The modern reproduction shown in the photo above and to the left was made by Jeff Pringle and is a copy of a sword from the late 10^th century found in the River Thames in London. Like the original, the reproduction blade has a greater taper than is typical for Viking age blades. The blade of the reproduction is 66cm (26in) long.

Both the original and copy have an intricately fabricated iron inlay on the blade, and precious metal inlay on the hilt and pommel. The copper and silver herringbone inlay design used on the reproduction was taken from an early 10^th century Norwegian sword.

The tip of the blade came to a point, which, rather than being acute, was usually somewhat rounded, as is seen on the seven historical Viking-age sword blades shown to the right.

Both edges of the physical blade are nominally identical. However, in describing sword technique, it is useful to distinguish one edge from the other, since they are used in different ways.

Double edged swords have what is known as a long edge and a short edge (right). The long edge (also called the true edge in later English combat manuals) is the "front" of the blade, the edge in line with the knuckles. The short edge (also called the false edge) is the "back" of the blade. Cuts with the long edge are more powerful, but the later manuals teach the benefits of short edge attacks, as is described later in the section on sword technique.

Which edge of the physical blade is long and which is short depends only on which way in the hand the sword is being held. 

The crossguard of the middle hilt has been pulled up
to reveal the details of the shoulder,
where the blade narrows to form the tang.

The photo above shows two historical Viking swords. The top sword is 103 cm long overall (40.5 in) and weighs 1.59 kg (3.5 lbs). The bottom sword is 89 cm long overall and weighs 1.04 kg (2.3 lbs). A U.S. quarter between the blades helps show the scale. Both blades appear to have an ULFBERHT inlay (described later in this article), suggesting that they're both fine blades. (The inlay has been brought out and is clearly visible in the bottom sword, and is vague in the top sword, but more clear in X-ray images.)

The sketches to the right show some of the variations in size and shape that existed in Viking-era blades and hilts.

The photo to the left shows five Viking era sword hilts, illustrating the variations in guards and pommels that existed during the Viking age. The hilts are generally classified using a system devised by Jan Petersen and published in 1919. Since a given style was in use only during a given period, the hilt style can be used to help date a sword.

For example, the Petersen Type B hilt shown to the left indicates that the sword was probably made between the middle of the 8^th century and the early part of the 9^th century.

Not only did the size and shape of the hilt components vary in Viking-age swords, but also the construction details. Sword hilts typically had a pommel and an upper guard, although in some instances, the two were formed as a single piece.

In some cases, the pommel attached to the tang, and the upper guard fastened to the pommel, as seen in the left-most sword in the photo to the left. The peened tang end is clearly visible in the photo. In the photo to the right, the upper cross of the sword has been pulled away, showing more of the construction details.

In other cases, the upper guard was attached to the tang, and the pommel fastened to the upper guard, as seen on the right-most sword in the photo to the left. In the centuries that this sword lay in the ground, the pommel separated from the upper guard and was lost. These sorts of variations can be used to help date a sword.

Hilt components were decorated using several techniques, including scribing and wire inlays. Some historical sword hilts are shown to the left, and a modern reproduction is shown to the right, inlaid with silver and copper.

The inlay was created by cutting myriad tiny channels into the iron of the pommel, and then by fitting and hammering myriad tiny pieces of wire into the channels. The work is extremely tedious and time-consuming, but it results in a striking appearance, which can also be seen in the historical sword upon which this work was based.

This article has more details on Viking-age hilt inlay techniques.

Stories say that sometimes fighters used their swords two-handed. But the grips of surviving Viking age swords are not long enough to be held in two hands. The grip of a modern replica sword is shown to the left, and of a historical 10th century Viking sword to the right. The grips have plenty of space for one hand, even for a beefy Viking fist, but not for two. It's not clear how a sword with a grip this short could be effectively wielded with two hands.

One possibility is suggested by illustrations in later medieval combat treatises, such as Meyer's book (right) from 1570. He shows a dusack ( a one-handed practice weapon) with the second hand gripping the wrist. It seems that this kind of grip would allow substantially more power to be delivered with the blow of a one-handed weapon like a Viking sword, while allowing the second hand to be released quickly to do more work as soon as the blade passes the target. But, we do not know if this technique was used in the Viking age.

A speculative reconstruction of this two-handed grip is shown in this combat demo video, part of a longer fight. The photo and video illustrate our best guess for using a two-handed grip, but other approaches are also workable. Regardless of the details, using a second hand on the sword results in substantially more powerful attacks.

The grips were made with a variety of materials, ranging from simple wooden grips wrapped with leather, to elaborately decorated grips wound with wire made from precious metals, or covered with embossed plates of precious metals. The historical sword shown to the left has a modern grip which uses a wrap made from highly speculative modern materials. Laxdæla saga (ch.29) says that the grip of Geirmundr's sword was made from walrus ivory. Bone or ivory would have afforded a good grip even when wet from sweat or blood.

Since grips generally were made from organic materials, few historical sword retain any of their original grip; the organic materials have long since rotted away (right).

In order to make a usable sword blade with the available materials in the Viking age, the smith created a composite material. He started by bundling together selected bars of different types of iron in a specific order. He used soft, low-carbon iron for flexibility, and hard, high-carbon iron for strength and edge-holding ability. He heated this bundle, welding it together into a layered bar. Then the bar was drawn out to length and twisted. Multiple twisted bars were welded together and shaped into a finished blade.

The partially worked billet on the left was used to make the pattern welded knife blade shown on the right.

The pattern welding process was independently invented by many other cultures in the world. The photo to the right shows a detail from an Asian pattern welded blade.

Forensic evidence suggests that blade edges received substantial damage during a fight. When a worn or damaged blade severs a bone, nicks and burrs in the edge of the blade create parallel striations in the severed ends of the bones. These striations remain visible in the skeletal remains today (left), providing clues about the condition of the sword blade that made the cut back in the Viking era.

Even modern replica blades (right) made from modern steel suffer edge damage in heavy fighting.

It can be hard to assess the damage to Viking age blades from the archaeological records. In their excavated state, many blades show substantial erosion, especially along the thin edges and points.

During the blade's working life, edge damage had to have been repaired, or else the blade was at risk of catastrophic failure. A nick was a site from which damage could propagate across the blade resulting in the kind of failure seen in this historical blade (right). Clear signs of brittle fracture are visible. It could not have been a good situation for the fighter holding the sword when it happened.

If nicks and other edge damage were repaired by grinding away a portion of the blade, we might see historical blades whose edges are no longer straight, and indeed, the archaeological record contains blades with these features. An sketch showing this feature in exaggerated form is shown to the left.

Archaeological evidence shows that weapons were sometimes repaired after they suffered catastrophic failure. Several surviving swords have blades that were broken in two and then welded back together and returned to use.

The stories also give examples of broken weapons that were repurposed and forged into other weapons. In chapter 11 of Gísla saga, Þorgrímr and Þorkell took the broken pieces of the sword Grásiða and made them into a spearhead that measured one handspan in length. Þorgrím's forge was located in the Haukadalur valley, shown to the left as it appears today. Later, the spear was used to kill first Vésteinn Vésteinsson and then later, Þorgrímr Þorsteinsson.

The spear turned up again, over 200 years later. Sturla Þórðarson wrote in Íslendinga saga (chapter 39) that the same spear Grásiða was used to kill Björn Þorvaldsson at Breiðabólstaður.

The broken sword shown to the right was repurposed into a beater, used to force the weft threads tightly together when weaving fabric. The broken pattern welded blade was fitted with a wooden hilt, having a wooden crossguard and pommel.

The stories also describe instances in which a sword blade bent during a fight. In chapter 49 of Laxdæla saga, Kjartan was ambushed as he rode up the valley past the small hill in the foreground of the photo. He was not carrying his usual sword, a gift from the king, but rather a lesser sword. Several times during the battle, Kjartan had to straighten his bent blade by standing on it.

In addition to creating a more suitable blade for fighting, the pattern welding process creates a work of art; beautiful, delicate patterns are created in the surface of the blade as the different types of iron came to the surface. The pattern in the surface of a reproduction blade is shown to the right.

Bladesmiths often combined several twisted bundles together in artistic arrangements. For example, bundles twisted in one direction were placed next to bundles twisted in the opposite direction, creating more elaborate patterns. One sometimes wonders how much of the twisting was done for decorative purposes and how much to control the material's properties.

The photo to the left shows a modern reproduction of a pattern welded Viking age sax (short sword). A detail of the blade is shown to the right. The difference in the patterns on two adjacent bundles is very obvious, and reflects the differing requirements of the strong backbone of the blade compared to the more flexible cutting edge.

This fine pattern welding, in both the original and in the reproduction blade, shows an extremely high level of craftsmanship and control over the pattern welding process.

Later in the Viking era, pattern welding was no longer needed because the iron making process became better controlled, resulting in the availability of better iron. Smelting operations created good, homogenous steel with the required properties for a sword blade. However, pattern welding continued to be used for sword blades until near the end of the Viking age. Some Viking warriors seemed to prefer them, perhaps for their beauty, or their prestige.

The reproduction blade shown to the right shows the appearance of a blade made out of monosteel, a single type of steel. The blade has been polished with stones and abrasives using techniques and materials known to have been used during the Viking age. Since very few sword blades survive from the Viking age with even a trace of their original finish, we can only speculate on the appearance of the surface of Viking sword blades when they were new. This reproduction blade represents a very good guess.

Other decorative methods were used on the blade. Blades were sometimes inlaid with metals such as iron, silver, or gold. In some cases, the inlays were simply decorative, but in other cases, they indicated the maker's name. An 11^th century blade with an inlay is shown to the left.

Iron inlays were created by chiseling grooves into the blade to form the letters. Pattern welded iron was drawn into wire, cut to fit, and hammered into place in the grooves. Finally, the blade was heated to forge weld the wire into place.

The photo to the left shows the iron inlay in a modern reproduction blade, which has been polished to the degree that would have been typical in the Viking age. The iron inlay is very subtle in normal lighting.

The photo to the right shows another modern reproduction blade which has been slightly etched to bring out the appearance of the inlay. The pattern welding in the wire inlay is clearly visible.

Sword and photo by J. Pringle,
used with permission.

Most blade inlays are in monosteel blades; few have been found in pattern welded blades. An example of a historical pattern welded blade having an iron inlay is shown to the right.

Two of the more well-known inlaid maker's marks are Ulfberht and Ingelrii. The marks are often augmented with crosses on either end of the inlay and with inlaid geometrical patterns on the reverse side of the blade. The Ulfberht inscription appears on swords dating from roughly the years 800 to 950, while the Ingelrii inscriptions was used from roughly 950 through 1050. The sketch (left) shows the ULFBERHT inlay, but the artist has made the inlay much more visible than is typical to the naked eye.

The photographs show the inlays in the reverse side (left) and front side (right) of an ULFBERHT blade from the 10th century.

Þorbjörn was a hired hand at the farm of Eyvindará (shown as it appears today) who was skilled at sharpening and repairing weapons, as is told in chapter 9 of Droplaugarsona saga. Helgi asked Þorbjörn to work on his sword while he traveled to the fjord. Þorbjörn gave Helgi another sword to use while his was being serviced. That Þorbjörn had a spare sword to loan suggests his services were extensive.

Swords were highly prized heirlooms during the Viking era and were used for generations. The bas-relief shown to the right illustrates an episode from chapter 17 of Grettis saga. When a young man, Grettir prepared to leave Iceland to travel to Norway. His father had a low opinion of Grettir and refused to give him a sword, saying, "I don't know what useful thing you would do with weapons." His mother, who was more supportive, gave Grettir the sword given to her great-grandfather by King Haraldr of Norway.

Archaeological evidence also supports this kind of long and continued use of sword blades. The photo to the left shows an early 11^th century crossguard fitted to a blade made during the migration era, centuries before the Viking age. This evidence suggests that sword blades several centuries old continued to be maintained and used.

A nearly identical crossguard was found at Hedeby, rough-worked with flashing from the casting process still visible.

A sword's scabbard provided protection for the blade when not in use. Scabbards were usually made as a sandwich. The innermost lining was fleece or fabric, since the natural oils in the wool helped keep the blade from rusting. Wood surrounding the fleece provided the physical strength to protect the blade, and leather covered the entire structure.

Scabbards, being organic, rot away, but they leave their traces on the surviving blades in ways that inform us about the scabbard construction. These close-up photos of an early 9^th century Viking sword blade show the remnants of the scabbard on the blade.

The photo to the left shows the full width of the blade immediately adjacent to the crossguard. The wood grain of the scabbards wooden core is clearly visible. To the right is an extreme close up of the edge of the same blade, near the point. The traces of the fibers of the fleece that formed the innermost layer of the scabbard are visible on the blade.

Many scabbards had metal chapes at the tip, to protect the point of the scabbard (and sword), and some had metal mounts at the throat of the scabbard. The Jelling-style chape shown to the left is made of bronze and dates from the 10^th century..

A sword without a scabbard was considered "troublesome" (vandræða), as in difficult to manage. In chapter 6 of Hallfreðar saga, King Ólafr gave Hallfreðr a sword without a scabbard, a troublesome gift for a troublesome poet. The king said that Hallfreðr must keep it for three days and three nights without harm coming to anyone.

Little is known about details of the scabbard, belts, baldrics, and suspension hardware, since little has survived. The organic materials rot away, leaving only the metallic chapes and belt fittings.

It is thought that, early in the period, scabbards were usually slung from a baldric, a belt over the shoulder, as shown to the right. Later, swords hung directly from the waist belt.

In the sagas, there are few examples of swords being slung from the shoulder. One occurs in chapter 19 of Svarfdæla saga. Sigríður gave Karl the sword Atlanaut. He drew the sword and slung the scabbard over his shoulder. Wasting no time, he ran outside and cut Grís in two with the sword.

Some swords had a strap on the hilt which could be pulled over the hand, allowing the drawn sword to hang while another weapon was being used.

In chapter 58 of Egils saga, Egill drew his sword and pulled the loop over his hand in preparation for a fight with Berg-Önundur. During the fight, when Egil's kesja (an unknown spear-like pole weapon) stuck fast in Berg-Önund's shield, Egil grabbed his sword and was able to run Berg-Önundur through before his opponent could even draw his sword.

A highly speculative interpretation is shown to the left. We don't know the nature of the loop (hönk) on the hilt of Egil's sword. Surprisingly, though, when hung from the pommel, the sword is not much in the way. After the pole weapon is dropped or shifted to the other hand, a simple flick of the wrist brings the sword up neatly into the hand. A speculative interpretation of this move is illustrated in this combat demonstration video, part of a longer fight.

The stories talk about the use of a friðbönd (peace strap), straps to prevent the sword from being drawn in anger in places where its use was prohibited. An interpretation of a friðbönd is shown on the reproduction scabbard to the left.

An example of the use of a friðbönd occurs in chapter 28 of Gísla saga, at the spring assembly (várþing) which took place at Þorskafjarðarþing. Booth ruins at the site remain visible today (right).

The blades typically are broad, with parallel edges nearly the entire length. One side tapers to form the point. The blades tend to be heavy and unwieldy, and the overall sense is one of crudeness.

The single-edged blade shown to the right was found in the Telemark region of Norway.