Beautiful Viking Sword Artifacts that Survived
Among the Viking weapons, swords were the most respected. And not everyone in the community could afford a sword for themselves. It took the blacksmiths a lot of time and effort to finish the sword. So only the noble and wealthy or the great warriors could have a Viking sword in their life.
VIKING SWORD: Symbol of Nobility
Viking sword resembled many other types of swords around the globe. However, the tips of the swords tended to be somewhat rounded while the common swords were acute in the tips. But being round didn't mean they were not sharp and couldn't thrust or stab.
The famous way to make a Viking sword is pattern welding. Generally, it was to make the sword from many metal pieces.
As time progressed, the Vikings changed their method to make sword. They needed the better sword. And the blacksmiths came up with new ideas and had better materials and methods to create the sword. Instead of making the sword from many metal pieces, the Viking blacksmiths only used one piece. However, the practice of pattern wielding still existed until the end of the Viking Age.
The Vikings loved to decorate their swords with runes and mythological patterns. This was a way they wished for their gods' presence in their life.
Viking Swords in the Literal Texts
Sword in the Viking Age meant the owners were either the noble or the great warrior. In the Icelandic saga, the Viking sword was said to worth up to 16 milk cows which were a substantial number at the time.
A Viking saga told how much a sword meant to a man. There was a Viking husband who was to abandon his wife and their children. But the wife realized her husband's plan very soon. On the night, she took the ship of her husband and his sword as well.
She set sail to run away from her husband. The cries of their little daughter woke the husband up at night only to realize what was happening. The husband called for his wife across the water. He just begged her to give him back his sword. He told that the wife could take any wealth she wanted as long as she gave his sword back.
But the wife never gave it to her husband. She just set sail and left her family. The loss of his sword left the husband broken down.
Viking Sword Artifacts
The hilt of the Viking sword artifact dating back to the 9th century now in Museum of Scotland
Viking sword with the hilt of golden wire decorations dating back to the middle of the 8th century. Archaeologists found it in the river Meuse near Aalburg, the Netherlands
Frankish sword dating back to the 8th century
Viking sword with the wheel decoration. This Viking sword artifact dated back to the 8th or 9th century. It was found in the river Meuse near Aalburg, the Netherlands
Viking sword in Skaun, Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway
