The sword in the Viking age was no mere weapon or tool - it possessed its own spirit imbued to it from the iron ‘’magic’’ of the smith and his craft. Good swords were difficult to make and only skillful smiths could successfully work the lower quality of pre-industrial iron to produce swords with strength and flex. Likely the smith kept his methods a personal or familial secret, and sometimes the swords were inscribed or inlaid with runes to further emphasize a magical origin. A common figure in Scandinavian/Anglo-Saxon sagas and mythology is that of the magic smith who can make weapons with their own personalities and powers (such as Weyland the Smith)- likely this theme is an origin for the common fantasy genre trope of enchanted weapons.Few items in Viking society were as valued as the sword and one is noted in the Laxedaela Saga as being worth 16 cows - considerable money in those times! Swords were not as common as they would later become; of the over 100 Viking Age weapons unearthed in Icelandic burials, only 16 were swords. The worth and origin of the sword meant they were given names (such as ‘’Byrnie-Biter’’ or ‘’Life Taker’’) and often passed down in families. Understandably, the loss of a sword was a cause for much grief!This Viking sword by Deepeeka is made with the characteristic lobed pommel and short crossguard of early Scandinavian swords. The thick, blunted blade is made from high carbon steel and is intended for stage combat. The hilt fittings are of steel and the lobed pommel has decorative twisted metal wire inlaid into it form. The grip is tightly wrapped with a strip of spiralled brown leather. It comes with a wood-core scabbard overlaid with brown leather and affixed with two buckles for a sword belt.
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