Viking Long Sword
For the people from the Norse culture the sword was the true mark of the warrior in the Viking age. A boy was not seen as a man until he had either killed a man or been with a woman. Many boys would see the swords from the youngest of age, this is more due to the intense raiding and violent nature of the Norse men. For hundreds of years men from the Northern Europe would raid and pillage the lands of Central Europe and the choice of weapon for these men was the sword and shield.
Typically in the Viking age the swords would be double edged swords, both sides would be sharp making it extremely deadly. Generally the swords would be handled one handed and in the other hand would be a shield. Many of the Viking formations would be inside the shield wall, this was a modification to Alexander the Great's Phalanx, but the Vikings would use the long sword instead of spears. Majority of the swords would range from the 24-36 inch range in the 9th and 10th century, and as it got later into the Viking area, 11th century, we saw the swords increase to 40 inches. The hilt of the sword would add the much needed weight to it and a taper was added to bring the balance to the grip of the sword.
The importance of the sword in viking culture was so prominent that it could have been the most expensive thing that he owned. In viking culture warfare was placed highest among all things, they saw fighting as the most honorable way to not only live but die. Many warriors could not way to die and go to Valhalla or the house of Odin, more commonly known as the viking heaven.The dead who resided in Valhalla, the einherjar, live a life that any viking would strive to live. Each day they would fight one another doing great valorous deeds along the way, but every evening all their wounds would be healed and their health would be restored to full and from here they would feast and tell stories about their lives and be reunited with old friends. These many battles fought everyday in Valhalla were with the long sword that was used by them on earth. The long sword was their sense of valor, their sense of power and the only true way to get to Valhalla.
“Valhalla.” Norse Mythology for Smart People, https://norse-mythology.org/cosmology/valhalla/.
“Viking Swords.” Hurstwic, http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_sword.htm.
“Valhalla.” Norse Mythology for Smart People, https://norse-mythology.org/cosmology/valhalla/.“Viking Swords.” Hurstwic, http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_sword.htm.
“Valhalla.” Norse Mythology for Smart People, https://norse-mythology.org/cosmology/valhalla/.
“Viking Swords.” Hurstwic, http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_sword.htm.
This blog post is very good. Well thought out and well put together. It looks like you took a lot of time to get it done and do it right. The detail in this post is immaculate and I am astonished by the research that was done.
ReplyDeleteThe life of a Viking being connected with a sword makes a lot of sense. The sword was probably one of the most practical weapons of the time, so seeing the Vikings put such an emphasis on the weapon makes sense.
ReplyDeleteHamilton, this was a very interesting post on a subject I have always been interested in but do not know much about. I like swords and studying them, but this insight on Viking swords was good. It is crazy to me that a boy was not seen as a man until he had killed someone or been with a woman. I bet this fact made swords very important to young Vikings.
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