Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Almatolmen · 12th October 2012, 08:15 AM

Excellent job, Richard! Brilliant!
During the program we were told that only 170 Ulfberht swords have been identified, with perhaps only a fraction of them being authentic and not period counterfeit knock-offs. It was said that most had been found either in water or among grave goods. My first question is whether, since these were upscale swords, any of those in burials have an identified owner?
Second, The possible origin of the name Ulfberht was discussed and it was identified as Frankish. Do we have any documentary record of ANY Franks in Viking lands during this period. If so, what were they? Slaves, captives, hostages, outlaws, or exiles? One theory could be that the original Ulfberht was a smith in one of those categories, maybe not starting his labour as a volunteer. Eventually he could have put down roots and began a school or dynasty of swordmakers.
And last, I was interested in the part dealing with the interaction of swords and shields. I have a special interest in shields since part of my surname means "shield". I've not found much luck finding information about ancient or medieval Germanic shields compared to other weaponry. I'm also interested in shield myth and folklore since the other part of my name means "fortune" or "good luck". Can anybody recommend sources of information to me?

12th October 2012, 08:15 AM	#8
Almatolmen Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 1	A Few Questions Excellent job, Richard! Brilliant! During the program we were told that only 170 Ulfberht swords have been identified, with perhaps only a fraction of them being authentic and not period counterfeit knock-offs. It was said that most had been found either in water or among grave goods. My first question is whether, since these were upscale swords, any of those in burials have an identified owner? Second, The possible origin of the name Ulfberht was discussed and it was identified as Frankish. Do we have any documentary record of ANY Franks in Viking lands during this period. If so, what were they? Slaves, captives, hostages, outlaws, or exiles? One theory could be that the original Ulfberht was a smith in one of those categories, maybe not starting his labour as a volunteer. Eventually he could have put down roots and began a school or dynasty of swordmakers. And last, I was interested in the part dealing with the interaction of swords and shields. I have a special interest in shields since part of my surname means "shield". I've not found much luck finding information about ancient or medieval Germanic shields compared to other weaponry. I'm also interested in shield myth and folklore since the other part of my name means "fortune" or "good luck". Can anybody recommend sources of information to me?