Icelandic Swords: Blades of the Viking Frontier
Forgotten Weapons
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25m
(Sorry for the messed-up framing at the beginning of the video!)
While I was in Iceland, I had an opportunity to visit the National Museum of Iceland and take a look at a couple of settlement-era swords found on the island. Since these are really outside my area of expertise, two experts generously offered to join me on the video to help explain the history and context of these swords. First we have Ármann Guðmundsson, an archaeologist with the Museum who can speak to the weapons of the time as they are found today. Second is Reynir Óskarsson, a Viking combat researcher with Hurstwic who can help us understand how these swords were actually used.
Viking-age Iceland was a unique society in many ways, and the role of personal weapons in that time is a fascinating story. So sit back and join us to learn more about it!
Many thanks to the National Museum of Iceland for bringing out these incredible thousand-year-old artifacts to show us. If you are in Reykjavik the Museum are a must-see stop:
https://www.thjodminjasafn.is/english/
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