ULFBERHT Sword
Ethan Keyser
ME 350X History of Technology
18 September, 2014
Throughout history there are many mysteries that will most likely go unsolved. One of these mysteries is the ULFBERHT sword. With less then 170 confirmed specimens today, the ULFBERHT was a Viking sword that was made with much higher quality then any of its contemporaries. What made the sword unique was that it was made from a steel that was much purer and contained more carbon then any of it’s European counterparts. The steel is known as “crucible steel”, and it requires heating the steel to a temperature that no known blacksmith at the time could create. Because the sword contained a high carbon steel, it would have been more flexible, and less likely to break in battle. One theory as to the origin of the steel is that it the Viking could have traded for it with cultures in the Middle East, whom had been making crucible steel at the time. In addition to containing a high quality steel, the swords bore the inscription ULFBERHT, which even today has no known meaning. However, The spelling and script used would suggest that the makers of the swords were monks. That said, the monks would have been the enemies of the Vikings, so it would not make sense that the Viking had so many of the swords.