The historical Vikings — Scandinavian seafarers and traders active from roughly 793 to 1066 AD — left a specific visual legacy that contemporary design has both drawn from accurately and mythologized extensively. The accurate elements: runic alphabets (the Elder Futhark and Younger Futhark scripts), interlace knotwork patterns (developed in the Insular art tradition shared with Ireland and Scotland), animal-head prow carving on longships, and the specific smith-work aesthetic of iron and bronze decorated with animal and geometric motifs.

The mythologized elements — horned helmets (which did not exist; Viking helmets were simple iron caps), the specific "warrior aesthetic" of contemporary popular culture — are largely inventions of 19th century Romanticism and 20th century fantasy fiction. The discovery of Norse mythology by Romantic-era composers and artists (Wagner's Ring Cycle, the paintings of Lorenz Frølich) created a visual vocabulary for "Viking" that is often more 19th century Germanic than 9th century Scandinavian.

Contemporary Viking-themed design draws from both the historical and the mythological layers, and the most effective work acknowledges the distinction.