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Old 1st November 2019, 03:09 AM   #12
Jim McDougall
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
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This is really a complex topic, and Ibrahiim thank you for these links, which help with perspective greatly. As I have noted, this field of study, particularly the metallurgy, is far outside my pay grade but it is great to get into some research and discussion here.

Vilhemmson, thank you for the kind words and especially for the wonderfully explained response to the Feuerbach article. Your clear knowledge and command of this subject matter reveals, as they say here in Texas "this for sure aint your first rodeo!!!"
Your point on the fact that the author probably may have certain bias toward the use of crucible steel in some of these Ulfberht swords, which she does support by the evidence for considerable trade from Central Asia into Scandinavia.
In going through resources I have here I did find generally that many of the sword finds were perhaps contaminated by minerals in context so accurate analysis may have been compromised somewhat.

Well noted on the case for Haakon the Good, and I had not realized that records on him were somewhat implied in later histories concerning his father etc. With that, the case for this figure 'commissioning' early Ulfberht blades would best not be quite so adamantly cited.

Getting to the point of the OP, on whether INGELRII was a makers name or other,..the question reaches to other 'names' found inlaid in blades in the manner of ULFBRECHT and apparently a number of other names.

It does seem likely that at the early inception of innovative blade forging techniques, there may have been a maker named Ulfberht who inlaid these blades with his name and the crosses.....on the reverse there was a lattice work with three vertical lines inlaid as well. The purpose or meaning there is unclear.

Other makers of course tried to capitalize on the name and markings in degree, probably accounting for variation in the letterings, and likely the metallurgy of the blades in finds. It seems that about mid 10th c. the advent of INGELRII began, and it would seem this may have been a maker as well, but actually capitalizing on the Ulfberht 'style' as these blades had similar geometric patterns on blade obverse.
The INGELRII blades continued into the 11th c. apparently, and again obviously the use of these names were attempts to signal quality. With these blades there were variations in the same manner as Ulfberht, and as noted ME FECIT and variants of that.

With these names having etymological break down, such as Ulf Berht =wolf man, another name which occurred in this 'name' style (but in guards) was HILTIPRECHT, in these time periods. In "Hiltipreht: Name or Invocation" (Oakeshott & Peirce, Park Lane Arms Fair, 1995) it notes that Ellis-Davidson (1958) suggested this was not a name, however later examination found that it was probably a name after all. She had based her original idea on the 'word' in Old Norse , Hilt= battle, Preht= ready in a kind of 'magic context'.

It would seem these presumptions of the words in these inscriptions being used in such metaphoric sense might be incorrect, and that these were names which had become collectively used as connoting quality.

Victrix, excellent entry concerning the Passau element of these blade symbolisms, and well placed observations on the situations with the ecclestiastic symbolism with crosses, which indeed find use in wide range of inscriptions on blades being produced under auspices of Church Bishops.

Returning to the Ulfberht 'name', the use of crosses etc. It would seem that the letters of a name/word augmented by the powerful symbol of the cross would signal quality and imbuement to even illiterate persons. The alphabetic characters may have been seen as potent symbols in the same manner as the crosses, runes etc.

It would seem possible that the use of these names and symbols were very much the ANDREA FERARA and Toledo smiths names and marks on the day and in that tradition of blade imbuement.
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