The Ulfberht swords are a group of about 170 found primarily in Northern Europe,[Wegeli (1904), p. 12, fig. 3.; Stralsberg (2008:6) classifies the "correctly" spelled inscriptions into five classes, 1. +VLFBERH+T (46 to 51 examples), 2. +VLFBERHT+ (18 to 23 examples), 3. VLFBERH+T (4 to 6 examples), 4. +VLFBERH┼T+ (1 or 2 examples), 5. +VLFBERH+T (10 examples), with a sixth class of "misspellings" (+VLEBERHIT, +VLFBEHT+, +VLFBERH+, +VLFBER├┼┼T, +VLFBERTH, 17 examples) and a seventh class "not definable" (31 or 32 examples). Stalsberg (2008) explains the numerous misspellings in the inscriptions by the "use of illiterate slaves in the smithy".] The word "Ulfberht" is a Frankish personal name, possibly indicating the origin of the blades.
Description
The swords are at the transitional point between the
Viking sword and the high medieval
knightly sword. Most have blades of Oakeshott type X. They are also the starting point of the much more varied high medieval tradition of blade inscriptions. The reverse sides of the blades are inlaid with a geometric pattern, usually a braid pattern between vertical strokes. Numerous blades also bear this type of geometric pattern but no
Vlfberht inscription.
[Stalsberg (2008:2): "This indicates that geometrical and other marks were frequently welded into sword blades which have no signature, and it demonstrates that the technique of welding rods into the blade to make marks and signatures was known in many countries in Europe. This is a point to be kept in mind when discussing the question if Vlfberht blades or signatures may have been copied or falsified."]
Ulfberht swords were made during a period when European swords were still predominantly pattern welding ("false Damascus steel"),[David Edge, Alan Williams: Some early medieval swords in the Wallace Collection and elsewhere, Gladius XXIII, 2003, 191-210 (p. 203).]
Origin
Ulfberht swords most likely originated in the
Rhineland region,
i.e., in
Austrasia, the core region of the
Francia, later part of the Franconian
stem duchy. Frankish origin of the swords has long been assumed because of the form of the personal name
Ulfberht.
Despite their assumed Frankish origin, the majority of the swords have been found in Northern Europe. Rather than being traded items, the swords were most likely exported as loot, ransom, or contraband — prohibitions in the capitulary made it illegal to sell to foreigners at the time.
Number and distribution
A total of 167 Ulfberht swords have been found, mostly in
Scandinavia and around the
Baltic Sea.
[Stalsberg (2008:12): in terms of modern state borders: Norway: 44, Finland: 14, Germany: 13, Sweden: 12, Russia: 10 (excluding an additional c. 20 specimens found in Kaliningrad oblast, most of them at Linkuhnen cemetery), Estonia: 9, Latvia: 7, Poland: 7, Ukraine: 6, UK: 4; Denmark and Netherlands 3 each; Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania: 2 each; Belarus, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland: one each.][, p. 126: Moilanen identifies 31 Ulfberht-swords in Finland, which is more than double the number stated by Stalsberg. Stalsberg's numbers are based on Leppäaho's findings from the 1960s.] The number of swords found in Finland is unclear; Stalsberg identifies 14 Finnish Ulfberht swords, but Moilanen identifies 31.
In general, the exact number of swords found is debatable due to the fragmentary condition of some artefacts, and because some inscriptions appear to refer to the Ulfberht type rather than indicating that a specimen actually belongs to the type.
[see Wegeli, p. 12, fig. 3.]
The prevalence of Ulfberht swords in the archaeological record of Northern Europe does not imply that such swords were more widely used there than in Francia; the pagan practice of placing weapons in warrior graves greatly favours the archaeological record in regions of Europe that were still pagan (and indeed most of the Ulfberht swords found in Norway are from warrior graves), while swords found in continental Europe and England after the 7th century are mostly limited to stray finds; e.g., in riverbeds.[see e.g. E. A. Cameron, Sheaths and scabbards in England AD 400-1100 (2008), p. 34.] This is supported by the change in geographical distribution noted in the late Viking Age, when much of previously Pagan Europe was Christianized. None of the Norwegian Ulfberht swords are dated later than the early—middle 11th century, which coincides with the end of Pagan burial rites in the area.
+ Location and dating of known Ulfberht swords[Stalsberg, 2008. p. 9 for definition of Early, Middle and Late periods. pp. 11-14 for maps regarding location and age. Petri, 2019, contains a higher quality map detailing only the total swords found by country. Though Petri's map cites Stalsberg, it has different counts for Belarus and Russia. Stalsberg claims that 1 sword has been found in Belarus and 10 in Russia. Petri claims that 0 swords have been found in Belarus and 11 in Russia. The reason for this discrepancy is not stated.] |
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Dating
The original Ulfberht sword type dates to the 9th or 10th century, but swords with the Ulfberht inscription continued to be made at least until the end of the Viking Age in the 11th century. A notable late example found in Eastern Germany, dated to the 11th or possibly early 12th century, represents the only specimen that combines the
Vlfberht signature with a Christian "in nomine domini" inscription (
+IINIOMINEDMN).
[Herrman, J. and Donat P. (eds.), Corpus archäologischer Quellen zur Frühgeschichte auf dem Gebiet der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (7.-12. Jahrhundert), Akademie-Verlag, Berlin (1985), p. 376.] As a given name,
Wulfbert (Old High German
Wolfbert, Wolfbrecht, Wolfpert, Wolfperht, Vulpert) is recorded from the 8th to 10th centuries.
[Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856) 1345.]
See also
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Viking Age arms and armour
-
Ingelrii, a similar inscription type
-
Blade inscription
Notes
Works cited
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Anders Lorange, Den yngre jernalders sværd, Bergen (1889).
-
Rudolf Wegeli, Inschriften auf mittelalterlichen Schwertklingen, Leipzig (1904).
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Anne Stalsberg, Herstellung und Verbreitung der Vlfberht-Schwertklingen. Eine Neubewertung, Zeitschrift für Archäologie des Mittelalters, 36, 2008, 89-118 ( English translation).
-
Mikko Moilanen, Marks of Fire, Value and Faith: Swords with Ferrous Inlays in Finland during the Late Iron Age (ca. 700–1200 AD), Turku (2015), ISBN 978-952-67329-6-1 (
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Online access).
-
M. Müller-Wille: Ein neues ULFBERHT-Schwert aus Hamburg. Verbreitung, Formenkunde und Herkunft, Offa 27, 1970, 65-91
External links
