Ulfberht
The Ulfberht swords are a group of about 170 medieval swords found primarily in Northern Europe, dated to the 9th to 11th centuries, with blades inlaid with the inscription +VLFBERH+T or +VLFBERHT+. The word "Ulfberht" is a Frankish personal name, possibly indicating the origin of the blades.
Ulfberht

Ulfberht.jpg: Torana derivative work: Martin Kraft · This file was derived from: Ulfberht.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Ulfberht swords
- Field
- sword
- Related practice
- crucible steel
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The Ulfberht swords are a group of about 170 medieval swords found primarily in Northern Europe, dated to the 9th to 11th centuries, with blades inlaid with the inscription +VLFBERH+T or +VLFBERHT+. The word "Ulfberht" is a Frankish personal name, possibly indicating the origin of the blades.
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ulfberht swords • Type — Sword • Is Bladed — yes • Production Date — 9th to 11th centuries • Weight — avg. 1.2 kg (2.7 lb) • Length — avg. 91 cm (36 in) • Width — 5 cm (2 in) • Blade Type — Double-edged, straight bladed, slight taper • Hilt Type — One-handed with pommel, variable guard • Head Type — Acute distal taper, and point • Illustration — One of three Ulfberht swords found in the territory of the Volga Bulgars. Its hilt (classified as Petersen type T-2) is decorated with three lines of round holes inlaid with twisted silver wire. • Illustration — Four Ulfberht swords found in Norway (drawings from Lorange 1889)
Origin
Origin
Ulfberht swords most likely originated in the Rhineland region, i.e., in Austrasia, the core region of the Frankish realm, later part of the Franconian stem duchy. Frankish origin of the swords has long been assumed because of the form of the personal name Ulfberht. Despite their assumed Frankish origin, the majority of the swords have been found in Northern Europe. Rather than being traded items, the swords were most likely exported as loot, ransom, or contraband — prohibitions in the Carolingian capitularia made it illegal to sell to foreigners at the time. Three specimens have been found as far afield as Volga Bulgaria, at the time part of the Volga trade route.
Number and distribution
Number and distribution
A total of 167 Ulfberht swords have been found, mostly in the Fennoscandia region and around the Baltic Sea. The number of swords found in Finland is unclear; Stalsberg identifies 14 Finnish Ulfberht swords, but Moilanen identifies 31. In general, the exact number of swords found is debatable due to the fragmentary condition of some artifacts, and because some inscriptions appear to refer to the Ulfberht type rather than indicating that a specimen actually belongs to the type. The prevalence of Ulfberht swords in the archaeological record of Northern Europe does not imply that such swords were more widely used there than in Francia; the pagan practice of placing weapons in warrior graves greatly favours the archaeological record in regions of Europe that were still pagan (and indeed most of the Ulfberht swords found in Norway are from warrior graves), while swords found in continental Europe and England after the 7th century are mostly limited to stray finds; e.g., in riverbeds. This is supported by the change in geographical distribution noted in the late Viking Age, when much of previously Pagan Europe was Christianized. None of the Norwegian Ulfberht swords are dated later than the early—middle 11th century, which coincides with the end of Pagan burial rites in the area. Location and dating of known Ulfberht swords • Country — Early Viking Age (8th - 9th ce.) — Middle Viking Age (10th ce.) — Late Viking Age (10th - 11th ce.) — Undated — Total • Norway — 17 — 19 — 5 — 3 — 44 • Sweden — 9 — 3 — 1 — 4 — 17 • Finland — 2 — 3 — 2 — 7 — 14 • Estonia — 2 — 3 — 1 — 3 — 9 • Latvia — 1 — 1 — 4 — 1 — 7 • Lithuania — - — 1 — - — 1 — 2 • Belarus — - — 1 — - — - — 1 • Ukraine — 1 — 5 — - — 1 — 7 • Russia — 4 — 5 — 1 — 1 — 11 • Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) — 2 — 4 — 2 — 4 — 12 • Poland — - — 3 — 3 — 1 — 7 • Czechia — - — 1 — 1 — - — 2 • Croatia — 2 — - — - — - — 2 • Italy — - — - — - — 1 — 1 • Switzerland — - — - — 1 — - — 1 • Germany — 2 — 2 — 9 — - — 13 • Denmark — - — 3 — - — - — 3 • Netherlands — 2 — - — - — 1 — 3 • Belgium — - — - — 2 — - — 2 • England — 1 — 1 — 2 — - — 4 • Ireland — 2 — - — - — - — 2 • Iceland — - — 2 — - — - — 2 • Spain — - — - — 1 — - — 1 • France — - — - — 1 — - — 1 • Total || 47 || 57 || 36 || 28 || 168
Dating
Dating
The original Ulfberht sword type dates to the 9th or 10th century, but swords with the Ulfberht inscription continued to be made at least until the end of the Viking Age in the 11th century. A notable late example found in Eastern Germany, dated to the 11th or possibly early 12th century, represents the only specimen that combines the Vlfberht signature with a Christian "in nomine domini" inscription (+IINIOMINEDMN). As a given name, Wulfbert (Old High German Wolfbert, Wolfbrecht, Wolfpert, Wolfperht, Vulpert) is recorded from the 8th to 10th centuries.
Description
The swords are at the transitional point between the Viking sword and the high medieval knightly sword. Most have blades of Oakeshott type X. They are also the starting point of the much more varied high medieval tradition of blade inscriptions. The reverse sides of the blades are inlaid with a geometric pattern, usually a braid pattern between vertical strokes. Numerous blades also bear this type of geometric pattern but no Vlfberht inscription. Ulfberht swords were made during a period when European swords were still predominantly pattern welded ("false Damascus"), but with larger blooms of steel gradually becoming available, so that higher quality swords made after AD 1000 are increasingly likely to have crucible steel blades. The group of Ulfberht swords includes a wide spectrum of steel and production methods. One example from a 10th-century grave in Nemilany, Moravia, has a pattern welded core with welded-on hardened cutting edges. Another example appears to have been made from high-quality hypereutectoid steel possibly imported from Central Asia.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Treasures of German Art and History in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, 2001, p. 23.
- 2.Viacheslav Shpakovsky, David Nicolle, Gerry Embleton, Armies of the Volga Bulgars & Khanate of Kazan, 9th–16th centuries, Osprey Men-at-Arms 491 (2013), p. 23f.
- 3.Moilanen, Mikko. Viikinkimiekat Suomessa. Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura. 169–175. 2018. 978-952-222-964-9.
- 4.Wegeli (1904), p. 12, fig. 3.; Stralsberg (2008:6) classifies the "correctly" spelled inscriptions into five classes, 1. +VLFBERH+T (46 to 51 examples), 2. +VLFBERHT+ (18 to 23 examples), 3. VLFBERH+T (4 to 6 examples), 4. +VLFBERH┼T+ (1 or 2 examples), 5. +VLFBERH+T (10 examples), with a sixth class of "misspellings" (+VLEBERHIT, +VLFBEHT+, +VLFBERH+, +VLFBER├┼┼T, +VLFBERTH, 17 examples) and a seventh class "not definable" (31 or 32 examples). Stalsberg (2008) explains the numerous misspellings in the inscriptions by the "use of illiterate slaves in the smithy".
- 5.Stalsberg (2008:2): "This indicates that geometrical and other marks were frequently welded into sword blades which have no signature, and it demonstrates that the technique of welding rods into the blade to make marks and signatures was known in many countries in Europe. This is a point to be kept in mind when discussing the question if Vlfberht blades or signatures may have been copied or falsified."
- 6.Maryon, Herbert. Pattern-Welding and Damascening of Sword-Blades—Part 1: Pattern-Welding. Studies in Conservation. 5. 1. 25–37. February 1960. 10.2307/1505063.
- 7.Maryon, Herbert. Pattern-Welding and Damascening of Sword-Blades—Part 2: The Damascene Process. Studies in Conservation. 5. 2. 52–60. May 1960. 10.2307/1504953.
- 8.David Edge, Alan Williams: Some early medieval swords in the Wallace Collection and elsewhere, Gladius XXIII, 2003, 191-210 (p. 203).
- 9.Stalsberg (2008:12): in terms of modern state borders: Norway: 44, Finland: 14, Germany: 13, Sweden: 12, Russia: 10 (excluding an additional c. 20 specimens found in Kaliningrad oblast, most of them at Linkuhnen cemetery), Estonia: 9, Latvia: 7, Poland: 7, Ukraine: 7, UK: 4; Denmark and Netherlands 3 each; Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania: 2 each; Belarus, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland: one each.
- 10.Moilanen, Mikko. Marks of Fire, Value and Faith, Swords with Ferrous Inlays in Finland during the Late Iron Age (ca. 700 AD1200 AD).
- 11.Marks of Fire, Value and Faith. www.utupub.fi.
- 12.see Wegeli, p. 12, fig. 3.
- 13.see e.g. E. A. Cameron, Sheaths and scabbards in England AD 400-1100 (2008), p. 34.
- 14.Stalsberg, 2008. p. 9 for definition of Early, Middle and Late periods. pp. 11-14 for maps regarding location and age. Petri, 2019, contains a higher quality map detailing only the total swords found by country. Though Petri's map cites Stalsberg, it has different counts for Belarus and Russia. Stalsberg claims that 1 sword has been found in Belarus and 10 in Russia. Petri claims that 0 swords have been found in Belarus and 11 in Russia. The reason for this discrepancy is not stated.
- 15.[https://babel.ua/en/texts/123757-ex-pm-of-crimea-valerii-horbatov-who-was-accused-of-collaborating-with-the-russians-has-reached-a-deal-with-investigators-he-donated-a-unique-archaeological-collection-to-the-state-and-returns-home-th Ex-PM of Crimea Valerii Horbatov, who was accused of collaborating with the Russians, has reached a deal with investigators. He donated a unique archaeological collection to the state and returns home. The story in detail]
- 16.Herrman, J. and Donat P. (eds.), Corpus archäologischer Quellen zur Frühgeschichte auf dem Gebiet der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (7.-12. Jahrhundert), Akademie-Verlag, Berlin (1985), p. 376.
- 17.Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856) 1345.
- 18.Petri, Ingo. VLFBERHT swords: Origin, material, and manufacture. History Compass. 17. 4. March 25, 2019. 10.1111/hic3.12529.
- 19.Williams, Alan. Crucible steel in medieval swords. Metals and Mines: Studies in Archeometallurgy. Archetype Publications. 35. 11. 233–241. 2007. 10.1016/j.jas.2008.06.020.
- 20.Cui, Alina. The Ulerht Sword (On Loan from Laird Landmann). Bowdoin Journal of Art. 6. 2020.
- 21.Kalmring, Sven. Of Thieves, Counterfeiters and Homicides: Crime in Hedeby and Birka. Fornvännen. Journal of Swedish Antiquarian Research. Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. 105. 4. 281–290. 2010. 0015-7813.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 11
- Anders Lorange, Den yngre jernalders sværd, Bergen (1889).
- Rudolf Wegeli, Inschriften auf mittelalterlichen Schwertklingen, Leipzig (1904).
- Anne Stalsberg, Herstellung und Verbreitung der Vlfberht-Schwertklingen. Eine Neubewertung, Zeitschrift für Archäologie des Mittelalters, 36, 2008, 89-118 (English translation).
- Mikko Moilanen, Marks of Fire, Value and Faith: Swords with Ferrous Inlays in Finland during the Late Iron Age (ca. 700–1200 AD), Turku (2015), ISBN 978-952-67329-6-1 (Online access).
- M. Müller-Wille: Ein neues ULFBERHT-Schwert aus Hamburg. Verbreitung, Formenkunde und Herkunft, Offa 27, 1970, 65-91
- Alfred Geibig: Beiträge zur morphologischen Entwicklung des Schwertes im Mittelalter. Eine Analyse des Fundmaterials vom ausgehenden 8. bis zum 12. Jahrhundert aus Sammlungen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Dissertation, Neumünster, 1991
- Alan R. Williams, Methods of Manufacture of Swords in Medieval Europe: Illustrated by the Metallography of Some Examples, Gladius 13 (1977), S. 75 - 101
- Friedrich E. Grünzweig: Das Schwert bei den Germanen. Kulturgeschichtliche Studien zu seinem Wesen vom Altertum bis ins Hochmittelalter. (= Philologica Germanica, 30) Fassbaender, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-902575-18-0
- Ewart Oakeshott: The Sword in the Age of Chivalry, 1994, ISBN 978-0851153629
- Ian Peirce, Ewart Oakeshott: Swords of the Viking Age. The Boydell Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0851159140
- Alan Williams, A Metallugical Study of Some Viking Swords, Gladius 29 (2009), 121-184
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