Grave of the Helhest in Roskilde Cathedral

The Roskile Cathedral

The cathedral is one of the most important churches in Denmark, and the official royal burial church of the Danish monarchs. Before the church of today was built, Harald Bluetooth raised a small stave church when he moved there when Roskilde was named the new capital of Denmark.

The church we see today was built around 1200 as an impressive Gothic cathedral in red brick. Three Viking Age kings are buried here: Harald Bluetooth (died 986), Sweyn Forkbeard (died 1014) and Sweyn Estridsen (died 1074). Since the 16th century, all Danish monarchs have been buried in Roskilde Cathedral.

**Horse Burial:** Equestrian burial was one of the earliest forms of Viking-Age burial to be found in Denmark in the 19th century, although the excavations were often unprofessional and documentation of it is now lacking. But in most viking societies people buried with horses as well as horse sacrifices seems to have been common, as they were connected with the norse Gods as well as fertility. It is said this practice continued in a changed fashion post-christianity, when horses were said to have been buried for good luck when opening a new cemetery. // Illustration from the Birka grave Bj 581 in Sweden.

With the new cathedral completed they also needed a relic for it. Two canons were sent to Rome to find it and legend says that while they were resting after their arrival, St Lucius, who had been pope from 253 to 255, appeared before them, saying he had been chosen to be the patron saint of Roskilde until the end of time.

Read More: Check out the in depth article about The Helhest: Death’s Horse in Danish Folklore

The next day, the two canons were taken to Santa Cecilia in Trastevere to choose amongst the many relics there. They saw a skull shining brightly, the skull of St Lucius. On their return, their ship came under attack by a powerful demon that had long lurked in Danish waters and wanted a victim. The crew drew straws and the lot fell on the canon carrying the skull of St Lucius. He offered a prayer to the saint, washed the skull three times, threw the water in the ocean, and jumped overboard. To everyone’s surprise, the canon was able to walk on the water. The demon disappeared screaming into the depths, never to be seen again.

The Helhest

The Helhest is said to haunt the narrow streets around the cathedral and by the cemetery at night. When you hear it, you can hear its staggering gait. But the look of it is even more disturbing. It has, according to lore, only three legs, and are often described with glowing red eyes, or even headless.

The Helhest originates from a church-related tradition. To avoid the bad luck of being the first buried in a new cemetery, a gruesome practice involved burying a live animal, usually a horse with one leg cut off, to exist between life and death and guard the souls. This “church warden” was believed to protect the church from harm and symbolize the transition between worlds, with the Helhest being one such entity from Nordic mythology.

***Hel of the Norse Underworld:*** Hel is in Norse mythology an underground realm of the dead where it was believed that most people ended up when they died. In Norse cosmology, north is the direction towards cold and death and Hel is cold and inhospitable, and that the way there leads “north and down.” Hel, the daughter of Loki, is also the name of the ruler of the underworld. Her skin is partly blue-black like a corpse and partly human-colored. It is said that Hel welcomes those who die of illness and old age into her own hall.

Digging up the Horse Grave

In the 1970s, archaeologists investigated the supposed grave of the Helhest but did not find the remains of a three-legged animal. Instead, they discovered parts of a nobleman with his head between his legs. Giving perhaps more questions than answers.

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