Late Germanic Iron Age "Prestige Swords", Denmark. -- myArmoury.com

Niels Just Rasmussen

The Late Germanic Iron Age (550-750 AD) is sadly a period with only a few good well preserved sword-finds in Denmark; compared to the bog-weapon finds from earlier in the Iron Age.
Mostly graves are cremation graves and also that even in inhumation graves it was apparently not common to add grave goods. Sacrifice of enemy weapons also seems to cease.

On Sjælland (Zealand) a grave from around ~650 AD have turned out a well preserved sword.

The Kyndby grave site (North Zealand) was the burial of a rich man, a rich woman, and 6 poorer graves. So with all likelihood the household of husband and wife with retainers.
The man was tall and between 20-40 years of age and buried with a sword, that was deliberately somewhat destroyed at the burial rites.

The woman was buried with animal-fibulas and a big bronze jewelry piece and also had 70 glass-beads, 2 amethysts possibly from Italy and a small cylindrical bronze box with silver ornamentation.
What is really special is that in all the graves at the site the diseased were buried with 1 big dog.

A similar type of grave have been found at Elmelunde, Møn, where both sword, shield and the skeleton of a big dog was found. Haven't found any picture from that find yet.

At Bildsø in Western Zealand a stray sword find dated around 650-700 AD was found in 1866 when digging up the old drained lakebed. It was not deliberately destroyed before deposition in the lake, so likely a offering.
Sadly haven't been able to find picture of the full length of the sword, not any measurements.

From the different finds it has been possible to reconstruct the weapon development in Denmark from 550-750 AD: [Picture 1: 550 AD, Picture 2: 600 AD, Picture 3: 700 AD, Picture 4: 750 AD]

Source: http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Danmarks_Oldtid/...%C3%A5ben#

So we see a development from a short seax from 550 AD, towards longer and longer seaxes complementing the swords until they take over totally as the reserve weapon to the spear in 750 AD. Also note the changes in spear-heads and shield-bosses!

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Sat 06 Jun, 2015 8:51 am Post subject:

Source: http://www.denstoredanske.dk/@api/deki/files/...size=thumb

Older image of the Kyndby sword showing more of the blade and from the other side, than the picture above.
Ornamentation is with gold and silver inlay by the way.
It is obviously a "ring-sword" as you also have great examples from Sweden and England.
Notice that the Bildsø sword has the ring now located in the middle of the grip, instead at the top (as the Kyndby sword).
Purpose of the ring is the oath the retainer takes to his Chief/King - to give his life - and the King then supply gifts, free food and drink at his table for his sworn men.

Shahril Dzulkifli

So that's a long seax, but not sword, in the last drawing, right Niels?

Niels Just Rasmussen

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 8:56 am Post subject:

Found another debatable Late Germanic Iron Age sword with the ring located in the middle of the handle.

It's finding place is unknown, but is likely from Egå-area, North of Århus, Denmark and was described already in 1815 as being part of Bishop Birch's collection.

But can this really be from the Germanic Iron Age?. Use of the ring says yes [placed on the grip like the Bildsø sword, perhaps ~700 AD], but the guard seems to be normally associated with the Petersen Type L, that you would expect to be from the viking age [850-950 AD].
Yet the pommel is totally not like a type L - in fact I can't really place it to any type.

Sadly the blade is fragmentary, but the hilt and pommel (and ring) are fairly well preserved and shows silver covering on parts of the grip!!
Maybe a sword that shows both new and archaic features at the same time, so perhaps a dating of 750-800 AD or a later Viking Sword with the archaic ring-feature (yet still strange pommel)?

Source: https://www.kulturarv.dk/mussam/VisGenstand.action?genstandId=6416382

Is at Moesgård Museum:
Inventory: AM0224

Tim Lison · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 9:48 am Post subject:

You've been posting some fantastic stuff lately Niels!!! The last sword is a strange one. I'm posting a bigger picture of it. I think it's later with an archaic design, but I'm no expert. Either way, it's a very cool sword. Too bad most of the silver plating is gone... It must have been a real beauty when it was new!!!

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 11:02 am Post subject:

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 11:23 am Post subject:

The only other Pedersen Type D sword I know from Denmark is also from Sørup, though confusing it is called the "Søndersø sword" and is at the National Museum in Copenhagen.
[Maybe because the sword on the left is from Sørup - but Sørup, near Måløv on Zealand, not Jutland].

Found in 1873 (The Moesgård one was found in 1917 and the grip was damaged during this - damn).

Tim Lison · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 1:15 pm Post subject:

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 1:19 pm Post subject:

Tim Lison · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 3:31 pm Post subject:

Mark Lewis · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 5:06 pm Post subject:

There are two swords of this unusual type in Oslo, both in equally poor condition unfortunately. Both are from the Telemark region of Norway.

C28239a:

C21211a :

Petersen included the second one under type Z solely due to the curved guard, though it does seem more like a variant of type L to me also. This group is briefly discussed in Vera Evison's article "A sword from the Thames at Wallingford Bridge". She states that the type of silver ornament on the hilt dates to the 11th century.

Offhand, I know of two examples of nearly identical ring ornaments on the hilt, both also from the 11th century.

The well known sword from Lough Derg in Ireland:

This pommel found in Latvia, now in the National Museum in Riga:

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Tue 09 Jun, 2015 7:37 am Post subject:

J. Nicolaysen · Posted: Wed 10 Jun, 2015 4:33 pm Post subject:

Another great thread Niels, probably my favorite of your recent posts. Thank you for sharing all the wonderful things from Denmark and Northern Europe.

This sword is pretty interesting to me. People talk a lot about sword blades being handed down through the generations and receiving new pommels and guards and other fittings as the styles change. I've read this in a few of Oakshott's works for example, with a Landsknecht era fittings on a Viking era blade. Here perhaps the opposite could be true, some treasured fittings placed on a newer blade after the old one was worn out. Just a thought. When I first saw this one, I thought immediately of the Irish sword. Also nice to see a Baltic example. Perhaps they came from the same fitter. It belies the idea of local fittings, really.

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Thu 11 Jun, 2015 8:59 am Post subject:

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Sat 09 Apr, 2016 5:33 am Post subject:

Going through old newspaper I found Worsaae's account in 1861 in "Illustreret Tidende" about an inhumation grave with two swords at *Magleø, Tårnborg Sogn (parish), Slagelse Herred (Shire), western Sjælland, Denmark, that he had excavated in 1860.
One of these is depicted on the left and shows very nice decoration.
Source: http://img.kb.dk/iti/02/pdf/iti_02_0290.pdf

A black-and-white picture of the sword is in Anne Pedersen's book "Dead warriors in living memory" plate 6.2 whereas the other sword is plate 6.1 and she gives the following stats:

1) Sword shown in "Illustreret Tidende" and Anne Pedersen plate 6.2:
Petersen type S:
Preserved length: 48,5 cm
Blade length: > 31,5 cm (most of blade missing)
Width at lower guard: 4,5 cm
Decorative metals: Silver + copper.

2) The other sword (Anne Pedersen, plate 6.1) has apparently the same style of decoration:
Petersen type S
Preserved length: 48,5 cm
Blade length: > 32,0 cm (most of blade missing)
Width at lower guard: 5,5 cm
Decorative metal: Silver.

J. Nicolaysen · Posted: Sat 09 Apr, 2016 8:50 am Post subject:

There's a drawing of the beautiful Bildso sword on page 45 in the very old (1882) book by Worsaae, "Industrial Arts of Denmark". Very nice free book with other drawings of Iron Age finds, but this is the finest sword. I'd love to have a reproduction made someday.

It's outdated, but in English and free, some very nice drawings. https://archive.org/details/industrialartsof02worsiala

If you know of something more current than Worsaae's book, in English, about Danish finds, please let me know.

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Sat 09 Apr, 2016 9:57 am Post subject:

Mark Lewis · Posted: Sat 09 Apr, 2016 11:15 am Post subject:

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Sat 09 Apr, 2016 12:06 pm Post subject: