[Nick Bourne]

I recently went to a reenactors markets and came across and interesting little thing. Apparently in many viking burials very large beads of various materials have been found next to swords and seem to be associated with them.
I was just wondering what the great and the good of the forum (thats you) know about this phenomenon, whether it was attached to the sword or the scabbard, or if it was just laid there for the sake of it.
Thanks in advance for any info,
Nick

[Myles Mulkey]

[Anders Backlund]

This is relevant to my interests!

On that picture, does it simply hang from the scabbard suspension system or is the bead itself attached to the scabbard somehow?

Also, what materials were these beads commonly made from?

[Myles Mulkey]

[R Lister]

From what i remember the one at petersfinger was large and of amber.

There is one that is glass, and i can't remember where that one is from.


There are severel examples of sword beads from migration period graves. But my brain has deserted me on where they are.

The bead makers at the living history fair in warrwick last weekend had some very nice examples of replica saxon glass beads, and sword beads. I can't remember the company, but they are well worth a look.


Rich

[Nick Bourne]

The name of the company at the fair was Tillerman Beads, they sell glass beads meant to represent amber ones found in the Petersfinger grave.

Here's a link http://www.tillermanbeads.co.uk/amber-sword-b...p-410.html

[Douglas S]

Is it me, or does it seem that the material evidence (swords from archaeology) are from the early Migration Age, while the the textual evidence (sagas, etc.) are from a much later period?

Or can we say that many of the Norse sagas are legends begun in the Migration era?

[Tom King]

Wow, reading this I just realized I have a circular chunk of Tigers eye with a hole in it. Guess whats going on my scabbard tonight.

::Edit::

Done, now I have a leather wrapped scabbard with a life stone for a norman sword. Hey it could happen >.<

[Ken Speed]

Do you think it would be OK to use a Lifesaver or a washer until I can find a bead?

[Myles Mulkey]

[R Lister]

@ Doug S

I only know a little about C6th stuff.....

From my understanding, there was not alot of written evidence in the 4th=8the centurys. It was a very long and very labourous process, and literacy rates were low.

Everything was passed orally. If i remember correctly, literacy in the 5th century was counted on you being able to recite your lineage to five generations, be able to name the seven magical herbs, and be able to compose a poem on the wayback from battle about said battle.

Stories, riddles, lore, etc would be passed orally. Most of the people with this information were pagan. So when the monks came along with christianity, they wrote down everything with a christian slant. So the original reasons for things were lost and replaced with what the monks interpriated.

i hope this makes sense.

@ Tom King

are tigers eyes from africa and australia. I know there was trade arround the med, but is africa and australia a bit far? However its your sword and if you like it, go ahead. There is evidence for trade from the ruins of the roman empire in north africa coming into the wessex area. So you can blag it.

[David Huggins]

Hi Nick

The folk from Tillerman beads are very knowledgable about beads in general, and I would be suprised if they described them as 'Viking' sword beads, I have some of their reproduced glass sword beads and these are all of early anglo-saxon
provenance and are described as such.

Most if not all of these bead finds are from the Migration/Merovingian/Early Anglo-Saxon period. Hrolf Kraki's Saga falls within the Migration period.

The beads are made from a number of different materials. Keep an eye out for Paul Mortimer's fourth coming book which includes a discussion on these beads and their significance.

best
Dave

[Stuart Thompson]

I had a large bead (Amber) fixed to my old scabbard. It goes with the healing properties of amber, as well wrapping a tiny bronze 'valkyrie' inside the scabbard (Within two layers of leather)

This being my own 'get out of jail' card so as when I 'die' in battle a valkyerie will be sure to come collect me. You cant see it but I know it's there. Surprised no-one mentioned 'sword beads' before.

[Myles Mulkey]

[Tom King]

Well Lister, it looks cool. It'll be a bead my grandfather found in the roman fort ________, in gaul or England.

[Nick Bourne]

Thank you all for your input, I have to say its a bit of a disspointment to hear that these were used in a much earlier period than I was led to believe but we live and learn.
Just as a bit of an off shoot to this thread does anyone have any idea how viking era scabbards were decorated by their wearers, vikings seemed to bling up everything else they owned so any ideas?
Thanks again,
Nick

[David Huggins]

Hi Myles

The book should be published within this year, perhaps also of interest by another Ulfhednar collegue and friend, Steve Pollington who co-authors 'Wayland's Work - Anglo-Saxon Art, Myth and Material Culture 4th-7th Century' and is due publication in April, follow this link http://www.stevepollington.com/books.html

best
Dave

[K J Seago]

i reckon if you were desperate to have a bead on your sword, you could say it was part of your "peace bond" arrangement, i know they're a later thing and if you're worried about people hadling your "precious" it'll stop'em too!

[Johan Gemvik]

Anglo saxons and Vikings were pretty much the same culture, or perhaps it's better described as they blended into one another more and more over time thoughout the viking age. Well, if not exactly the same, brother cultures at least.

Consider the huge interaction between Anglo Saxon and Scandinavian culture during the viking age, especially after half of England was more or less forcibly settled by Vikings (see the history of the Dane law) as well as Anglo Saxon crafted swords and jewelry has turned up in Danish and Swedish grave mounds. i.e. the Dybeck sword I'm re-creating was most likely made by Anglo saxon craftsmen known at the time (late 900s) for this type of master craftsmanship and shipped over to Skåne (Denmark at the time, but Sweden today).
Also, if you look at Constantinople employing elite Varangian guards, Swedes, Norwegians, Danes and Anglo Saxons in great numbers took their turns at that. To the rulers of Constantinople they were clearly seen to be of the same mettle and troop type in battle.
And look at the history of celtic and scandinavian knotwork, these people were influencing each other, not just that, but sharing culture, arts, weapons, armour styles, heroic legends and even dress fashion on a fundamental level. Even language, as can even be seen in modern English.

So what am I getting at? Whether one agrees with my idea that "everyone was a Viking" or not, certainly something was getting across the North sea, like swords. So why not Life Stones? Seems like a good thing to have and Vikings were both practical and superstitious, can't you just imagine an Anglo Saxon weapons trader insisting the Viking buyer simply must have a Life Stone with the Sword, "-Look, I'll throw it in for half price, just half a silver, my kids'll starve, but at least you're safe"

Several of the sagas mention Life stones even for Viking age in Scandinavia, here's a passage from the Kormacssaga:
"Now, Bersi owned the sword they call Whitting; a sharp sword it was, with a life-stone to it; and that sword he had carried in many a fray."
I'm not sure but didn't Skofnuing also have a life stone? I'll look it up. Anyway, that sword is said in the story to have been taken from a Danish burial mound.
Not that you can use the sagas as a definite source for real archaeology, but it's indicating the use of Life stones might well have been around in Scandinavia in Viking times. To me that's good enough for at least plausible re-enactment.

From this thread I've decided I'm getting a Life stone for my viking sword. Any suggestions on material I could use? That picture earlier looks like some sort of orange stone, not glass or amber? Or could it be unpolished "raw" amber?

[Douglas S]