Viking sword

The pattern and the predecessor of Viking swords was a Celtic-Germanic type of sword (Vendel period) known from ship graves. Viking swordsmiths, however, did not manage to supply necessary quantity of weapons for war campaigns (Viking period begins in year 804 with the raid of Danish king Gottfrid on the boundary between Danes and Saxons). During the period of their domination in the North, from the 9th to the beginning of the 11th century, the northern style, corresponding to their taste, spread also to workshops of their deliverers to the western and the middle part of Europe. Up to this day such a sword is denoted as the type of Viking period. European swordsmiths´ trading with Vikings ended by the fixed state arrangement of Scandinavia, Denmark and England. Period of raids, which the whole Europe narrated horror-stricken about, was brought to an end by the Hastings battle in 1066.


Decoration

Crossguards with pommels are often decorated by ornaments in Jelling style, in which it is possible to see the tradition of the older Scandinavian zodiac ornament of the 10th century. Decorations presents typical "eights" arrangements of spliced animals, dragons and snakes. The pattern in a chainlet form connects these arrangements near the pommel.

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