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45-581: The main weapon of the Hersirs was the Viking sword . This sword is clearly distinguished by its “Type H” hilt. It was the most prominent type of hilt during the Viking Age. The material of the hilt ranged, depending on the wealth of the owner, from polished steel and with decorative wire inlays of silver, copper, and/or tin. The pommel and upper guard of the sword are formed in two separate parts, then bolted together with

90-637: A "sword of the Frankish type". The Franks attempted to limit the Vikings' use of weapons and armour produced in Francia —fearing that they would eventually face equally armed opponents. Chapter 10 of the Capitulare Bononiense of 811 made it illegal for any clerical functionary to supply swords or armour to non-Frankish individuals. Laws like this were enacted throughout Francia . Ultimately, in 864, King Charles

135-464: A simplified typology of sword hilts based on finds from Britain, combining Petersen's hilt typology with a blade typology, in nine types labelled I to IX. Oakeshott (1960): Added two more types to Wheelers typology bridging the gap between the Viking Age and the later mediaeval sword. Geibig (1991): introduced an additional typology based on blade morphology (types 1–14) and a typology of pommel shapes (types 1–17, with subtypes), focussing on swords of

180-579: A special role in Norse society. Norsemen attained them either through trade (an extension of gift-giving in Norse society) or as plunder. Therefore, their possession and display by any individual would signify their station in the social hierarchy and any political allegiances they had. One example of an exchange of weapons between the Franks and the Anglo-Saxons occurred in 795 when Charlemagne exchanged weapons with

225-473: A sword, as one raid was usually enough to afford a good blade. Freemen, gothi , and jarls owned more ornately decorated swords, while poorer farmers used axes or spears. One sword mentioned in the Laxdæla saga was valued at half a crown, which would correspond to the value of 16 milk-cows. Constructing such weapons was a highly specialized endeavour, and many sword-blades were imported from foreign lands, such as

270-443: A tunic dyed in a bright color with tablet woven strips around the neck and cuffs. There is some evidence the undertunic would be longer than the overtunic, showing a contrasting color at the sleeves and hem. Vikings were very skilled sailors. Sailing instructions passed down from generation to generation paired with the advancements in technology allowed for the Vikings to dominate the waters. A common military tactic first used in 866,

315-601: A twisted sterling silver wire between the pommel and upper guard. The blade is classified as a Geibig Type 3, which is defined by a moderate taper in width and a fuller taper in width towards the point. The type can be dated to the period between second half of the 8th century to the second half of the 10th century. The sword is designed to symbolize power and authority, as well as cool level-headedness. For long-distance travel, men would often be on horseback. For overseas journeys, Viking longboats were capable of transporting thirty people to their destination, which would even include

360-553: Is by thonging around the top of the shoe. This can be seen in the Jorvik II ankle boot. The Jorvik I type is closed by a flap crossing over and closing with a button. The Hedeby shoe is an early type of turn shoe. This is the least common type found, but could be less costly, but less protective. Any of these types of shoes may have been worn by the Hersir. Baggy trousers made out of linen or woven wool that were either mid-calf or just below

405-520: Is c. 116 metres long and 6.4 metres wide, and there were inscriptions ( U 164 and U 165 ) by Jarlabanke both at the southern and the northern end of the causeway. One of the runestones was moved during his lifetime to the location of the local assembly of the Vallentuna Hundred , where it received a new text and it was replaced with a new fifth one at Jarlabanke's bridge and which had a different design. Three other runestones present Jarlabanke as

450-529: Is debated whether he really owned the hundred or if he was appointed as its chieftain (hersir) by the King of Sweden , and a final conclusion is probably impossible to arrive at. Besides the runestones treated in this article, there are many others that were raised by Jarlabanke and his clansmen such as U 101 , U 135 , U 136 , U 137 , U 143 , U 147 , U 309 and U 310 . However, these runestones are treated separately as they were raised in connection with Estrid ,

495-653: Is the name of about 20 runestones written in Old Norse with the Younger Futhark rune script in the 11th century, in Uppland , Sweden . They were ordered by what appears to have been a chieftain named Jarlabanke Ingefastsson and his clan (Swedish: Jarlabankeätten ), in Täby . Jarlabanke was probably a hersir (chieftain of a hundred ) responsible for the local leidang organization and on several runestones, he stated that he

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540-518: The Merovingian sword and widespread during the 8th and 9th centuries, is in decline over the course of the 10th century. Most swords made in the later 10th century in what was now the Holy Roman Empire , while still conforming to the "Viking sword" type morphologically, have plain steel hilts. The distribution of Frankish blades throughout Scandinavia and as far east as Volga Bulgaria attest to

585-454: The Rhineland . Swords could take up to a month to forge and were of such high value that they were passed on from generation to generation. Often, the older the sword, the more valuable it became. Local craftsmen often added their own elaborately decorated hilts, and many swords were given names, such as Leg-biter and Gold-hilt. The significance of swords in Norse culture is further evidenced by

630-497: The seax during the late 8th to early 9th century. Because grave goods were no longer deposited in Francia in the 8th century, continental finds are mostly limited to stray finds in riverbeds (where anaerobic conditions favoured the preservation of the steel), and most extant examples of Carolingian swords are from graves from northern or eastern cultures where pagan burial customs were still in effect. Pattern welding fell out of use in

675-871: The 11th to 12th century in turn gave rise to the knightly sword of the Romanesque period . Although popularly called "Viking sword", this type of sword was produced in the Frankish Empire during the Carolingian era . The association of the name " Viking " with these swords is due to the disappearance of grave goods in Christian Francia in the 8th century, due to which the bulk of sword blades of Frankish manufacture of this period were found in pagan burials of Viking Age Scandinavia , imported by trade, ransom payment or looting, while continental European finds are mostly limited to stray finds in riverbeds. Swords of

720-607: The 8th to 10th centuries are also termed " Carolingian swords", while swords of the late Viking Age and the beginning High Middle Ages (late 10th to early 12th centuries) blend into the category of Norman swords or the early development of the knightly sword . During the Viking age, the Carolingian Empire was central for advanced swordsmithing. The area produced the best quality weapons found in Central and Northern Europe. During

765-557: The 8th to 12th centuries found within the boundaries of East Francia (as such including the transitional types between the "Viking" and the "knightly" sword). Oakeshott (1991): Mainly dealing with sword from the post Viking-age period. He classifies all of the Viking Age swords as his type X. Jakobsson (1992): has recently published a number of maps detailing the distribution patterns of Petersen's sword hilts across Europe. Jakobsson's conclusions are discussed in Ian Peirce's 'Swords from

810-533: The 9th century, as higher quality steel became available. Better steel also allowed the production of narrower blades, and the swords of the 9th century have more pronounced tapering than their 8th-century predecessors, shifting the point of balance towards the hilt. Swords were highly valued in Norse culture, as they were costly to make and a sign of high status. Owning a sword was a matter of great honour, and persons of status often owned ornately decorated swords with silver accents and inlays. Most Viking warriors owned

855-644: The Anglo-Saxon king Offa of Mercia . Scandinavian affinity towards foreign arms and armour during the Viking Age had an eminently practical aspect. Norse weapon designs were obsolete and sources of iron within Scandinavia were of poor quality. Many of the most important Viking weapons were highly ornate—decorated lavishly with gold and silver. Weapons adorned as such served large religious and social functions. These precious metals were not produced in Scandinavia and they too would have been imported. Once in Scandinavia,

900-499: The Bald of West Francia made the practice punishable by death. Some scholars have proposed that such laws proved so effective at stemming the flow of Frankish weapons that they initiated the practice of raiding for which Vikings became notorious. Carolingian scabbards were made of wood and leather. Scabbard decorations are depicted in several manuscripts (Stuttgart Psalter, Utrecht Psalter, Vivian Bible). A number of miniatures also show

945-449: The Viking Age'. Peirce (2002): Oakeshott provides an overview of typologies and a discussion on inscribed blades. Jones also provides an overview of hilt and blade classifications, provides a summary of Jakobsson's and Geibig's work and provides an updated typology date range chart. Peirce provides a catalogue of examples, detailing 85 complete or almost complete swords and comparing them to Petersen's discoveries. An important aspect in

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990-567: The back. In the shield wall, the Vikings would stand close together in order to overlap their shields, thus creating a wall out of shields. Another formation that was also used, called the Svinfylking , was a variation to the shield wall but with several wedge-like formations pointing towards the enemy, creating a zig-zag pattern. Hersirs' religious beliefs are somewhat unclear although they seemed to lie somewhere between Christianity and Paganism . Sometimes, Hersirs would be baptised , although it

1035-419: The builder of roads and bridges, and ten or so mention his family members making it possible to follow his family during four generations. His pride at building roads and bridges shows that this was something that gave prestige in 11th-century Sweden. The inscriptions have led to a controversy on the meaning of the Old Norse verb eiga ("to own"), and to a debate on the origins on the hundred division. It

1080-562: The considerable importance of Frankish arms exports, even though Carolingian kings attempted to prevent the export of weapons to potential enemies; in 864, Charles the Bald set the death penalty on selling weapons to the Vikings. Ibn Fadlan in the 10th century notes explicitly that the Volga Vikings carried Frankish swords. The Saracens raiding Camargue in 869 demanded 150 swords as ransom for archbishop Rotland of Arles . Foreign-made, specifically Frankish , weapons and armour played

1125-499: The development of the European sword between the early and high medieval periods is the availability of high-quality steel. Migration period as well as early medieval sword blades were primarily produced by the technique of pattern welding , also known as "false Damascus" steel. Blooms of high-quality steel large enough to produce an entire sword blade were only rarely available in Europe at

1170-516: The end of the 9th century, the sword was seen as the principal weapon of the cavalry. There are very few references to Carolingian-era sword production, apart from a reference to emundatores vel politores present in the workshops of the Abbey of Saint Gall . Two men sharpening swords, one using a grindstone the other a file, are shown in the Utrecht Psalter (fol. 35v). The sword gradually replaced

1215-493: The female progenitor of the Jarlabanke clan. The remaining runestones that are associated with Jarlabanke's relatives are: U 100 , U 104 , U 112 , U 133 , U 141 , U 151 , U 160 , U 161 , U 225 , U 226 , U 328 , U 336 , U 343 and U 344 . This runestone in the style Pr2 (first half of the 11th century) is located at the church of Danderyd . It was found in the walls of the church and had probably been moved quite

1260-577: The importance if Thorgerdur. Viking sword The Viking Age sword (also Viking sword ) or Carolingian sword is the type of sword prevalent in Western and Northern Europe during the Early Middle Ages . The Viking Age or Carolingian-era sword developed in the 8th century from the Merovingian sword more specifically, the Frankish production of swords in the 6th to 7th century and during

1305-425: The knee were the typically worn. Tight fitting trousers became the popular style during the late 10th century. Tunics were usually knee length and gathered at the waist with a belt. The sleeves of the tunic were to the wrist or longer. From the elbow to the shoulder, the sleeve was tight fitting. The overtunic would be constructed along the same pattern as the undertunic and made of wool. A richer Hersir would have had

1350-426: The practice of "killing" swords, which involved bending the blade so that it was unusable. This practice may have served both a ritualistic and practical purpose, as Vikings were often buried with their weapons and the "killing" of swords may have deterred grave robbers from disturbing the burial in order to get one of these costly weapons. Archaeological finds of bent and brittle pieces of metal sword remains attest to

1395-410: The precious metals would have been inlaid in the pommels and blades of weapons creating geometric patterns, depictions of animals, and (later) Christian symbols. During the mid-9th century, there was an influx of these high-quality weapons into Scandinavia, and Frankish arms became the standard for all Vikings. As Ahmad ibn Fadlan observed in his account of his journey to Russia, every Viking carried

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1440-411: The reaches of inner Russia. Hersirs were always equipped with a shield, which was normally wooden and that accompanied the sword. Armour was often used as means of displaying wealth as much as functional battle purposes. The hersir was often equipped with a rounded or conical helmet and a short mail coat. The type of helmet, sword, and ringmail corselet worn by the Viking, demonstrated the wealth of

1485-521: The regular burial of Vikings with weapons, as well as the habitual "killing" of swords. The Frankish swords often had pommels shaped in a series of three or five rounded lobes. This was a native Frankish development which did not exist prior to the 8th century, and the design is frequently represented in the pictorial art of the period, e.g. in the Stuttgart Psalter , Utrecht Psalter , Lothar Gospels and Bern Psychomachia manuscripts, as well as in

1530-508: The reign of Charlemagne , the price of a sword (a spata ) with scabbard was set at seven solidi (totaling about US$ 1300) ( Lex Ribuaria ). Swords were still comparatively expensive weapons, although not as exclusive as during the Merovingian period, and in Charlemagne's capitularies, only members of the cavalry, who could afford to own and maintain a warhorse , were required to be equipped with swords. Regino's Chronicle suggests that by

1575-565: The system of suspension of the sword by means of the sword-belt. While the scabbards and belts themselves are almost never preserved, their metal mounts have been found in Scandinavian silver hoards and in Croatian graves. A complete set seems to have included two to three oval or half-oval mounts, one large strap-end, a belt buckle and a trefoil mount. Their arrangement on the sword-belt has been reconstructed by Menghin (1973). The seminal study of

1620-710: The time, mostly via import from Central Asia, where a crucible steel industry began to establish itself from c. the 8th century. Higher quality swords made after AD 1000 are increasingly likely to have crucible steel blades. The group of Ulfberht swords includes a wide spectrum of steel and production method. One example from a 10th-century grave in Nemilany, Moravia, has a pattern-welded core with welded-on hardened cutting edges. Another example appears to have been made from high-quality hypoeutectoid steel possibly imported from Central Asia. Jarlabanke Runestones The Jarlabanke Runestones ( Swedish : Jarlabankestenarna )

1665-591: The topic is due to Jan Petersen ( De Norske Vikingsverd , 1919). Petersen (1919): Devised the original hilt typology of 26 types that is still widely used across Europe for classifying and dating Viking swords. Based on about 1,700 finds of Viking swords in Norway this typology remains the most commonly used. Petersen's types are identified by capital letters A–Z. Petersen listed a total of 110 specimens found in Norway. Of these, 40 were double-edged, 67 were single-edged and 3 indeterminate. R. E. M. Wheeler (1927): Created

1710-536: The wall frescoes in the church in Mals , South Tyrol . Likewise, the custom of inlaid inscriptions in the blades is Frankish innovation dating to the reign of Charlemagne, notably in the Ulfberht group of blades, but continued into the high medieval period and peaking in popularity in the 12th century. While blade inscriptions become more common over the Viking Age, the custom of hilt decorations in precious metals, inherited from

1755-414: The warrior. Armour finds from this period are rare. Perhaps the most famous example is the mail coat and helmet found at Gjermundbu . Hersirs are typically thought to be very well groomed. Shoes and boots were typically made from cattle, seals, or reindeer. Hersirs usually wore more elegant boots than that of the ordinary military personnel. There are two main types of Viking shoe. The first and most common

1800-697: Was a Norwegian hersir of the 9th century. Aud the Deep-minded Ketilsdóttir (Auður Djúpúðga Ketilsdóttir) Aud the Deep-Minded (Ketilsdóttir) was the daughter of Ketill "Flatnose" Bjornsson. In the Sagas of Icelanders there is mention of several hersirs, such as a powerful hersir in Sognefjord called Bjorn"Buna"Grimsson, who lived at Aurland and the father of Ketill "Flatnose" Bjornsson. As related in Egil's Saga, he

1845-582: Was a Christian and not a Pagan . Omeljan Pritsak has remarked that Jarlabanke's prominent position and property show that he and his clan profited from taking part in the Danegelds and from the services that men of his clan provided as mercenaries in the Varangian Guard and in Kievan Rus' . Five of the runestones contain very much the same message: "Jarlabanke had these stones made after himself while he

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1890-518: Was a traveler, adventurer, and Viking raider. Thorgerdur Eylaugsdottir (Þorgerður Eylaugsdóttir) was a female Hersir of Sogn. In Landnáma Björns lineage is traced to his foremothers rather than his forefathers. Only his father Grímur is mentioned in Bjorns lineage that continues to grandmother Hervör and great-grandmother Thorgerdur Eylaugsdóttir hersir. This is rare in the stories of the Icelanders indicating

1935-484: Was alive. He made this bridge for his soul. He alone owned all of Täby ". One stone at the church of Vallentuna also shows the following text on its second side: "Jarlabanke had this stone made after himself while he was alive. He made this assembly location and he alone owned this hundred". The so-called Jarlabanke's bridge is a causeway in Täby which was originally bordered by four runestones and many raised stones. It

1980-540: Was most often not done for religious purposes. In many cases, Hersirs would be baptised in order to improve trade with the Christians or in obedience to a new king. Hersir was the name of a man in Rígsþula whose daughter Erna married Jarl , the first earl . A Swedish hersir, Jarlabanke Ingefastsson, has become notable for the about 20 Jarlabanke Runestones that he raised together with his relatives. Ketill Flatnose

2025-406: Was the transfer from boat to land by the use of captured horses. Despite the fact that Vikings often used horses, they were not cavalry men primarily due to the low number of horses in Scandinavia. Horses were often used for overland routes but the Vikings always fought on foot. Ordinarily, they would align themselves in a shield wall formation with the Hersir at the front and archers and slingers in

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