Why Did Vikings Carry Decorative Swords That Were Useless In Combat?

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Scientists have discovered that Vikings occasionally carried useless decorative swords that could not be used as real weapons.

It seems rather odd that a Viking warrior would bother to go around with a decorative sword if it could not be used in combat. Were the Vikings vain or was there another reason why decorative swords became popular?

Left: Viking warrior - Artist unknown - Right: Viking swords displayed at Hedeby Viking Museum - Credit: Wikipedia

As Ancient Pages wrote earlier, to ancient Vikings a sword was much more than just a weapon. Since swords were difficult to make, they were rare and expensive and as such they were not so common and used by kings and Vikings of high rank and class.

Vikings believed a man and his sword were bound together. The sword gave power to the warrior, but warrior’s strength could also be transferred to the sword.

This is also the reason why we often encounter remarkable stories of magical swords in many Norse myths and legends. Norse people were convinced that some swords were just as powerful as mysterious.

Tyrfying and Gram are two famous magical swords in Norse mythology.

The Norse legend of hero Sigmund and the magical sword in the Branstock tree mentioned in the Sigurdsaga that is part of the Volsunga Saga (Völsunga Saga) show why swords were believed to have such unusual properties.

Some Viking artifacts remain an unsolved mystery even today. One such example is the  Ulfberht Sword. It’s an ancient artifact far ahead of its time and we do not know whose name is inscribed on this enigmatic ancient sword.

Not long ago, scientists discovered the importance of Vikings’ decorative swords.

Three Viking Age swords were examined. Credit: National Museum of Denmark 

A neutron diffraction study conducted on three Viking swords from the National Museum of Denmark revealed that these weapons were created using through pattern-welding, a technique in which thin strips of different kinds of iron and steel are welded together and then folded, twisted and forged in various ways to produce decorative patterns on the resulting surfaces.

All three swords date to the ninth or 10th century A.D. and come from Central Jutland in what is now Denmark.

See also:

Viking Children Were Buried With Extremely Sharp Knives – Afterlife Tools To Be Used In Valhalla?

Viking Fashion: Men And Women Were Vain And Very Clean During The Viking Age

Why Viking Ragnar Lodbrok Wanted To Kill His Son Ivar The Boneless

More About Vikings

According to Anna Fedrigo, a materials scientist at the Technical University of Denmark, this was the first study which allowed researchers to virtually 'slice' Viking swords, showing how different materials have been combined together.

Scientists say such Vikings swords covered with beautiful decorations became symbols of power and status and they were almost never used because they were never designed for combat. As the role of swords changed in the Viking society, these ‘weapons’ simply became decorative clothing accessories.

So, yes, one can say that Vikings were vain and showing your importance in the society was common. Vikings also used strong colors as a symbol of status and wealth.

Written by  Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

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About the author:
Ellen Lloyd – is the owner of AncientPages.com and an author who has spent decades researching ancient mysteries, myths, legends and sacred texts, but she is also very interested in astronomy, astrobiology and science in general

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