Headhunting among European peoples

[Pallantides]

Celts

The Celts of Europe practised headhunting as the head was believed to house a person's soul. Ancient Romans and Greeks recorded the Celts' habits of nailing heads of personal enemies to walls or dangling them from the necks of horses. Headhunting was still practised for a great deal longer by the Celtic Gaels—in the Ulster Cycle, Cúchulainn beheads the three sons of Nechtan and mounts their heads on his chariot—though this was probably as a traditional, rather than religious, practice. The practice continued approximately to the end of the Middle Ages in Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish marches.The religious reasons for collecting heads was likely lost after the Celts' conversion to Christianity. Heads were also taken among the Germanic tribes and among Iberians, but the purpose is unknown.

Scythians

The Scythians were excellent horsemen, and some of their tribes, Herodotus wrote, were indeed wild and fierce, practising human sacrifice, drinking blood, scalping their enemies and drinking wine from the enemies' skulls.

Some American soldiers also collected trophy skulls of their Japanese enemies during World War 2, this practice continued during the Vietnam war, in more recent times. some German soldiers have beheaded and boiled the heads of enemy combatants to create trophy skulls in Afghanistan, I guess the art of head hunting is not completely dead.

http://i.imgur.com/80bdn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UdoPE.jpg

[sevruk]

Old Russian (Kievan Rus) warriors skewer their heads on spears

Скифы были прекрасными наездниками, и некоторые из их племен, Геродот писал, были действительно дикие и свирепые, практикующих человеческие жертвоприношения, пить кровь, скальпы своих врагов и пить вино из черепа врага.
Pechenegs also did it

[Nurzat]

a guy from my village was beheaded in afghanistan by the rebels last year and brought back without it :( a swedish guy received the same treatment with him

here's my villager
http://www.newsbucovina.ro/images/10081.jpg

[Anusiya]

Ancient Greeks also did it, but not for the sake of "trophying" it. They thought it was an honorable death or something.

Now, how honorable would it be to get your head cut by an iron or bronze sword sharpened on a plain stone is of another debate! :D

[Pallantides]

The Norse also practised headhunting among other rituals(like hanging folks from trees to honour Odin:P). I don't think any Finnic tribes did it though, but some Finnic tribes did apparently practice ritual cannibalism.

[Dacul]

I don't think any Finnic tribes did it though, but some Finnic tribes did apparently practice ritual cannibalism.

Lol Pallantides that is just an absurdity some people wrote about finns to slander them.

[Vukodav]

headhunting was Montenegrin custom during Ottoman era. more turkish heads you collect, bigger reputation.
one of my ancestors was famous for that.

[Corvus]

Before I opened the thread I thought it is about finding adequate staff among Northern Europeans :icon_lol:

[evon]

Quite Barbaric, some peoples have strange customs, it is worth nothing that for Nordic peoples Odins hanging himself was to gain knowledge (the highest priced commodity in Norse mythology), i am unsure if this is also partly the reason for ritual killings?

with regards to killing, The Mongols has a very weird custom, they had allot of taboo associated with death and blood in particular, hence they prefer to strangle people of high status...A special notorious example is when they rolled up a Russian prince in a blanket and used him as a dinner/feast bench until he suffocated under the weight of the Mongol commanders:P

[Geminus]

in more recent times. some German soldiers have beheaded and boiled the heads of enemy combatants to create trophy skulls in Afghanistan, I guess the art of head hunting is not completely dead.
http://i.imgur.com/UdoPE.jpg

German soldiers posed with skulls in Afghanistan, but they didn't behead enemies and boiled their heads...
You know in more recent times we even became rather civilized :)

[AkisGreece]

My ancestors,Roman settlers of Greek origin,were those that carried the skull of king Decebalus to Maxentius.

Romans in general did that thing more than once.

[mysticism]

Montenegrins used to keep impaled Turkish heads along the walls of the Serb Orthodox Monasteries by law until 1850.

http://www.mosquito.me/media/me/places/place81l0/OFFICIAL/thumb_225890029658124679961.jpg

[Anusiya]

My ancestors,Roman settlers of Greek origin,were those that carried the skull of king Decebalus to Maxentius.

Romans in general did that thing more than once.

Ok, I am intrigued. How would you know that? :confused:

[Blackout]

German soldiers posed with skulls in Afghanistan, but they didn't behead enemies and boiled their heads...
You know in more recent times we even became rather civilized :)

Probably some weird 'voodoo' magic, to bring back their dead nazi generals! :laugh:

[Geminus]

Probably some weird 'voodoo' magic, to bring back their dead nazi generals! :laugh:

Would be the most plausible explanation ;)