#ulfberht

[okaydrawboy]

My collection of swords, from a few years back, I think 2021? A swordtember collection.

[medievalistsnet]

Ulfberht Sword to be Auctioned - Medievalists.net

A rare Viking Ulfberht sword from the 9th-11th century will be auctioned at TimeLine Auctions in June, with an estimated value of £15,000-£2

[yunicouchiyama]

[bergakkerrising]

Upon careful observation, one will see that the the pommels of these Viking Age sword are crooked; more noticeably on the center sword. This was a deliberate feature incorporated by the craftsman to allow for optimal grip ergonomics and biomechanics. Linked is a video by Roland Warzeca on grip ergonomics @ 7:35.

11. Sword

Steel, copper, silver, niello

Weight, 2 lb. 4 oz. (1020 g)

European, probably Scandinavian,

about 900-1000

12. Sword

Steel, iron, silver, copper alloy

Weight, 3 lb. 5 oz. (1497 g)

Germanic or Scandinavian, about 850-900

This blade is inlaid in iron with +VLFBEHRT+, indicating that it was made or inspired by the swordsmith Ulfberht. He is thought to have worked in the Middle Rhine region of Germany, and his blade-making style and signature were emulated for generations.

13. Sword

Steel, silver, copper alloy

Weight, 2 lb. 10 oz. (1177 g)

Scandinavian, about 950-1000

Displayed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States.

[jurakan]

I’ll take a Fun fact please. Medium on a gluten free roll. With a side of fries

We're on a medieval kick so

Today You Learned about Ulfberht swords! I watched a documentary about these back in the day when it was on Netflix. They were a series of medieval swords for at least a couple of centuries that were reputed to be of very good quality and marked with the name 'Ulfberht' on the blade. Yeah, there was such thing as a brand of medieval swords.

But also in this documentary it mentioned that there were also samples of Ulfberht swords that were of inferior quality. They didn't hold up as well, didn't last as long, weren't as durable. Their logo on the blade was slightly different, and they were wondering what was up with that. The current hypothesis, and it seems good to me I guess, as a guy who isn't a historian, is that there were people making knock-off counterfeit swords and using the Ulfberht name to try to make a quick buck with a crappy product.

So yeah. People were making knock-offs of big name brands way back in the middle ages. Who knew?

[aurademortt]

[ancientoriginses]

Las espadas Ulfberht: misteriosas armas vikingas fabricadas con tecnología del futuro

Las espadas vikingas denominadas Ulfberht fueron forjadas con un metal tan puro que contin

[barbucomedie]

Ulfberht Sword excavated from Ballinderry, Northern Ireland dated from the 9th Century on display at the National Museum of Ireland-Archaeology in Dublin

This is one of a family of 5 surviving swords in Ireland that bear the name “ULFBERHT” inscribed in the broad and shallow fuller of the blade. Such blades are thought to have been made in the Frankish lands around the Middle Rhine. The town of Solingen, which produced fine sword blades in the Middle Ages, came from this region and it is thought to be one of the origins of the “ULFBERHT” swords. It is unlikely to be the name of a person as they have been found in sites dating from the 9th to the 12th centuries.

So the “ULFBERHT” brand name was put on hundreds of swords over a period of 250 years. It is likely the brand name was a powerful mark as such swords have been found in high status graves all over Europe. Frankish and Viking blades were found as highly prised goods in Baghdad, travelling along the Silk Road. Much of the steel for these blades was Crucible Steel from India which travelled the same route to Europe.

The sword was found in a crannog in Ballinderry, Ireland while it was being drained by the Board of Works of Northern Ireland. With the sword, animal bones, part of a bone comb as well as two spearheads and an axehead, all from the 9th Century.

Photographs taken by myself 2017