LAB NOTES
Historical Accuracy
My frustrations with Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
TESTED. REVIEWED. VERDICTIZED.
LOOK, I get it, historical accuracy and video games isn’t really a thing. So when Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla was first announced, I knew, given my obsession with Nordic culture I was going to be playing a lot of it, most likely frustrated.
Now, there are two major symbols repeated throughout the game, the most common being the Ægishjálmur, and the other being the Vegvísir. The Ægishjálmur in particular is meant to be eight Algiz runes bound in a circle. The Algiz rune symbolizes protection (apparently). Yet the Ægis symbol is nothing to do with the Viking era at all. In fact the name itself originates from a passage in The Saga of the Volsungs, which as far as we can tell originated around the 13th century CE (200 years after), and documents Sigurd’s slaying of the dwarf-turned-dragon Fafnir among other tales (a brilliant read).
The Ægishjálmur symbol originates from the 16th-18th century in Iceland. And as far as any historical source worth its weight is concerned, was actually used in the practice of “dark magic”, rather than this symbol of protection that modern romantics have given it. The same goes for the Vegvísir. In fact both these symbols have more in common with Abrahamic religions than any form of Viking paganism or cultural beliefs.