Early and High Medieval European Swords

Early and high medieval European swords are straight, double-edged blade designs used by warriors in Western and Northern Europe from roughly the 8th through the 13th centuries. The Viking Age sword, also called the Carolingian sword, was the type of sword prevalent in Western and Northern Europe during the Early Middle Ages, typically pattern-welded and fitted with a lobed or trilobate pommel. 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 +VLFBERHT+, prized for unusually pure, high-carbon steel that outperformed contemporary ironworking. The knightly sword, sometimes categorized as the arming sword, succeeded the Viking-era form in the High Middle Ages as the standard one-handed, cruciform-hilted sword carried by mounted knights. Together these three forms trace the direct lineage of the European straight sword from the Viking Age migrations through the age of chivalry.