Ulfberht Swords

ConorOberstIsGo · 1413581. Wed Jun 22, 2022 1:27 pm

Mentioned before, so, those who know, please link to the topic :P

Brock · 1413582. Wed Jun 22, 2022 1:33 pm

I've no idea what they are, but I have just searched the forum for the word "ulfberht" and nothing appears except your post above. Could it have been in a thread that's been pruned?

ConorOberstIsGo · 1413585. Wed Jun 22, 2022 1:52 pm

Maybe. They are worth talking about in brief here then:

They were an early example of a trademarked product; Viking swords that were made with ground up ancestors' bones which - due to the additional carbon content - actually made the swords harder. They were probably one of the most expertly-smithed swords of the time and were so coveted that the +ULFBERHT mark along the blade was sometimes misspelt, suggesting that a counterfeit smith was cashing in on the swords' reputation.

https://bavipower.com/blogs/bavipower-viking-blog/ulfberht-swords-luxurious-brand-for-the-noble-in-viking-age

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crissdee · 1413591. Wed Jun 22, 2022 4:40 pm

My friend specialises in the Viking era, and we are both interested in swords, but I have never heard them talk about these blades. I will ask them next time.

1413598. Wed Jun 22, 2022 7:26 pm

It's real, despite most of the google results being reenactment / sale of reproduction weapons / fantasy / wikipedia sites, and roughly the same quite fanciful text clearly being copied from one site to another.

I immediately found it odd that the inscription is in Latin if it's a Viking sword. The reason is that it's a Frankish sword, very good, widely exported to Scandinava.

This is from the National Museum of Denmark mentions it, without the hype and fantasy stuff:
https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/weapons/swords/

Dix · 1413599. Wed Jun 22, 2022 7:29 pm

That was me. I've no idea how I managed to post as Guest.

suze · 1413627. Thu Jun 23, 2022 12:08 pm

When a new forum is created, there's a setting for whether or not it is possible for guests to post to it. The default is that it is, but we prefer "not" and so that setting needs to be changed for this forum.

I have drawn it to the attention of the people who are empowered to change settings.