Viking Swords - Weapons of the Mighty Norsemen no comments
When it comes to Viking swords, they were, above all things, what represent the warriors of the Viking age. One can call it a mark of these warriors, and it was a rare and valuable mark at that, considering that these swords were not a common thing to warriors. They were, at that time, one of the most expensive things that could be owned by a person. They were so valuable that they were treated as valuable family heirlooms, being passed from one generation to another, usually from the male ascendants to their male descendants.
Viking swords & weapons also varied in appearance from that of the conventional sword. Viking swords were characterized to be double edged, which means that both edges of the blade were sharp. The swords were also held with a single hand, since the other hand would be holding a shield. Initially, the blades of these swords averaged at around 70 cm long, but later on increased in length up to 100 cm in the late Viking era. As for the width, the blade was about 4-6 cm wide. Adding the weight of the pommel and hilt which helped balance the blade, a typical Viking sword would weigh about 1-2 kilos.
Aside from the Cold Steel Viking sword, which was a modern reproduction of the traditional Viking sword, many have also sought replicas of particular Viking swords that gained fame because of who used them. An example of which would be the Beowulf sword replica, which resembled the prop that was used in the movie Beowulf, which was based off a very old epic poem. Another literary based replica would be the Historical Excalibur Sword, based off the classic story of King Arthur.
Other Viking swords were based off famous historical battles such as the Sticklestad Viking Sword, made after the historical Battle of Stiklestad which took place in a village municipality of Verdal, Norway.
And then there are also generic variations of the Viking sword such as the Swedish Viking sword, an apparent variation of the sword that originated from Sweden, but still very much a Viking sword in general.