Vikinswords in Finland

RobertGuy · 23rd January 2019, 08:35 AM

The widely differing dates for the two sword types shown raises some very interesting questions. Was the shorter Viking style sword a family heirloom, handed down over hundreds of years? Was it buried in its shortened state? ie a broken sword kept to commemorate an ancestor's great deeds? Was the 1300s burial dug through an earlier grave and the grave goods found re-interred? Or am I missing the point entirely? I hope this will lead to an informative debate. Great post Snowman

Victrix · 23rd January 2019, 09:09 AM

The so-called viking era is arguably harder to define in Scandinavia and the Nordics as the periods before and after are not that different (culture was embedded). Conversion to Christianity was a long and drawn out process taking centuries. Initially the most visible signs of conversion were the replacement of Thor’s hammer with the Cross, and burial practices. But culturally things changed only slowly as the viking rune stones with crosses can attest. It’s highly plausible that the grave belongs to a Christian knight who’s family was converted for one or two generations, and intriguingly that the viking sword is an inherited family heirloom. Judging by the state of the later crusader sword it’s possible that the older sword was broken through decay in the grave? Typically objects were not placed in Christian graves so the presence of the swords may show left-over pagan practices?

I’m not sure how to interpret the gene info. Is the mother’s genes basically local Nordic/Scandinavian whilst the father’s genes would be different (German, British,...)? Given the migrations taking place in Europe in the centuries before this burial, I wonder how accurate this sort of thing can be?

23rd January 2019, 08:35 AM	#1
RobertGuy Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 135	The widely differing dates for the two sword types shown raises some very interesting questions. Was the shorter Viking style sword a family heirloom, handed down over hundreds of years? Was it buried in its shortened state? ie a broken sword kept to commemorate an ancestor's great deeds? Was the 1300s burial dug through an earlier grave and the grave goods found re-interred? Or am I missing the point entirely? I hope this will lead to an informative debate. Great post Snowman

23rd January 2019, 09:09 AM	#2
Victrix Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Sweden Posts: 755	The so-called viking era is arguably harder to define in Scandinavia and the Nordics as the periods before and after are not that different (culture was embedded). Conversion to Christianity was a long and drawn out process taking centuries. Initially the most visible signs of conversion were the replacement of Thor’s hammer with the Cross, and burial practices. But culturally things changed only slowly as the viking rune stones with crosses can attest. It’s highly plausible that the grave belongs to a Christian knight who’s family was converted for one or two generations, and intriguingly that the viking sword is an inherited family heirloom. Judging by the state of the later crusader sword it’s possible that the older sword was broken through decay in the grave? Typically objects were not placed in Christian graves so the presence of the swords may show left-over pagan practices? I’m not sure how to interpret the gene info. Is the mother’s genes basically local Nordic/Scandinavian whilst the father’s genes would be different (German, British,...)? Given the migrations taking place in Europe in the centuries before this burial, I wonder how accurate this sort of thing can be?