The Viking Mead horn is very popular these days, you see it online, on television, meme’s, everywhere! We like to tell the story on how the Vikings actually used the mead horn and its not what most people think.
The Vikings were actual traders before they were raiders, they would attempt to trade first, but because they were Pagans and the people they were attempting to trade with were largely Christians, the Christians did not want to trade with them.
With the Vikings they had the saying “Take the gold or win the steel” meaning they would rather pay with gold for the goods rather than coming back with a raiding party to forcibly take the goods by weapon.
And that brings us to the Viking Mead horn, this was a “weapon” used by the Viking traders. You see, the Vikings traded around the known world, they would have known what cups were, however the Viking Mead horn has a very useful feature!
Before trading with someone the Viking traders would tell the people that “It is tradition, we drink before we trade!” and they would fill the Mead horn with a high ABV Mead and give it over to drink.
Fun fact, you can’t set down a Mead horn without spilling! And you don’t want to offend the Viking across from you by spilling out the Mead, so you are going to drink it!
Another fun fact, the Mead made by the Vikings was very smooth, we would call it alcoholic fruit juice, so it would go down ohhhhh so smooth.
Once the “tradition” of drinking high proof fruit juice Mead was over, with any luck the person trading with the Viking wouldn’t have full use of their faculties and it would tip the scales to a favorable trade with the Vikings!