4 (Semi) Historical Costumes With Drinking Horns

[Gaulish] horns in size, shape, and kind are very different from those of our cattle. They are much sought-after, their rim fitted with silver, and they are used at great feasts as drinking vessels.”

 

From the Romans right down to Animal House, the toga’s been a party animal staple for centuries. Don’t skip the party just because you don’t have a costume – just grab your bedsheet and your AleHorn and you’re ready to conquer.

The female version of the male toga is the stola, which may take a few more steps to make. Of course, there’s nothing stopping a lady from wearing a toga, but in antiquity, a lady in a toga carried a more scandalous connotation.

 

Monk

It may or may not surprise you, but if you enjoy filling your AleHorn with beer made from hops, you can thank the monks. Since the 6th century, monasteries sought to provide food and drink to pilgrims with food and drink made entirely within their own walls, and since the water wasn’t even close to sanitary, everyone drank beer. The monks made the best beer around, and also were the first to add hops. Almost makes you wish you lived in the middle ages, doesn’t it?

 

To dress like a monk, it makes sense that you won’t need much. If you have a brown bathrobe, you’re ahead of the game. Add some sandals and a rope belt and you’re all set – all you need is some Trappist brew in your horn.

Can you guess what else you can make into a super easy monk costume? Yep, a bedsheet. Make sure it’s brown, and that you don’t need it anymore, since you’ll need to cut a hole for your head.

A Little More Effort

Roman Soldier

As drinking horns remained a symbol of abundance in Rome even after other drinkware became available, no feast set out for Roman soldiers would have been complete without a drinking horn or two.

 

The epic-ness of your Roman soldier costume is limited only by your skill with cardboard and scissors and access to a dollar store. Here’s how this guy did it.

Viking

Alright, alright – here’s what you came here for. The Vikings are probably the most famous of the cultures to use drinking horns. Thor himself drank from a horn that contained all the seas. The fictional Scandinavian hero Beowulf drank mead out of his – probably a better idea.

 

This costume group made a write up of their costume designs, including their efforts to make their costumes as historically accurate as possible.

For lady Vikings, Stelari of DeviantART made an awesome historically accurate Viking dress. You could definitely adjust using a found dress or less expensive materials.

Of course, battle was a major part of Viking life and shield maidens were a huge part of that, so your lady Viking could certainly take that direction instead.

 

While they definitely had horns, they didn’t wear them on their head, contrary to what a certain Minnesota football team might have you believe. That said, we raise our cups to all modern Vikings, whether they have horns on their helms or not. Skál, friends.