Sacred signs, divine marks: geometric religious symbols in Viking Age Scandinavia

The main purpose of this research is to provide analytical elements regarding the meaning of the geometric symbols that are identified during the Viking Era (especially the swastika and triquetra). Inspired by John Robb's theory on symbols and the visual methodology of Jill Bradley, this paper approaches some of the main visual sources that occurs in Norse material culture (in particular, the runestone DR 248 and Thor's hammer pendants) and then draws a comparative line between them. Our main conclusions are that the symbols display a variety in their meaning, in accordance to the material and social context in which they were inserted and their religious relevance allowed their permanence in Scandinavia visual tradition.