Valknut

This is an extract from an article called KNOTS OF DEATH by Alby Stone,
which appears in WEB OF WYRD #7.

A number of Viking monuments feature a curious design known as the valknut, the “knot of the slain” or, more loosely, “the knot of death”. On an 8th century CE picture stone from Hammers in Larbro, Gotland, it consists of three interlocking triangles. This stone, now in Stockholm’s National Historical Museum, is divided into several panels; one of the central panels, in which the valknut occurs, depicts several motifs that suggest some sort of connection with the cult of Odin – an eagle, a flying figure – possibly a valkyrie – holding a ring, a man being hanged from a tree and a group of three warriors – with shields and upraised swords – led by a fourth man who seems to be holding a large bird of some kind.