Ulfberht swords
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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 +VLFBERH+T or +VLFBERHT+. T
+VLFBEHT+ inscription on the blade of a 9th-century sword (Germanisches Nationalmuseum FG 2187) found in 1960 in the Old Rhine close to Friesenheimer Insel, Mannheim
One of three Ulfberht swords found in the territory of the Volga Bulgars. Its hilt (classified as Petersen type T-2) is decorated with three lines of round holes inlaid with twisted silver wire.
Four Ulfberht swords found in Norway (drawings from Lorange 1889)
Oakeshott typology
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The Oakeshott typology is a way to define and catalogue the medieval sword based on physical form. It categorises the swords of the European Middle Ages into 13 main types, labelled X through XXII. Th
Ulfberht swords
…the origin of the blades. The swords are at the transitional point between the Viking sword and the high medieval knightly sword. Most have blades of Oakeshott type X. They are also the starting point of the much more varied high medieval tradition of blade inscriptions. The reverse sides of the blades are inlaid…
Type X. Note the disk shape pommel and long fuller that extends near to the end of the blade.
Type XI.
Type XIV. Note flat cross section (lenticular), demonstrated by lack of a visible midrib towards the point. Broad and triangular in profile.
Type XV.