The horned helmet, hinting at the ferocity of the Vikings, has been featured prominently in almost all works about the Viking. Even some earlier works of archaeologist have featured this image, despite the fact that there are no archaeological evidence of a horned helmet every having been worn by Vikings in battle. This use of, and abuse of, the Viking stereotype is unfortunately rather the norm than the exception. To the point it at all existed, the horned helmet may have been a ritual regalia worn at some of the religious ceremonies of the Viking age (Hall 2007: 219). But this did not prevent the so called Viking balls of the 19th century from making good use of this stereotypical image, although it did not hint at any violent nature of the Vikings, but rather traditional clothing of an idealised age.

The view of the Viking Age as an ideal society has been used, among other places, in the works of Erik Gustaf Geijer, who was also the leader of the Gothic Society, a society which hoped to strengthen nationalistic sentiments in Sweden. The Gothic Society wanted to prepare the country for future conflicts with Russia. In Geijers work ?EURoeHistory of the Swedish People?EUR?, Geijer presents the Viking age as an ideal, with a delicate balance of power between the king and the commoners. In the 19th century, the farmers of Sweden were struggling for more power, and Geijer presented an idea of the Viking age where farmers, with no fear for themselves, could speak up against the king in the assemblies of men (Sawyer 2001: 236-238). This image was perfectly suited for the time and became an important attribute in their struggle.

This abuse of the Viking stereotype continued well into the 20th century as attempts where made in several places to bolster nationalistic feelings, and link current events and places with the idealised Viking past. The propaganda of the Nazi Party during the early to mid century hinted at connections between the sought after Aryan race and the Vikings. The Vinland Map, a well known map of north America seems to hint at that the Vikings discovered America, something which the Nazi would find very relevant to their claim of superiority. However, recent studies shows that this may well have been a hoax portrayed by Jesuit priest Joseph Fischer to tease the Nazi scientists (Seaver 2004: 292-373).

In Russia, on the other hand, evidence of the Viking past of Russia was suppressed during the communism regime, but cities like Novgorod have, since the fall of communism, taken up the image of the Vikings and included it in their history (Hall 2007: 221), something which can hint at the usage of the Viking stereotype as a valuable marketing tool. During the 20th century, many finds in the USA have also been accredited falsely to the Vikings, such as the Newport tower which the Dane Carl Christian Rafn proclaimed to be of Viking heritage, and a rune stone from Minnesota, claimed by Hjalmar Holand to be a true link to the American Viking past (Hall 2007: 226-228). Their reasons for doing this is not clear, but it can not be discarded that this is also done for marketing purposes, either of themselves of the area around them,.

The Viking stereotype has been used extensively through most of our modern history. It's an unfortunate fact that most of this use has been an abuse of the Viking legacy. Even when trying to portray an historical accurate picture, the abused images of the Vikings are so firmly cemented in the minds of people, that they are now hard to eradicate, even if the true image of the Viking is much more interesting than the stereotype.