ód hrafn í valblóði).[12] He flies from the field of battle with blood on his beak, human flesh in his talons and the reek of corpses from his mouth (Með dreyrgu nefi, hold loðir í klóum en hræs þefr ór munni).[13]The ravens who were the messengers of the highest god,Huginn and Muninn, increasingly had hellish connotations, and as early as in the ChristianSólarljóð, stanza 67, the ravens ofHel(l) (heljar hrafnar) who tear the eyes off backtalkers are mentioned.[9] Two curses in thePoetic Edda say "may ravens tear your heart asunder" (Þit skyli hjarta rafnar slíta).[14] and "the ravens shall tear out your eyes in the high gallows" (Hrafnar skulu þér á hám galga slíta sjónir ór).[15] Ravens are thus seen as instruments of divine (if harsh and unpleasant)justice.
Despite the violent imagery associated with them, early Scandinavians regarded the raven as a largely positive figure; battle and harsh justice were viewed favorably in Norse culture.[16] ManyOld Norse personal names referred to the raven, such as Hrafn,[17] Hrafnkel[18] and Hrafnhild.[19]
The raven banner was used by a number of Viking warlords regarded inNorse tradition as the sons ofRagnar Lodbrok. The first mention of a Viking force carrying a raven banner is in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle. For the year 878, theChronicle relates:
In the winter of the same year, the brother ofIvar andHalfdan landed inDevonshire,Wessex, with 23 ships, and he was killed there along with 800 other people and 40 of his soldiers. The war banner (guþfana) which they called "Raven" was also taken.
The 12th-centuryAnnals of St Neots claims that a raven banner was present with theGreat Heathen Army and adds insight into itsseiðr- (witchcraft-) influenced creation and totemic andoracular nature:
Dicunt enim quod tres sorores Hynguari et Hubbe, filie uidelicet Lodebrochi, illud uexillum tex'u'erunt et totum parauerunt illud uno meridiano tempore. Dicunt etiam quod, in omni bello ubi praecederet idem signum, si uictoriam adepturi essent, appareret in medio signi quasi coruus uiuus uolitans; si uero uincendi in futuro fuissent, penderet directe nichil mouens – et hoc sepe probatum est[20] | It is said that three sisters of Hingwar and Habba [Ivar andUbbe], i.e., the daughters ofRagnar Loðbrok, had woven that banner and gotten it ready during one single midday's time. Further it is said that if they were going to win a battle in which they followed that signum, there was to be seen, in the center of the signum, a raven, gaily flapping its wings. But if they were going to be defeated, the raven dropped motionless. And this always proved true.[21][22] |
Geffrei Gaimar'sEstorie des Engles (written around 1140) mentions the Hrafnsmerki being borne by the army ofUbbe at theBattle of Cynwit (878): "[t]he Raven was Ubbe's banner (gumfanun). He was the brother of Iware; he was buried by the vikings in a very big mound in Devonshire, called Ubbelawe."[23]
In the 10th century, the raven banner seems to have been adopted byNorse-Gaelic kings ofDublin andNorthumbria. Many of the Norse-Gaelic dynasts in Britain and Ireland were of theUí Ímair clan, which claimed descent from Ragnar Lodbrok through his son Ivar.
A triangular banner appearing to depict a tilted cross (possibly a bird) appears on apenny minted byOlaf Cuaran around 940. The coin features a roughlyright isosceles triangular standard, with the twoequilateral sides situated at the top and staff, respectively. Along the hypotenuse are a series of five tabs or tassels. The staff is topped by what appears to be across; this may indicate a fusion ofpagan and Christian symbolism.[24]
![Banner Penny, obverse[24]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aYork_banner_penny_(frontside).jpg)
![Banner Penny, reverse[24]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aYork_banner_penny_(backside).jpg)
![Raven Penny, obverse and reverse[25]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aYork_raven_penny.jpg)
The raven banner was also astandard used by the NorseJarls of Orkney. According to theOrkneyinga Saga, it was made forSigurd the Stout by his mother, avölva or shamanic seeress. She told him that the banner would "bring victory to the man it's carried before, but death to the one who carries it." The saga describes the flag as "a finely made banner, very cleverly embroidered with the figure of a raven, and when the banner fluttered in the breeze, the raven seemed to be flying ahead." Sigurd's mother's prediction came true when, according to the sagas, all of the bearers of the standard met untimely ends.[26] The "curse" of the banner ultimately fell on Jarl Sigurd himself at theBattle of Clontarf:
Earl Sigurd had a hard battle againstKerthialfad, and Kerthialfad came on so fast that he laid low all who were in the front rank, and he broke the array of Earl Sigurd right up to his banner, and slew the banner-bearer. Then he got another man to bear the banner, and there was again a hard fight. Kerthialfad smote this man too his death blow at once, and so on one after the other all who stood near him. Then Earl Sigurd called on Thorstein the son ofHall of Sida, to bear the banner, and Thorstein was just about to lift the banner, but thenAsmund the White said, "Don't bear the banner! For all they who bear it get their death." "Hrafn the Red!" called out Earl Sigurd, "bear thou the banner." "Bear thine own devil thyself," answered Hrafn. Then the earl said, "`Tis fittest that the beggar should bear the bag;'" and with that he took the banner from the staff and put it under his cloak. A little after Asmund the White was slain, and then the earl was pierced through with a spear.[27]
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The army of KingCnut the Great of England, Norway and Denmark bore a raven banner made from whitesilk at theBattle of Ashingdon in 1016. TheEncomium Emmae reports that Cnut had
a banner which gave a wonderful omen. I am well aware that this may seem incredible to the reader, but nevertheless I insert it in my veracious work because it is true: This banner was woven of the cleanest and whitest silk and no picture of any figures was found on it. In case of war, however, a raven was always to be seen, as if it were woven into it. If the Danes were going to win the battle, the raven appeared, beak wide open, flapping its wings and restless on its feet. If they were going to be defeated, the raven did not stir at all, and its limbs hung motionless.[28]
TheLives ofWaltheof and his FatherSivard Digri (The Stout), the Earl of Northumberland, written by a monk ofCrowland Abbey (possibly theEnglish historianWilliam of Ramsey), reports that theDanishjarl ofNorthumbria, Sigurd, was given a banner by an unidentified old sage. The banner was calledRavenlandeye.[29]
According to theHeimskringla,Harald Hardrada had a standard calledLandøyðan or "Land-waster." This is often assumed to be a raven banner based on the similarity of its name to Sigurd of Northumbria's "Ravenlandeye," though there is no direct evidence connecting Harald's standard with ravens. In a conversation between Harald and KingSweyn II of Denmark,
Sveinn asked Haraldr which of his possessions of his he valued most highly. He answered that it was his banner (merki),Landøyðan. Thereupon Sveinn asked what virtue it had to be accounted so valuable. Haraldr replied that it was prophesied that victory would be his before whom this banner was borne; and added that this had been the case ever since he had obtained it. Thereupon Sveinn said, "I shall believe that your flag has this virtue if you fight three battles with King Magnús, your kinsman, and are victorious in all."[30]
Years later, during Harald's invasion ofEngland, Harald fought a pitched battle against two English earls outsideYork. Harald's Saga relates that
when King Haraldr saw that the battle array of the English had come down along the ditch right opposite them, he had the trumpets blown and sharply urged his men to the attack, raising his banner called Landøyðan. And there so strong an attack was made by him that nothing held against it.[31]
Harald's army flew the banner at theBattle of Stamford Bridge, where it was carried by a warrior named Frírek. After Harald was struck by an arrow and killed, his army fought fiercely for possession of the banner, and some of them wentberserk in their frenzy to secure the flag. In the end the "magic" of the banner failed, and the bulk of the Norwegian army was slaughtered, with only a few escaping to their ships.[32]
Other than the dragon banner ofOlaf II of Norway, theLandøyðan of Harald Hardrada is the only early Norwegian royal standard described bySnorri Sturluson in the Heimskringla.[33]
In two panels of the famousBayeux tapestry, standards are shown which appear to potentially be raven banners (although one is small and not given a motif). The Bayeux tapestry was commissioned byBishop Odo, the half-brother ofWilliam the Conqueror; as one of the combatants at theBattle of Hastings, Odo would have been familiar with the standards carried into the fight. In one of the panels, depicting a Normancavalry charge against an Englishshield-wall, a chargingNorman knight is depicted with a semicircular banner emblazoned with a standing black bird. In a second, depicting the deaths ofHarold Godwinson's brothers, a triangular banner closely resembling that shown on Olaf Cuaran's coin lies broken on the ground. Scholars are divided as to whether these are simply relics of the Normans' Scandinavian heritage (or for that matter, the Scandinavian influence inAnglo-Saxon England) or whether they reflect an undocumentedNorse presence in either the Norman or English army.[34]
There is no indication that the raven banner was ever carried as a universal flag of Scandinavians.[35]
In modern times the DanishGuard Hussar Regiment (est. 1762) seemingly used araven banner as theircoat of arms, perhaps an allusion to theViking warriors. The raven symbol is still in use by the regiment's 1st Battalion 1st Armoured infantry company, in the left sleeve badge.[36]
From the foundation of the collaborationistNasjonal Samling party in Norway in 1933 until the end ofWorld War 2, the party's paramilitary group and youth organisation, theHirden and Unghirden, carried raven banners as military unit flags.[37] Symbols and iconography from the viking period were celebrated and appropriated by the Nasjonal Samling party for nationalistic reasons.
The coat of arms of theNorwegian Intelligence Service features two ravens representingHuginn and Muninn, the ravens providing the god Odin with information.[38][39]
The coat of arms ofShetland depicts a longship with a raven on the sail and an alternative form of the banner (black raven on a rectangular, red field) is used as the symbol ofUp Helly Aa, a festival that celebrates the Islands' Norse heritage. Thecoat of arms of the Isle of Man, a formerlyNorse-dominated kingdom, also features a raven, but as asupporter on the right.
TheEastern Counties Rugby Union (ECRU) adopted the raven as its badge in 1926. It was chosen as representing the heritage of the constituent counties – thenNorfolk,Suffolk andEssex; now Norfolk, Suffolk andCambridgeshire – as part of theDanelaw.[40][non-primary source needed]
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