With its vast collection of artifacts, Birka is arguably the most
famous archaeological dig dated to the Viking Age. Among the artifacts
is arms and armor, including swords. The purpose of this writing
is to introduce these swords and present a basic groundwork for
their analysis.
But first a warning should be given, The swords of Birka are only a very small part of the all the swords found in what has been called the Viking Age. By themselves, the Birka swords do not represent all of what is known about the swords of the people called the Vikings. Rather these swords, found in burials, contribute to a fuller knowledge of early medieval arms and armor and to the civilization that lived on Birka.
The basic documentation of the Birka swords is Arbman's, Birka;
die Graber, (1) which presents 1166 graves. Having briefly read
through this catalog, I easily found 29 swords. However, A. Pedersen
(2) and L. Thalin-Bergman (3) state that 35 swords were found.
Thalin-Bergman presents the basic "technical" information
for analysis. All the swords were double-edged with a center fuller
(often called the mis-named "blood-groove"). Eight swords
were fragments. The longest sword was from grave 750 at 99 cm.
The shortest was from grave 644 at 69.5 cm. The average length
is 95.6 cm (the length of the fragments were not included).
Fifteen of the swords have a similar pommel, handle and hilt
shape. The pommels of these swords have a triangular top attached
(probably by rivets) to a straight bar. The handles are wide,
showing a large sword tang. The hilts of these fifteen swords
are short and straight. Thalan-Bergman using J. Petersen's 1919
typology (4) identifies. these swords to type H-I. The other 20
swords vary in type from "E" to "X" (5). Type
H-I has been dated to from about 800 to 950, and is considered
equivalent to Wheeler and Oakeshott's Type II. Wheeler simply
describes this type as having, "Hilt with straight cross-pieces,
i.e. a simplified "cocked-hat," with straight guards"
(6).
But what is impressive about the swords of Birka is the decoration
found on some of them. The hilts and pommels from graves 942,561,542,736,886,544,
and 1154 were inlaid with silver, bronze, or copper (8). The designs
on these swords vary from inlaid lines to geometric patterns.
Such decoration denotes the value of these weapons and the high
esteem in which their owners were kept.
The type of grave in which these swords were found reinforces
their value. The vast majority of graves at Birka are cremation;
seven of these graves contained a sword (9). However, the majority
of swords were found in chamber graves (10). This type is of burial
is an inhumation grave where a structure (or a chamber) is built
into the ground to receive the body of the deceased and other
items. At Birka chamber graves make up roughly 10% of the total
graves excavated. Using quantitative analysis, N. Ringstedt, has
concluded that the Birka chamber graves were created for people
of high prestige (11). Decorated swords in prestigious burials
point toward the use of these weapons as status symbols.
As much as the evidence, briefly presented, points towards
the swords of Birka as status symbols, there is still much that
is unknown. What is their metallurgy? Were these swords pattern-welded
or were they made by another method? By extension, while its seems
likely that swords were brought be to sold at Birka, were raw
blades imported then and decorated or re-decorated there?
In other questions, where else is the dominant sword type H-I
found? And where is this type not found? Can a sword type be used
to track trade routes, or better yet can a sword type be used
to track the movements of those who used them?
And finally, why are the swords from Birka so rare? Only 35
graves out of 1166 yielded swords. If swords were only found in
high prestige chamber graves, then the rarity of the swords could
be explained-swords were reserved for men of importance. However,
this is not the situation. Swords, or at least the fragments of
swords, were found in cremation graves of no particular importance.
This fact opens up possibilities. Were swords included in all
male graves as part of the death ritual and the swords included
in cremations destroyed? Or were swords reserved for something
we do not yet understand?
In the vastness of the collection of artifacts from Birka, swords may not seem to be of much importance. However, the Havamal (The Sayings of the High One) from the Poetic Edda state "From his weapons away no one should ever stir one step on the field; for no one knows when need might have on a sudden man of his sword"(12). While this written advice came centuries after the swords of Birka were buried, the importance of these weapons was transmitted though time. Studying the swords of Birka may present and opportunity to better understand early medieval war, trade and social structure.
Notes:
1.Arbman, H. Birka I: Die Graber Text. Uppsala, Sweden. Almqvist & Wiksells. 1943.
2.Pedersen, A. "Scandinavian Weaponry in the Tenth Century: the Example of Denmark" in Companion to Medieval Arms and Armour. D. Nicolle (ed). Woodbridge, England. The Boydell Press, pp. 25-36. Specifically, page 26.
3. Thalin-Bergman, L. "Die Waffengraber von Birka" in Birka II: 2 Systematische Analysen der Graberfunde. G. Arwidsson (ed). Stockholm. Almqvist & Wiksell International, pp 5-10.
Also:
_______. "Ubersicht uber die Schwerter von Birka" in
Birka II: 2 Systematische Analysen der Graberfunde pp 11-14, specifically,
page 14.
4. Petersen, J. De Norske Vikingesverd. En Typologisk-Kronologisk Studie Over Vikingetidens Vaaben. Kristiania, Norge. I Kommission Hos Jacob Dybwad. 1919. Annoyingly, as is often the case, this work is in Norwegian. Fortunately, Karen Noer has translated this work and has put it up on the Internet (http://www.aiusa.com/medsword/petersen/index.html). Her description is as follows: "The handle consists of wide guides with an elliptic cross section. The upper guard is especially wide…The guards have most often slightly curved, or in older specimens, clearly ridged upper sides. They are seldom entirely flat. The pommel has three sides, so it has a wide base…the type is never the less evident in the wide upper guard and…striped ornamentation."
5. Specifically, 4 swords are type "X", 3 are "Y", 2 are "ST", 2 are "V" and 1 is "E." The other 8 are fragments, and can not be typed.
6. Wheeler, D. London and the Vikings. London. London Museum. 1927 pp 29-37.
7. Walsh, A. "A Summery Classifaction of Viking Age Swords in Ireland" in Ireland and Scandinavia in the Early Viking Age. H.B. Clarke, et al (eds). Dublin. Four Courts Press, 1998, pp 222-237. Walsh has is own description of type H-I.
8.Arbman, H. Ibid.
9. Thalin-Bergman. Ibid.
10.Thalin-Bergman. Ibid.
11. Ringstedt, H. "The Birka Chamber Graves-Economics and Social Aspects." Current Swedish Archaeology. Volume 5, 1997, pp 127-146.
Also
________. The Birka Chamber Graves. Econmic and Social Aspects.
An Analysis Based on Quantitative Methods. Stockholm. Stockholm
Archaeological Reports, 1997.
12. Hollander, L.M. The Poetic Edda. Austin,
Texas. University of Texas Press. (2nd edition), 1987, p 20.
© 2003 Steven P. Blowney