The Triquetra-a Symbol Common to the Germanic and Celtic Peoples

The symbol known as the triquetra is generally assumed to be a Celtic or solely a Celtic symbol and often a Christian one at that. Whilst the symbol became ubiquitous in early mediaeval Celtic inspired art in the British Isle its origins reach back into pre-Christian times and are not confined to just the Celts. A form of this symbol may be found on Scandinavian rune stones and a photographic example of this is attached to this article. The rune stone in question is catalogued as U 937 from Funbo in Uppsala, Sweden, now situated in a park at Uppsala University.

A triquetra also is to be found on the 7th Anglo-Saxon frith stool in Hexham Abbey, Northumberland. I have seen the stool but I cannot recall now after more than 20 years whether at the time I noticed the symbol or not. The presence of a triquetra on an Anglo-Saxon stone chair or 'throne' points to the possible use of this symbol by the Anglo-Saxons. It certainly remained as a spiritual symbol with the transition from heathenism to Christianity when it became known as the 'Trinity Knot', symbolising the triune Christian god as 'Father, Son and Holy Ghost'.

The triquetra is often compared to the Norse Valknut but I find the comparison to be quite superficial although I would argue that stylistically it is similar to the triple horns of Odin symbol, an alternative Odinic triple symbol. The symbol does appear on early silver Anglo-Saxon coins although it must not be assumed that at the time that this was intended to be depicted as a heathen symbol. The form of triquetra on this coin: Anglo-Saxon coin does strongly resemble the form on the U 937 Funbo rune stone. A form of the symbol also appears on English Viking era coins and here is an example of one from York: Viking Coin My readers will notice that this form of the triquetra strongly resembles the triple horn of Odin symbol. I have provided links to the website which feature images of these coins rather than posting their images on here as I am unsure of their copyright status.

Walther Blachetta briefly discusses the triquetra in his Das Buch der Deutschen Sinnzeichen, 1941:

"The triquetra is likewise an old Germanic form of the trefot and the sign for the threefold duty, which God, the world and mankind place on every life. " (My translation )

Please note that the German term for the triquetra is Die Dreierschild. Of course the interpretation by Blachetta must be regarded as a personal opinion as we cannot possibly know after so many centuries how our ancestors viewed the symbol and its meaning for them but there may very well be a certain overlap in meaning with other Germanic, Celtic and Indo-European symbols which are triple in nature.