[Etienne Hamel]

it's been a long while since i last posted on the forum. i have a sword design in mind that i need help for, more precisely for the artwork on the fittings.

what i would like to know is, is there a rule to viking animal patterns? for example the albion valkyrja, the dragon themed fittings inspired from the original but i would like to design something like this but with other animals like bears, wolves ravens and others.

the sword is already designed in a historical inspired fantasy fashion mixing geibig, oakeshott and petersen typologies. don't know if it will actually work performance wise but for that i may contact a professional sword maker to have some insight on the matter.

what matters now is the artwork on the fittings.

[Marc Blaydoe]

There are several different styles based on geolocation and timeframe, like Oseberg, Borre, Jelling, Mammen, Ringerike, Urnes.

A very brief description and examples are available at Hurstwic: http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manu...se_art.htm

A good book would be "Viking Designs" http://www.amazon.com/Viking-Designs-CD-ROM-D...486995348/