[Nathan Robinson]

A Magnificent Viking Sword, with Gold Inlaid Hilt, mid 10th Century


Click for detailed version

The broad double-edged blade with shallow fullers, one of its faces polished to display to best effect its pattern-welded construction. Iron hilt comprising short cross-guard and pommel of so-called 'tea cozy' or D type, both elements inlaid with narrow bands of gold, incised with a chevron pattern.

Overall length: 37 1/2 in; Blade length: 31 3/4 in


Click for detailed version

Viking swords are classified by a typology devised by Dr. Jan Petersen in his seminal work De Norske Vikingesverd, published in 1919. This particularly handsome sword falls into the broad range of Type X, being the final evolutionary stage in the Viking period and immediate predecessor of the early Medieval sword. The pommel is of particular interest, where single twisted gold wires delineate, on the upper part, vestigial outlines of what, on earlier swords, would have been a pommel of distinct trilobate form. Jan Petersen illustrates several examples in his thesis. In the Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm, there is a very similar detached pommel, found near Linköping, Östergötland. The same D shape pommel, together with its short cross-guard, features on swords depicted on silver coins from Viking Northumbria, around 950, notably coins of Eric, son of Harold Bluetooth, and also the so-called Peter's Pennies minted in York.

The blade shows the diverse processes of Viking pattern welding technology which became an integral part of the legend and folklore that surrounded the arcane mysteries of swordmaking, and furthered the reputations of notable swordsmiths. The nomenclature of the different patterns highlights this: from the Sagas come words like Blodida (blood eddy), Ann (swathes of cut corn) and Idvarp (an intestinal weave). Such evocative similes tend to conceal the complex metallurgy arising out of the need to fashion weapons acceptable to a formidable warrior society. The weakness inherent in using naturally differing iron ores and brittle steel of erratic quality was widely recognized. The repeated process of hammering and welding layers of precisely planned twisted iron and steel rods enabled the Viking smiths to ensure that the qualities of flexibility as well as hardness were incorporated into the areas of the blade where they were most needed.

Many are the songs that have been sung about the fighting prowess of the Northmen, not least by themselves, but they did enjoy the advantage of superior weapons forged by the latest technology as the tools of their trade. A furore Normannorum libera nos, Domine (from the fury of the Northmen, O Lord deliver us) was no empty prayer even for men used to arms, let alone monks cowering in abbeys and monasteries, or frantically hiding ecclesiastical treasures from gold-hungry Northmen. Indeed, entire populations, from Ireland in the West to Russia in the East, were traumatized by the waterborne assaults of the Vikings; it is noticeable that a large proportion of Viking swords now extant have been either river finds or unearthed close by creeks and estuaries where the longships could moor up.

To modern minds, the Viking period, from the middle of the 8th century through to the end of the 11th century, provides a constant fascination. This was a society openly addicted to violence, which saw war, pillage and ultimately death in battle, with an afterlife in Valhalla, as the only fit destiny for a brave and noble warrior. Yet it was also a society that achieved outstanding journeys of discovery, both by sea and land, established highly successful agricultural settlements and communities, and displayed the highest artistic expression in their artifacts. This magnificent and beautiful sword surely offers, in its purpose and appearance, a fitting distillation of these opposing elements that epitomize the Vikings and their culture.

Literature:
Wheeler, R. E. M.: London and the Vikings, London, 1927.
Oakeshott, E.: Records of the Medieval Sword, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1991, p. 24.

Provenance:
Teck A. Wilson Collection


Copyright © 2001 Peter Finer

[Jeremiah Swanger]

[Kirk Lee Spencer]

Hi Nathan...

Thanks for posting this beauty... Great info also.

For those interested in Viking swords, Jeroen Zuiderwijk in the Netherlands has posted a link on SFI to his new museum pics of Viking Swords.

http://1500bc.com/vikings_centraal_museum_utrecht/index.html

Well worth the time to take a look. I like Jeroen's museum pics because they give seldom seen oblique shots of swords. It gives a better idea of the overall shape. (Once at his site just click the small pictures at the bottom to see a larger image.)

enjoy,

ks

[Geoff Wood]

[Joe Yurgil]

<jaw drops> oooooooooooooooooo the hilt.... the blade...... wow.

[Kirk Lee Spencer]

[Geoff Wood]

[Kirk Lee Spencer]