The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete‎. There is a detailed discussion of sourcing which raises serious concerns over the claims made concerning the subject. That it is a fictive creation is not substantially refuted in the discussion. Given the level of analysis below it seems unlikely leaving this open for another week will deliver any further insight. Goldsztajn (talk) 03:33, 2 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Odin's Horns (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log | edits since nomination)

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Fails WP:N. As far as I can see, only one source in the article - Medieval.eu - could qualify as a WP:RS, but it is about a different symbol/character with horns and doesn't mention the article's subject at all. The unreliable sources have the three horns as a variation of the triskelion, but I don't support redirecting the page there, as I can't find any RS that calls it Odin's Horns. The scholarly material I find about the Snoldelev Stone just describes it as three interlaced horns, without giving it a name or making connections to mythology. Ffranc (talk) 10:56, 18 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Denmark-related deletion discussions. Ffranc (talk) 11:00, 18 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
• Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Mythology-related deletion discussions. Ffranc (talk) 11:00, 18 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
• Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Paganism-related deletion discussions. Ffranc (talk) 11:00, 18 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• Comment - I find there are RS books which make the connection between this rune on the Snoldelev Stone and Norse mythology. For example, this one refers to it as (a symbol of the Odhinic Cult) while another suggests the the Triskele here is doubtless the Mark of Thor). I haven't yet found it referred to as Odin's Horns though. — CactusWriter ^(talk) 00:42, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Edred Thorsson is the name Stephen Flowers uses when he writes about his personal occult practice. He might be the originator of viewing this as an Odinic symbol, so it's an interesting find, but it's not a reliable source. The other book from 1868 may or may not refer to an established theory from that time, but it doesn't seem to have coverage in more recent works, even as a historical view. I guess it could still be added to the article about the Snoldelev Stone, with attribution and date for the source. Ffranc (talk) 11:29, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Regarding the 19th-century book that calls it the Mark of Thor, I read the source it points to, and it's a misunderstanding: it's the swastika (which also appears on the Snoldelev Stone) that has been interpreted as a symbol for Thor, not the three horns. This thesis has some coverage in the Wikipedia article swastika (Germanic Iron Age). Ffranc (talk) 10:01, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It's a few pages further down in the book that Muller writes about the Triskele symbol as Odin's Mark. But you're correct: only the swastika symbol is cited to Snoldelevstenen. However, the Wikipedia article on Valknut references the "Triple Horn of Odin" on page 163 of Rudolf Simek's Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Any chance to check the accuracy of that? — CactusWriter ^(talk) 00:00, 25 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Simek has one sentence where he writes that they may or may not be variations of the same symbol. He doesn't call it Odin's horns or anything of the like. He also mentions the picture stone from Lillbjärs, which has both a valknut and three interlaced horns. I'll add that to the Snoldelev Stone's article. Ffranc (talk) 13:27, 25 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for checking on that, Ffranc. Much appreciated. Here though is a more specific mention: Richard Cavendish writes that the "interlocked horns found on a rune stone in Snoldelev in Denmark was the sign of the god Odin" on page 1346 in volume 3 of Man, Myth & Magic An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural. — CactusWriter ^(talk) 19:02, 25 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It's still just one sentence, not enough to base an article on. I skimmed the 1812 article in Antiqvariske Annaler that was the first to examine the Snoldelev Stone. There is a fun part on pp. 291-292 about the yet-to-be-named valknut as possibly "the old Nordic trinity" (in three variants, of which one has to do with Odin but not the mead of poetry), but it ends with essentially the same point as Simek: "On whether the three intertwined drinking horns on the Snoldelev Stone are in some way connected to this triangular sign, can probably nothing be said, until later discoveries place us in condition to make reasonable conjectures." ("Om ellers de tre sammenslyngede Drikkehorn paa Snoldelev-Stenen staae i nogen sammenhæng med dette triangulære Tegn, det kan nok ikke siges noget om, før senere Opdagelser sætte os istand til att gjøre rimelige Conjecturer.") Looks like nothing really has changed here within the academic research. The mystical and occult sides seem to have a preferred interpretation, but it doesn't have enough independent coverage for an article. Ffranc (talk) 13:46, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• Keep: I mean, there are reliable sources referring to this symbol, albeit under different names, but it still passes WP:N. Maybe a rename would be more appropriate if there was a more common name found for it, but I don't feel deletion is the way to go here. Sophisticatedevening ^(talk) 00:08, 21 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Sophisticatedevening: Please point to these sources. I have searched but not been able to find any. Ffranc (talk) 12:38, 22 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    I noticed the [1] CactusWriter identified, this book here (pg. 206) and this one. This one might be referring to it but there's no illustration. There's a ton of jewelers that don't really count due to reliability but still have their own descriptions of it as well. Sophisticatedevening ^(talk) 14:41, 22 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

    Only Signs and Symbols looks like it could be a reliable source, but it only has two sentences: "The stylized triple drinking horn is a symbol of Odin and in itself signifies strength and potency. It represents the three drafts of magical mead procured by Odin after a long quest." It's not the significant coverage needed for an article. I would also be hesitant about adding this to the Snoldelev Stone's article, since it says nothing about where this interpretation comes from (and doesn't even mentions the stone). Ffranc (talk) 10:01, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Owen× ☎ 21:56, 25 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.