Study › Runes & Norse › The Triquetra
The triquetra is three interlaced arcs, read as threefold unity. It appears on some Scandinavian runestones, but it came to the Norse from the Celtic art of Ireland and Britain.
What is the triquetra?
The Triquetra is three interlaced arcs forming a trefoil, read as a symbol of threefold unity — earth, sea and sky, or birth, death and rebirth, bound in one unbroken line. It is a handsome fit for a mythology that counts in threes, and it does appear in Norse-influenced art, for instance on Viking Age and early Christian runestones in Scandinavia.
Is the triquetra Norse?
But it is not native Norse. It was a favourite motif of Insular art — the art of Ireland and Britain — and it reached the Norse through their contact with those peoples, and later through Christian ornament. It belongs here as a symbol the Norse world adopted, rather than one it first devised.
Another symbol of threes is the valknut.
Questions
What does the triquetra mean?
Threefold unity: earth, sea and sky, or birth, death and rebirth.
Is the triquetra Celtic or Norse?
Celtic in origin; the Norse adopted it.