Why Did Vikings Carry Decorative Swords That Were Useless In Combat?

Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – Scientists have discovered that Vikings occasionally carried useless decorative swords that could not be used as real weapons.

It seems odd that a Viking warrior would bother to go around with a decorative sword if it could not be used in combat. Were the Vikings vain, or was there another reason why decorative swords became popular?

Left: Viking warrior – Adobe Stock – Ana – Right: Viking swords displayed at Hedeby Viking Museum – Credit: Wikipedia – Image compiled by AncientPages.com

As Ancient Pages wrote earlier, to ancient Vikings a sword was much more than just a weapon. Since swords were difficult to make, they were rare and expensive, and as such, they were not so common and used by kings and Vikings of high rank and class.

Source: AncientPages.com – Read the rest of the article here