DISCONTINUED! Sea-Thunder Viking Sword  SBX-VIKINGSWORD   $69  This item is no longer available.    European Conquerers The Vikings were renkowned for their fast ships and devastating weaponry. Their combat skill and strong blades helped them conquer large swaths of England and France in the 9th century. Vikings also made it into parts of Spain, Germany, Russia and even the Americas. Swords from the Nordic lands (including Northern Germany) have a long and distinguished history through the middle ages, and still have some prescence there today. The city of Solingen was the Toledo or Damascus of Northern Europe; swords that came from Solingen, particularly from the family of swordmakers known as Ulfberht, were revered, and many counterfeit sword makers stamped the word “Ulfberht” on their blades to give them more value (often misspelling the name). In fact, the early viking swords are often said to have been the predecesors to the knightly broadswords/arming swords of the middle ages. Many Viking blades have similar features, which makes them farily easily to identify: A distinctive three-lobed “wave” pommel, long straight double-edges, wide fuller (groove that runs down the blade), and a short grip. Viking swords usually were a little shorter than the arming swords carried by knights later on in history (possibly because the Vikings were always on the move and often raided from ships; it’s difficult to make lightning fast raids with large, cumbersome swords). Like knightly swords, though, Viking swords often bore engravings upon the blades, usually featuring important or sacred phrases and pictographs.