Subject: hersir sea raider

Culture: Scandinavian / Norse

Setting: Viking Age, northern Europe 8th-10thc

Object: sverð sword

* Royal Ontario Museum > Samuel European Galleries > Arms and Armor

"775-900 Lame en acier. ... Poignée typique du style norvégien"

"800-900 Lame en acier, poignée damasquinée de laiton. ... Type de lame utilisée avant 900. Type de Poignée fréquemment retrouvée dans des fouilles en Scandinavie et dans des régions françaises et anglaises pillées par les Vikings. Origine supposée: le Seine (France)"

* Hanwei Tinker #SH2408

> event photos

* Royal Ontario Museum > Samuel European Galleries > Arms and Armor

"900-925 Lame en acier, poignée damasquinée de cuivre. ... Poignée typique des épées vikings du Danemark. Retrouvée à Londres (Angleterre), ville qui fut la cible de nombreux assauts de la part des Danois. Sur la lame, on remarque des traces de lettres incrustées (peut-être <<NILERK>>)."

* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms and Armor

"Sword Iron, Silver, and copper alloy Germanic or Scandinavian, 850-900 3lbs. 5 oz. (1490 g)

The outstanding quality, complexity, and condition of the inlaid silver decoration, combined with an exceptionally strong and well-proportioned blade, make this sword one of the finest examples of its type to survive from the Viking era. The gently tapering double-edged blade is inlaid in iron with the name +VLFBERHT+, indicating that it was made or inspired by the swordsmith Ulfberht, who is thought to have worked in the Middle Rhine region of Germany, and whose blade-making style and signature were emulated by other craftsmen for generations."

"Sword Iron, copper, silver, niello European (probably Scandinavia), 10th century

The skillfully decorated hilt and pattern-welded blade indicate that this sword was carried by a warrior of high rank, perhaps a Viking chieftain or a Frankish nobleman. The braided copper wires on the pommel may represent an earlier Scandinavian custom of tying a talisman to a sword hilt. The pattern-welded blade was forged of intertwined rods of steel and iron, a technique that produced a tough, resilient blade with a distinctive swirling pattern on its surface."

* Del Tin #DT2103A

> event photos

* Higgins Armory Museum > Great Hall > Combat Wing

"'Viking' type sword, probably 800s C.E. Perhaps Scandinavia

Pattern-welded steel; traces of gold overlay and organic scabbard materials Weight: 2lb." ...

* Higgins Armory Museum > Story of the Sword

"Viking Age sword, about 900

Possibly Scandinavia

Steel with silvered decoration

Weight: 1 lb. 12 oz. ...

This sword was a high-end piece in its day: traces of intertwined silver decoration can still be seen on the crossbar and pommel."

* Higgins Armory Museum > Great Hall > Combat Wing