Carolingian sword recovered from the boat-chamber grave excavated at Hedeby in
northern Germany (Müller-Wille 1976 ; Wamers 1994 : 9 – 14 ). The lower guard,
typically about 10 – 11 cm long, is increased up to 16 – 17 cm in the late Viking Age, and
the upper guard and pommel are reduced to a single pommel. The grip between the
guards measured about the breadth of a hand. Its core, the iron tang of the blade, was
covered by, for instance, wood, leather, horn or bone and on some swords also decorated
with metal-plating or silver and gold wire as seen on a sword from Dybäck in southern
Sweden (Rydbeck 1932 ).
Remains of scabbards are preserved in the corrosion layers on many sword blades.
Scabbards were made of wood, probably a single board which could be split lengthwise,
hollowed out and then joined again (Malmros 1987 ; Geibig 1991 : 104 – 6 ). Beechwood,
easy to split and yet difficult to bend, was suitable for the purpose but required a
protective leather covering. Cast metal scabbard mounts could be added, mainly copper-
alloy sword chapes depicting, for instance, animal figures in the Jelling style or bird
motifs. Compared to the total number of swords, such chapes are few, and function not
only as protection for the scabbard point but also as a badge of rank or group member-
ship, possibly even a magical symbol has been suggested (Strömberg 1951 ; Paulsen
1953 ; see also Kulakow 1985 ).
In 1919 Jan Petersen published a typology based on Norwegian finds from the eighth
to eleventh centuries, in which about 1 , 700 swords were grouped into twenty-six main
types, A to Æ, and twenty distinctive types, the main criteria being the shape and
decoration of the hilts. The typological sequence reflects changes through time, but also
a distinction between simple and ornate weapons. Petersen’s work includes most north-
west and central European types and is still widely used, although adjustments have
been made to certain types and type groups, such as the swords of the eighth and ninth
centuries (Menghin 1980 ). The sword types leading up to the Viking Age are discussed
in a detailed analysis of late Iron Age weapon graves in Scandinavia by A. Nørgaard
Jørgensen ( 1999 ).
A. Geibig chose a different approach to that of Jan Petersen. Based on an extensive
analysis of late eighth- to twelfth-century material, the hilts are grouped into nineteen
combination types and three construction types, and fourteen types of blade are identi-
fied by morphological and metric criteria (Geibig 1991 ). Although Geibig’s focus lies
outside Scandinavia, his system can be applied to Scandinavian finds, and in more recent
publications either system – a classification based largely on a visual evaluation of the
hilt and to a lesser extent sword blade or a classification focusing on constructional
criteria – may be referred to.
Next to the swords, axes were widely used in battle, and numerous axes (or rather
axe-heads) have been recovered. In well-equipped graves axes may be found alongside
other weapons, but they appear to be more common as single weapons in less conspicuous
burials, suggesting a difference in rank and economic means among the deceased and
their families (see Näsman 1991 ). On the other hand, deposition of axes alone is not
limited to poorly furnished graves. The Danish Bjerringhøj chamber burial contained a
highly decorated axe-head (Iversen and Näsman 1991 ), and to judge from the quality of
the silver inlay it must have represented considerable value. In the case of the Ladby ship
grave, also from Denmark, the axe-head found in the front half of the ship most likely
represents the tool used to slaughter the horses and dogs led into the ship to accompany
the deceased (Thorvildsen 1957 ). Axe-heads found in female graves give equal cause for
–– chapter 15 : Viking weaponry––