Petersen(1919): Devised the original hilt typology of 26 types that is still widely used across Europe for classifying and dating Viking swords. No other weapons or armor made or used anywhere in Europe before the Industrial Revolution are known to have been made from this superior material. Viking Sword. [26] The Franks attempted to limit the Vikings' use of weapons and armour produced in Francia—fearing that they would eventually face equally armed opponents. In the European High Middle Ages, the typical sword was a straight, double-edged weapon with a single-handed, cruciform hilt and a blade length of about 70 to 80 centimetres. Perfect accessory to all Viking costumes. Migration period as well as early medieval sword blades were primarily produced by the technique of pattern welding,[44] also known as "false Damascus" steel. Late in the Viking era, blades became as long as 100cm (40in). Many swords, spears and lances from the Viking and early medieval periods have also been found near fords crossing rivers and in wetlands. Based on about 1,700 finds of Viking swords in Norway[34] this typology remains the most commonly used. [37] Peirce (1990) makes special mention of this sword as "breath-taking", "one of the most splendid Viking swords extant". £30.99. A ritualistic function in retiring a weapon with a warrior, and a practical function in deterring any grave robbers from disturbing the burial in order to get one of these costly weapons. They were extremely rare and valuable, and would have been prized possessions of the most elite Vikings. [8] Two men sharpening swords, one using a grindstone the other a file, are shown in the Utrecht Psalter (fol. Tourney Viking Sword - Re-Enactment Sword . During the reign of Charlemagne, the price of a sword (a spata, or longsword) with scabbard was set at seven solidi (totaling about US$1300) (Lex Ribuaria). [citation needed], All have short single-handed hilts with pyramid, lobed or cocked-hat style pommels. The distribution of Frankish blades throughout Scandinavia and as far east as Volga Bulgaria attest to the considerable importance of Frankish arms exports, even though Carolingian kings attempted to prevent the export of weapons to potential enemies; in 864, Charles the Bald set the death penalty on selling weapons to the Vikings. Petersen, Jan (1919) De Norske Vikingesverd. Pattern welding fell out of use in the 9th century, as higher quality steel became available. Delivery worldwide! The Swedish Viking Sword comes complete with leather scabbard. amazing viking iron sword with slender blade and bronze decorated pommel. 1960. It was a development of the Roman spatha, evolving out of the Migration Period sword in the 8th century, and into the classical knightly sword in the 11th century[citation needed] with the emergence of larger cross-guards. [25] As Ahmad ibn Fadlan observed in his account of his journey to Russia, every Viking carried a "sword of the Frankish type". The swords are at the transitional point between the Viking sword and the high medieval knightly sword. The Viking Age or Carolingian-era sword developed in the 8th century from the Merovingian sword (more specifically, the Frankish production of swords in the 6th to 7th century, itself derived from the Roman spatha) and during the 11th to 12th century in turn gave rise to the knightly sword of the Romanesque period. The seminal study of the topic is due to Jan Petersen (De Norske Vikingsverd, 1919). It was probably made in England and if not, it was certainly influenced by English styles. Because grave goods were no longer deposited in Francia in the 8th century, continental finds are mostly limited to stray finds in riverbeds (where anaerobic conditions favoured the preservation of the steel), and most extant examples of Carolingian swords are from graves from northern or eastern cultures where pagan burial customs were still in effect. Callmer, Johan (2008). [45][46], Two 10th-century sword hilts (Petersen type S) with. have proposed that such laws proved so effective at stemming the flow of Frankish weapons that they initiated the practice of raiding for which Vikings became notorious. E-mail us (we respond 24/7!) £517.00. The sword measures 93 cm in total length and is equipped with a hilt measuring 9.1 cm in length and 6.9 cm in width. The cross that appears twice in the inscriptions may be a reference to the Catholic church, as certain church officials of the time included such crosses in their signatures. He classifies all of the Viking Age swords as his type X. The Viking Broadsword The Vikings prized their swords above all other things. It is one of the finest Viking era swords ever found in Scandinavia. Viking swords - Haralds. Blade length measured between 28" and 32" (710 and 810 mm) in length and 1.7" to 2.4" (45 to 60 mm) in width. Oakshott, Ewart (1991) Records of the Medieval Sword. Oakeshott, Ewart (1960) The Archaeology of Weapons. [30], Carolingian scabbards were made of wood and leather. The tang has a length of only some 4" to 5" (100 to 130 mm) long. As these swords were made over a 200-year period, it is not possible they were all made by a single craftsman who was signing his work. "Viking Weaponry". Swords were still comparatively expensive weapons, although not as exclusive as during the Merovingian period, and in Charlemagne's capitularies, only members of the cavalry, who could afford to own and maintain a warhorse, were required to be equipped with swords. [11], As mentioned above, a sword was so valued in Norse society that good blades were prized by successive generations of warriors. The general outline of the hilt is comparable to a number of other 'Viking' swords, including one held by the Musee del'arme, Paris (Reg. Medieval Longswords; Medieval Arming Swords; Federschwert; Falchion; Templar Swords . [22][23] Once in Scandinavia, the precious metals would have been inlaid in the pommels and blades of weapons creating geometric patterns, depictions of animals, and (later) Christian symbols. Blade Material : High Carbon Steel. Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, "1,000 years on, perils of fake Viking swords are revealed", http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/dec/27/archaeology-vikings-sword, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/secrets-viking-sword.html, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Viking_sword?oldid=4539649, Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls. Foreign-made, specifically Frankish, weapons and armour played a special role in Norse society. [36], Oakeshott (1960): Added two more types to Wheelers typology bridging the gap between the Viking Age and the later mediaeval sword. Three Lobe Viking Sword. museum replicas of Ulfberht swords. Persons of status might own ornately decorated swords with silver accents and inlays. "Longsword" in other contexts has been used to refer to Bronze Age swords, Migration period and Viking swords as well as the early modern dueling sword. Peirce (2002): Oakeshott provides an overview of typologies and a discussion on inscribed blades. Therefore, their possession and display by any individual would signify their station in the social hierarchy and any political allegiances they had. The hilt will be discussed in detail below in relation to its type, wherefore it needs not be particularly insisted on in this place. Overall Length: approx. [14] The Swords were not exclusive to the Vikings, but rather was used throughout Europe[15], The Frankish swords often had pommels shaped in a series of three or five rounded lobes. It was a development of the Roman spatha, evolving out of the Migration Period sword in the 8th century, and into the classical knightly sword in the 11th century[citation needed] with the emergence of larger cross-guards. Ingelrii sword found in the Thames: length 84.2 cm (blade 69.7 cm): Peirce (2002:80). • The Sæbø sword, a 9th-century type C sword found in 1825 in a barrow at Sæbø, Vikøyri, in Norway's Sogn region. ( Espen Finstad, Secrets of the Ice/ Oppland County Council ) As April Holloway reported in a previous Ancient Origins article , a team of hunters tracking geese in Skaftárhreppur, South Iceland, discovered a 1,000-year-old Viking sword lying completely exposed in the sand almost a year ago. Detailed with knot work serpents Belt Loop for Viking Sword Scabbard, Small Serpents, Bronze ... Used as a late Viking Sword as well as a Norman Sword. Better steel also allowed the production of narrower blades, and the swords of the 9th century have more pronounced tapering than their 8th-century predecessors, shifting the point of balance towards the hilt. Axe Head Length : 6.75 Inches. Owner: The sword is thought to … The blade was typically 4-6cm wide (1.5-2.3in). The Viking World: ch 15. One example from a 10th-century grave in Nemilany, Moravia, has a pattern-welded core with welded-on hardened cutting edges. The Saracens raiding Camargue in 869 demanded 150 swords as ransom for archbishop Rotland of Arles. The Viking Age sword (also Viking sword) or Carolingian sword is the type of sword prevalent in Western and Northern Europe during the Early Middle Ages.. Stephen V. Grancsav, “A Viking Chieftain’s Sword,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, XVII (March 1959), 181. Historians suggest that the Vikings made these swords from high-quality steel ingots from Central Asia which they acquired on the Volga trade route, which the Vikings are known to have used from the early-800s to the mid-1000s. It is a double-edged sword with a typical wide blade (4 - 6 cm) and a length of 60 – 90 cm. The term longsword is ambiguous, and refers to the "bastard sword" only where the late medieval to Renaissance context is implied. Allen Furrer duplicated a Ulfberht with bloomery steel like that of Viking age Europe and a clay furnace like that in Asia. [18] They are also the starting point of the much more varied high medieval tradition of blade inscriptions. [43] Peirce provides a catalogue of examples, detailing 85 complete or almost complete swords and comparing them to Petersen's discoveries. These swords have been well studied over the last century although surprisingly very few changes have been made to Petersen’s original work based on sword hilt styles found in Norway and published in 1919 [PETERSEN 1919]. The strengthened edges are typical, iron hilt with cross-quillon and rayed pommel (in two pieces). 3. SKU: 601030. There is even some evidence from Viking burials for the deliberate and possibly ritual "killing" of swords, which involved the blade being bent so that it was unusable. The sword is notable for its blade inscription, which has been interpreted as runic by George Stephens (1867), which would be very exceptional; while Viking Age sword hilts were sometimes incised with runes, inlaid blade inscriptions are, with this possible exception, invariably in the Latin alphabet. "the runes inscribed upon the bronze collars which once held the grip at top and bottom [...] rather roughly incised in a rather 'home-made' style, have been positively dated as being no later than 1150 and unlikely to be much earlier than 1100. Add to Cart. Scabbard decorations are depicted in several manuscripts (Stuttgart Psalter, Utrecht Psalter, Vivian Bible). The sword gradually replaced the seax during the late 8th to early 9th century. The hilt and pommel provided the needed weight to balance the blade, with the total weight of the sword ranging from 2-4 lbs (1-2 kg). While blade inscriptions become more common over the Viking Age, the custom of hilt decorations in precious metals, inherited from the Merovingian sword and widespread during the 8th and 9th centuries, is in decline over the course of the 10th century. The Viking swords were pattern welded which gave the blade extra strength as the core was made of springy iron and edge of hard steel. £134.40. contact & account. Jokobsson's conclusions are discussed in Ian Peirce's 'Swords from the Viking Age'[41]. The blades show very little taper, usually ending in a rounded tip. ), The Ideals and Practice of Medieval Knighthood III: Papers from the Fourth Strawberry Hill Conference, 1988, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, pp. [12] [13] Indeed, archaeological finds of the bent and brittle pieces of metal sword remains testify to the regular burial of Vikings with weapons, as well as the habitual "killing" of swords. Viking Broadsword . [39], Oakeshott (1991): Mainly dealing with sword from the post Viking-age period. This weight reduction would allow the wielder to swing faster and harder strokes. Jones 2002:p. 16. Peirce (2002:36): "it is extremely rare to find a Viking Age sword with an overall length of more than 1 metre. A number of miniatures also show the system of suspension of the sword by means of the sword-belt. The hilts often had a lobed or cocked hat pommel that was decorated with inlay. Lutterworth Press. [...] Petersen determined the weight of C777 as a massive 1.896 kg (4.17 lb).". One sword mentioned in the Laxdæla saga was valued at half a crown, which would correspond to the value of 16 milk-cows. The group of Ulfberht swords includes a wide spectrum of steel and production method. 8cm Chape for Viking Sword Scabbard, Norse Serpent, Bronze. The Ulfberht swords made from this crucible steel would have had superior performance in battle. Ultimately, in 864, King Charles the Bald of West Francia made the practice punishable by death. Some are decorated with runes and others are made of Damascus steel. While Viking Swords may appear to be the same across the board, Petersen identified 26 different types in common use from the 8th century and onward. £165.00. Although called "Viking sword", this style of sword was not exclusively limited to Vikings and was used by other people. Most Viking warriors would own a sword as one raid was usually enough to afford a good blade. The sword is equipped with a straight, single-edged blade without a fuller but with a c. 2 cm wide edge. Reviews. Many of the most important Viking weapons were highly ornate—decorated lavishly with gold and silver. Swords could take up to a month to forge and were of such high value that they were passed on from generation to generation. Petersen listed a total of 110 specimens found in Norway. The sword was derived from the Roman Gladius sword. Of particular note is the "Ulfberht" subset, which used steel of higher purity and carbon content than its p… [28] Laws like this were enacted throughout Francia. Many of our Viking swords here feature iconic lobe pommels. BATTLE-READY for RE-ENACTMENT and SWORD FIGHTING. Viking Broadsword & Scabbard . Boydell. Repräsentationszwecke besser geeignet erschienen sein. Coupland (1990) proposes that this development may have accelerated the disappearance of the sax, as the sword was now available for swift striking, while the migration-period spatha was mostly used to deliver heavy blows aimed at damaging shields or armour. [40], Jakobsson (1992): has recently published a number of maps detailing the distribution patterns of Petersen’s sword hilts across Europe. There are shorter swords found in boys' graves, presumably shortened from full sized sword (Peirce 2002:86) and in some cases diminutive swords made for boys (Peirce 2002:95). Weapons adorned as such served large religious and social functions. [42] Jones also provides an overview of hilt and blade classifications, provides a summary of Jakobsson's and Geibig's work and provides an updated typology date range chart. Constructing such weapons was a highly specialized endeavour and many sword-blades were imported from foreign lands, such as the Rhineland. 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