Pendant "Axe of Perun"

Axe pendant in the shape of the so-called Axe of Perun.

Detailed replica of a miniature axe from the late Viking Age based on a historical original, dated to the 11th century after a find near Bergen / Hordaland (Norway).

The so-called Axe of Perun was worn as an amulet during the time of the Vikings, especially by the West Slavs and the Rus, and was an attribute of the highest Slavic god Perun.

Circular eye ornaments and zigzag lines are typical as decoration for this type of Slavic axe amulet and are interpreted as a symbol for sun and lightning.

According to the archaeological definition, the axe amulet from Perun belongs to Makarov's type 1, which is found in large numbers in the eastern find material of the WinkiViking period.

This type of miniature axe was particularly widespread in the Baltic and Slavic countries during the Viking period and is found especially along the rivers Daugava in Latvia and Dnieper in Ukraine.
However, individual axe pendants of this type have also been found on Gotland and even in the Oslofjord and Bergen / Norway.

The Perun axe pendant measures 4 x 3.5 cm.
The Viking axe amulet is made of bronze and also available in real silver-plated.

A black leather cord in 1 m length for the miniature axe is included.

Perun was the highest god in Slavic mythology and at the same time the god of thunder, thunder and lightning and his name means "the mighty one who strikes". Perun roughly corresponds to the North Germanic Thor in his function and was especially worshipped by the common people.

Perun's attributes are the iris, the oak and the axe, which symbolises the lightning that strikes down. For this reason, miniature axes are frequently found in the West Slavic area and among the Rus, which roughly correspond in meaning to the Thor's hammer.
In 980, Prince Vladimir I had a wooden statue of Perun with a silver head and golden beard erected in Kiev.

Another image of Perun was erected at the same time in Novgorod, but both god stelae were destroyed in 988/989 in the course of Christianisation.
Human sacrifices were even made to Perun, for in 983 two Christian Varangians are said to have been sacrificed by the Russians because they had insulted the images of the gods.