Very significant material on Scandinavian Paganism represent gold bracteates - ornaments which were run after (in the guarding purposes) and which originally represented a copy of the Roman medallions. By today of them it is known about 1000, in the majority found on territory of Scandinavia, but also in Britain and on continent. They belong to epoch of resettlement of peoples and partly to Vendel period, being subdivided on some groups. Images with A-bracteates "are least advanced" and are similar to imperial busts on Roman coins. B- bracteates show one, two or three human figures. C- bracteates represent the majestic structure placed above the skipping horse. At last, D and F- bracteates show animals and monsters.

Images with B- bracteates are considered mythological as stages. The motive showing a human figure, whose hand is in a mouth of a four-footed essence was interpreted by Eric Oxenstirna and then K. Haukk as history Tyr and wolf Fenrir. A composition from three figures (ill. 31.) it is treated by Haukk as early variant of Baldur's death. Thus the figure with wings is the initiator of tragedy, Loki; the average character - Baldur; the person with a spear - Odin. To tell the truth, given stage with not smaller probability can be interpreted as image of Uppsala triad: Odin (with a spear), Thor (with ground) and Freyr.

At the same time, the certain attributes speak about certain "merge" of cult Odin to a cult of vanes, first of all Freyr. So for example, on C- bracteates sometimes there are wild boars that in "Edda" serve as attributes of both gods. (Freyr went by wild boar. Odin, in Valhall fed the dead soldiers with not running low meat of wild boar). Besides the horse under a structure sometimes has the bull horns. All this returns us to a problem of horns at "dancing warriors", recognized as Odin's images.

As already it was marked earlier, the God of Earth Powers was object of the best worship of priests and the Hero could be an example, inspiring carriers of imperial authority. At the same time, last two images are not always easy for differentiating. The Germanics (and the Scandinavians here did not represent exception) had no allocated estate of priests, and religious practices were made by leaders of tribes. Thus, any time there could be a tendency to some merge of these closely related characters.

Occurrence of the new German elites grouped around of successful military leaders (that represented "demolition" in traditional tribal structure of a society) is recognised as a historic fact. It is reflected, in particular, in the termination of mass communal sacrifices of the weapon (so-called "votive gifts"). Instead of them rich individual burial places which sometimes count an attribute of political instability (Gaimster, 1988) have appeared. It, together with contacts to Ugrian tribes, has served as the reason of Odin's eminence and Tyr's decline (there is an explanation in the appropriate myth). On subjects of art of epoch of Migration period and Vendel period process of this eminence which have achieved apogee in images on Gotland stones was fixed.

In 8 century A.D. among memorial stones of Gotland there are samples with the characteristic "mushroom" form, with a rounded top. The space of this "top" is occupied with the horseman. Frequently he is met with the female figure holding a drinking horn. In a similar stage sometimes see an embodiment of a plot stay of the dead hero in Other World and his meeting by Valkyrie (Davidson, 1967), known on scaldic poems of 10 centuries. But sometimes the horseman is accompanied by a bird and a dog, and the horse has eight legs (ill. 33.). The eight legged horse, it agrees "Edda" belongs to Odin and represents a new detail, unknown of earlier German and Indo-European sources. Probably, it is consequence of the mentioned contacts with the Finno-Ugrians (compare eight legged lamb of Ugrian legends and the eight legged horse of Odin). In any case trip to Other World should take the central place in cult of Odin.

It is necessary to tell, that the plots submitted on stones from Gotland (Viking Age) show full concurrence by that it is known from "northern literature". The woman worth between two armies corresponds to motives "Legends about Hilde" where sorceress Hilde ("Fight") becomes the reason eternal fight between her father and her husband. The significant amount of stones is devoted to display of feats of hero Sigurd. At last, the big group of stones shows images of the Scandinavian apocalypse - "Ragnarok". In Swedish runic stone we see the chthonic monsters causing destruction to gods: World Serpent, World Wolf Fenrir and the ship of dead men Naglfar. And on runic stone from Man isle (England), where the image of the big cross is cut (The Vikings were christianised in Britain early) the person swallowed by the wolf is shown. On a raven sitting at the person on a shoulder. It is possible to recognise Odin, this time perishing according to description "Edda": "the Wolf swallows Odin and to that there comes death".

So, summarising, it is possible to approve that in this culture to the basic types of a structural nucleus corresponded: to the God of Sky - Germanic Tiw, Scandinavian Tyr; to the God of Thunder - Germanic Donner, Scandinavian Thor, to the God of Earth Powers - Freyr, to the Great Goddess, advantage - Freyja. In Migration period when the role of the successful barbarous leaders accepting in the teams of people has increased, torn with tribal community, the role of the Cultural Hero (Odin) has increased. Such situation was kept and during the following - Vendel period. Odin's cult has incorporated many features of cults Tyr and Freyr (Freyr as an embodiment of the God of earth Powers has not a wide social support as specially allocated priestly estate at German-Scandinavian peoples practically was not present). Is of interest that the Cultural Hero on the German-Scandinavian cultural ground practically had no tendency to splitting for secondary images (some exception makes character of Balder). Probably, this fact is connected with increased (in comparison with the Celts) value of this type in German-Scandinavian culture (in what they are close to barbarous cultures of East and Central Europe). However, on a decline of Viking Age there was a revival of reverence of the God of Thunder (Thor), apparently, connected with specificity of social conditions of this time (movement of the Vikings).