Viking Tattoo Designs

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Tattoo Center. Viking Tattoo Designs. When one hears the word Viking, the populace from Scandinavia during the Viking Age often comes to mind. They are thought of as mighty warriors and fearless explorers. During the often slow process of bringing Christianity to Scandinavia, the voyages of the Vikings slowly began to dwindle and then stopped altogether. Erik Gustaf Geijer was the author of a poem titled The Viking. It was in the early part of the 19th century when the poem was published and the term Viking became popular.

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Viking tattoo designs incorporate much of the same symbolism as do Celtic tattoos. It is said that to distinguish between the two design styles is difficult because of the influence of conquering lands and trading between the two peoples. Most adults and children are familiar with the childhood ditty, “London Bridge is Falling Down.” Olaf Tryggvason is said to have forced literally thousands of people to convert to Christianity.

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He is said to have burned down the London Bridge because he was angered by the people’s disobedience to his orders. Another Viking of note is the former King of Norway, Magnus Barelegs as is Oleg or Helgi that ruled Kiev. Brian Boru as the King of Ireland was killed by the Danish Viking Brodir and the famous Erik the Red was known as the colonizer of Greenland.

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The Scandinavian belt is where the origins of Viking tattoos began and today many people of Nordic descent wear a Viking tattoo as a sign of their pride in their heritage. The Viking tattoo symbolizes guts, bravado and courage and even if one is not of Scandinavian descent, the popularity of a Viking tattoo to show the world what you are made of is often seen as body art.