Drinking Horn with Stand » Yggdrasil, the World Ash Tree
Generally made from cattle or goat horn, and used as a drinking vessel in many cultures across different time periods, the drinking horn held great significance, especially for ceremonies. It continued to see service right up until the early modern period, especially throughout Germanic Europe. A particularly popular drinking container through the early Middle Ages in Scandinavia, it enjoyed mentions in both the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda. Although fragments of Viking Age horns are rarely recovered on archaeological digs, the number of preserved metal horn fittings lead to assume that their use was much more widespread than the actual horn finds indicate.