Sometimes their hair was further accessorized with a decorative circlet that matched their clothing. It is believed that unmarried Viking girls sometimes wore dreadlocks and heavily braided to mark a festival or formal occasion. Cultural Significance of Dreadlocks Among the Vikings It is also believed that the hairstyles were indicative of the person’s designation and may have also carried religious and other culturally symbolic meanings. This detail implies how serious the Vikings were about these matters. The importance that they placed on these matters can, in part, be seen in the story about Odin, when the Norse god was distraught after the death of his son and refused to wash or comb his hair for days. The Vikings were known to place great importance on personal hygiene, and that even extended to their hairstyles. Where does the word “dreadlocks” come from? See below Were Dreadlocks Important to the Vikings? ![]() ![]() See What Kind of Clothes Did the Vikings Wear? to learn more. Hair was important to the Vikings, but so were their clothes. There is no irrefutable evidence to suggest that Celtic hairstyles influenced Scandinavian hairstyles.īoth forms of locks may have been simply the result of practical necessity or the lack of regular combing or brushing. In Celtic folklore, elves appear at night to tie knots in people’s hair hence, the term “elflocks.”Ĭeltic legend also said that combing out these knots brings bad luck. Storytelling, art, and songs were common ways to transfer stories from one generation to the next. These stories survived through oral transmission as opposed to written records. Did Celtic elflocks influence Viking dreadlocks?ĭescriptions of elflocks are found in ancient Celtic folklore. “Elflocks” or “fairy-locks” are a hairstyle of tangles and knots similar to dreadlocks. The Celts were the Vikings’ neighbors to the south, and being in close geographical proximity, they influenced each other in different ways. In the Middle Ages, the Vikings occupied northern Europe, the region known today as Scandinavia. See How Vikings Got Tattoos and Why to learn more.ĭid the Vikings wear braids, too? See below Viking Dreadlocks Compared to Celtic Elflocks Historical records indicate that Vikings had permanent markings on their skin. Historians have uncovered that the hairdo was common among the people in ancient Egypt, Pacific Islanders, the New Guineans, as well as the Somali and the Maasai, apart from many other tribes, including the Vikings. (Also see What Hairstyles Did the Vikings Have?) According to Roman records, the Celtic people, Germanic tribes, and the Vikings wore their hair in rope-like strands.Įven early Christians were believed to have worn their hair in dreadlocks as a tribute to Samson, who had seven locks of hair. ![]() Highlighting someone’s hairstyle was then a way to suggest something about their nature as people. One reason why this was so maybe so is that some cultures associated women’s hair with femininity and men’s hair with masculinity. There is an array of opinions about people wearing dreadlocks.Īncient writers and artists weren’t just interested in dreadlocks, but recorded, drew, sculpted, and painted different hairstyles, which were sometimes even emphasized. Why did people in older civilizations wear dreadlocks? What was life like for women in Viking society? See 15 Facts About Viking Women to learn more.ĭid the Vikings invent dreadlocks? See below Did the Vikings Invent Dreadlocks?ĭreadlocks are mentioned in multiple ancient sources from a variety of places around the world.įrom religious writings in India to depictions in art from ancient Greece, dreadlocks are clearly evident in ancient civilizations. The texture, length, and thickness of hair and other attributes can vary from culture to culture based on the genetic makeup of certain people groups or environmental conditions, which impact hair differently. Some historians believe that the Vikings may have had a distinct way of braiding their hair or arranging and growing it into dreadlocks.Įven though people in different places at different times in history wore dreadlocks, that doesn’t mean the hairstyles were exactly the same. This doesn’t imply that caring for their hair was only about appearance they probably managed it out of necessity. Did Vikings invent dreadlocks? See below Were Vikings’ Dreadlocks Special?Ĭontrary to certain modern stereotypes, historical evidence shows that physical hygiene was important to the Vikings in the Middle Ages.Ĭaring for their hair was part of their hygiene routine.īased on written records, like the writings mentioned above, as well as some hair care artifacts, like combs, that Scandinavian archaeologists have discovered, there is reason to believe that the Vikings valued managing their hair.
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