[Ben Mudd]

Hey all,

The issue of the Ulen sword came up in conversation in another forum, just wondering if anyone knew anything about it more than the general details--found in a field in the Midwest in 1911, no archaeological provenance, claimed by some to be evidence of either Viking expansion inland or a mid 14th century Norwegian expedition to America.



First off, I'm perfectly capable of standard skepticism. My default assumption is that this is either a fake or simply a modern sword (300 years old or younger) that was lost innocently, recovered innocently, and has been persistently misidentified. So I'd really rather avoid more of the same, because I'm perfectly capable of assuming the paradigm.

Lacking archaeological evidence regarding its provenance, what I'd really like is any other data there may be about what it may be and where it's from. I don't know if there's been a serious scholarly study of it (most likely a debunking), but if there is, I'd appreciate a link or citation of some sort. Has it been studied professionally? Has anyone done a metallurgical analysis of it?

Lacking that, does anyone have any idea what the origin of this object may be based on stylistic or art historical grounds? It doesn't look like any weapon I'm familiar with from either the viking age or the 14th century, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything, as positive evidence is really what I'm looking for. Is there any basis to show this is similar to, say, a ceremonial Masonic sword from the 1800's or something of the like?

Thanks!

Ben

[Jonathan Hopkins]

I don't know what it is exactly, but definitely not a Viking era sword. It looks 19th century, and ceremonial. It is remeniscent of the French military school cadet short swords. A fun piece of local history, but I hope that it is not seriously considered to be Viking in origin.

(From http://www.radiohallingdal.no/ )

[Jonathan Hopkins]

OldSwords.com has an unidentified sword that is nearly identical, and is tentatively labeled as a French military academy sword:

[Timo Nieminen]

As already said, it looks like a French cadet sword. All of the pictures of these I've seen have downturned long quillons, and a knuckle guard.

The pictures I have of originals are all hardcopy, but I see Deepeeka does a replica which looks more or less like the originals: http://www.deepeeka.co.in/documents/shop_page...mp;iid=779

Were there cadet swords without these quillons and guard, or have these been broken off/removed from these? I can see why a former owner might have opted for removal, on aesthetic grounds.

[Russ Ellis]

Who in the world would claim that is evidence of anything Viking?

[Jonathan Hopkins]

Start with post number 3 and check out the theatrical swords from the Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie. catalog and the Ames catalog. The so-called Ulen Viking sword is pictured in each as a theatrical sword.

http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.p...ost1172065

Not that we needed further proof, but.... I shouldn't let it bother me that people want to believe it is an actual Viking sword, but it does bother me.

[Robin Smith]

[Jonathan Hopkins]

More photos of another "Ulen Viking Sword"

[Glen A Cleeton]

[Jonathan Hopkins]

Another one from ebay: