Can we please stop for a moment and admire the blacksmith. years of training years of dedication to his craft to be able to do this and unlock secrets lost to history. This man is truly a master of his craft
Ric is the man. I made a skeggox with him over a weekend in 2013 and would enjoy returning to create another piece. 7:35 Ric shows his passion for this art. And 17:25 "To be able to make a weapon from dirt is a pretty powerful thing."
I did the "Knife from dirt" class over a weekend last November and my local blacksmith club just hosted him for the third time to our winter conference - the man's a brilliant blacksmith and metallurgist...and a hilarious entertainer!
The book deep work brought me here, i was really interested in the story and to see it for myself was almost how i imagined it, really breathtaking how the sword was englufed in flames as it was pulled out
46:58 was the best part. The fact that the steel was still soo hot that after going into the oil it reignited after emerging. I'm sorry but pulling out a flaming sword is just badass any which way u wanna cut it.
@Bob Moor Hardening, quenching, tempering. We know those techniques today. And I know the same expert starring in this documentary says you can tell by the crystalline structure whether it was hardened or not in a video of scholagladiatora. But here they just say "we don't know whether it was hardened or quenched".
In fact one of many kennings Snorri lists for swords is 'brand'. Who knows, perhaps it is from this. Also there is the kenning herðir, 'hardened'. They say they don't know whether it was done in reality though, however I'm thinking, you should be able to see the crystalline structure through a microscope...
The sword was the most prized, but least common. Swords were expensive and required a lot of steel. Axes were cheaper, easier and faster to make and used less steel.
To Faramund (commenter below): Thank you for injecting some sound name information! Some further thoughts: Look into Radhanite traders (maybe based near Baghdad but trading via networks from China to Spain, and favored by Carolingian rulers such as Louis the Pious) as possible transporters of the early Iranian-created steel, an ingot of which a skilled German swordsmith might have acquired, studied, and then began producing locally for the empire (early 9th cent.?). Then, look at potential monasteries for the Ulfberhts' production (Fulda and Lorsch have been suggested) during the later Carolingian era and into the post-Carolingian period (to c.1000+ CE). The individual histories of these monasteries might offer a clue about reasons for the beginning and end dates for Ulfberht production. Finally, I have heard that tests are being developed (still in process as of Jan. 2023?) to identify the origin of the iron used in the real Ulfberhts, based upon trace inclusions of other elements. That will be very helpful.
Man, I know at least one Ulfbehrt sword was made out of wootz, but from what I hear, that's the exception rather than the rule, and since crucible steel was already old news around India and Persia, you can't say it was 1000 years in advand of its times...
The +ULFBERH+T is most likely one of the first branded items. The crosses, are to signify the four cardinal points, not a christian symbol.It is the model T of the ULFBERH blacksmith .
Ulf in old gemarn is "wolf" and bert is "bright" I know in the sagas it talks of "wolf's" fangs glistening "bright" with blood yes there is a cross but we know in almost all subjugated "pagans" hide seemingly Christian phases and symbols to hide their true pagan meaning I just wonder if there is a correlation
@Faramund Thank you for injecting some sound information! Some further thoughts: Look into Radhanite traders (maybe based near Baghdad but trading via networks from China to Spain, and favored by Carolingian rulers such as Louis the Pious) as possible transporters of the early Iranian-created steel, an ingot of which a skilled German swordsmith might have acquired, studied, and then began producing locally for the empire (early 9th cent.?). Then, look at potential monasteries for the Ulfberhts' production (Fulda and Lorsch have been suggested) during the later Carolingian era and into the post-Carolingian period (to c.1000+ CE). The individual histories of these monasteries might offer a clue about reasons for the beginning and end dates for Ulfberht production. Finally, I have heard that tests are being developed (still in process as of Jan. 2023?) to identify the origin of the iron used in the real Ulfberhts, based upon trace inclusions of other elements. That will be very helpful.
I agree it has far more pagan ideology then Christian by far, even the name of the sword suggest pagan. So we get to where they learned it from and again I do believe we agree middle eastern influence that it's self can explain the cross pagans understand the power of symbols it could just be a pagan who hedged his bets for the afterlife and it continued through the cult without understanding it's true meaning
@josh langston I don't think you read all of what I wrote given your reaction. But I would like to add that Snorri in his Edda lists A TON of kennings for swords. One of them is 'Vinnbjartur' which is Windbright. Which would suggest that Ulfberht simply means Wolfsword. The wolf in this case may well be Wen (Oðinn), given other kennings for swords like Oðinns Eldar, Wens fire. There's also more kennings like it, even werewolf is one. Also 'miðfáinn', mid-decorated (that's right, much like the wulfberht sword). 'Skjómi', glinter. Málvitnir, symbol wolf. Vitnir, wolf. Ljómi, light. Herbrái, host-shining. So in fact Wolf and Bright could BOTH be seen as kennings for sword, combining them into one name, it becomes the ultimate sword name! Also this would make names like Robert, famous blade. Adelbert, noble blade. Bertrand, blade edge. I always thought berht was a kenning for blade, an old theory of mine. But I was put down by a linguist who said it wasnt in Snorris list while it CLEARLY iS! But I only found that out thanks to you! Made me dive deeper into it!
Oh and Damascus steel refers to the area, technic, and hardness of the steel for comparison think rolles Royce (d steel) and Mercedes Benz (u steel) they were both pretty high quality just with different techniques and materials but yes their had to be some middle eastern influence but again I think that would be a Varangian guard would returned home and copied what he saw with the material he had at home and it fits with in with a cult culture a strong warrior returning home and starting his own clan bring back magics from far off lands five generations pass by and the original warrior has been turn into myth and the knowledge turns to legend and eventually they disappear just for us to find them and ask how the hell did they do this and why lol.
If it was a name of a person I think we would see multiple names being that these swords were hundreds of years old, most names and name sakes are three generations old, grandfather, father, son. These swords start appearing few hundred years after the fall of Rome and last right up into the middle of the viking age, if it was a Christian craftsmen why where they in the hands of pagans especially back then that was a huge no no. There are quite a few conundrums about these swords most likely I think it has to do with infusing the spirit of the animal into the steel, the cross may just be a T with a penis off the top of it to represent prowess.
@leungEuropeans inc Celts and Norse were over that way, covering the time frame involved. if people could get there, some resources could,and probably did flow back to Europe. Compared to say fish, I would have thought iron would be deemed a more profitable export. Manufactured and finished goods usually more profitable, but that would take fuel... charcoal... from trees.... and Greenland doesn't have many. I'm not trying to provide an exclusive answer as to source. likely many many trade routes, any one or a mix could have provided until more research is done and is accepted As you say "little archaeometallurgic research that has been done has not been peer-reviewed yet"..
@steve cummins The Celts had nothing to do with the Ulfberht swords either, let alone the Inuit, as those swords were not manufactured anywhere near Iceland, but in Middle Europe, i. e. East Francia. Some experts in the field - like Alan Williams or Anna Stalsberg - hypothesize that the steel, which shows remarkable similarities to Wootz steel from Asia. It's not unreasonable to assume it was imported from there, either by Viking tradesmen via the Volga trade route or by Frankish tradesmen via the Moors in Spain, who traded extensively with the Abassid Empire. But the evidence for this Hypothesis is still very scarce and the little archaeometallurgic research that has been done has not been peer-reviewed yet. Other experts like Alfred Geibig and Robert Lehmann have not ruled out the local origin of high carbon steel at the time, so it's possible the iron ore for the Ulfberht swords comes from deposits in Germany. Lehmann apparently has done some pretty high level archaeometallurgic research on an Ulfberht Sword found in the Weser river in Gossenweiden in Lower Saxony, but the research has unfortunately not been published yet.
@leung I'm also aware there is supposed to be a long worked out deposit of "native" iron in germany somewhere. Efiel region? . Some kind of volcanic eruption or ignious intrusion into a coal seam, which kept the iron from oxiding.
@leung norse were somewhat aware of the iron there. Prior to norse the Inuit were aware of it, and ultising it. There were celtic peoples in Iceland before the norse... I'm not sure how far back such went... Could they to have gotten to Greenland? Regardless . If there iron in greenland known to be super high quality... It could easily become a resource traded long distance.
Wait wasn’t it an Anglo-Saxon sword only carried by extremely wealthy or noble warriors? Yeah the Vikings took more than half of England, but King Alfred got half of it back through a peace treaty and continued to rule this new united country. It was in this United county that this sword was made, not in Scandinavia or by the Vikings in the north. Just look at the sword, it looks nothing like Viking weapons.
Nope. According to the current scientific consensus the Ulfberht swords were neither manufactured in Viking-Era Scandinavia nor in Anglo-Saxon era England, but somewhere in East Francia in the lower Rhineland region by the Franks, i. e. Germany. But just like the Scandinavians, the Anglo-Saxons definitely have imported Ulfberht swords, since a few of them have been found on the British Isles. The Ulfberht swords are dated between the 9th and 11th century, so they are by definition Viking-Era swords. They on average have a slightly longer blade (~90 cm) than Viking-Era swords from Scandinavia (70 - 90 cm), but the length of the hilt and its general construction is practically identical, because all Viking-era swords are based on the classic Roman Spatha design. They come with various pommel shapes that are also found on other Viking-era swords all over Europe, including the ones from Scandinavia, so they very much DO look like "Viking weapons".
GREAT...only 5 years old, but here is one of the Great OLD NOVA Films....before PBS/NOVA were bought off by the Climate Choas maniacs! Thanks for this one Barry Rima!
The steel isn't hardened, so it can be carved by the chisels. Odds are that the chisels are made of steel that is suitable for swords, but those are made with modern steels that are known. Making the Ulfberht steel from dirt to sword is the greater challenge.
When it comes to creating and manufacturing, keep this in mind--The story is that Europeans got Algebra from the Arabs, all this special tech metallurgy gunpowder etc from the Asians yet, the scientific Revolution started and exploded in Europe...them old barbarians did pretty good for themselves. This subject is called “The Neeham question”.
Cool video but loads of misinformation the steel was not superior to later swords they were definitely extremely valued at the time but crucible steel had already been around for a while in the east and even some older European pattern welded swords had steel edges
@Jona Jo that's what I'm saying the complexity of pattern welded swords of this era far exceeds Japanese swords and even wootz as you mentioned was considered brittle in the northern climates
@Alban Fisher I feel like I should mention that the katana isn't technologically advanced, but perceived so due to Japanese swordsmithing traditions essentially being known for maintaining the process of pre-industrial swordsmithing when compared to other regions. What I'm saying here, is that everything Japan did would've been very similar to what was being done globally. Especially when we talk about stuff like folding, and forming a blade with an iron core. It's a lot more common than you think, and definitely something you'd see often in late medieval Europe.
@Jona Jo I've heard the same thing reading about pattern welded swords in anglo saxon England the complexity of the patterns and the steels used are truly fascinating I would argue that the pattern welded sword was and still is the most technologicaly advanced sword next to even a katana the skill required surpasses what any people consider to be the king of sword
What happened to 9 bars of soft Iron twisted into 3 bars then 2bars of hard tool steel welded into the whole sword hard edged soft Middle flexibility etc. or am I giving away the SECRETS. But I did not see any twisting to give the dragons breath patterns. ??!
"Ulf" certinly means "wolf", but "berht" doesn't mean "Bear" but "bright". It is a commonly used word in Germanic names (Albert, Adalbert, Albrecht, Norbert, Engelbert, Robert, Rupert, Ruprecht, Bertram, Bertrand, Berthold, Berchtold, Bertel, etc.)
I remember when this first aired... actually in 720p and hd... now it's a joke to watch in this lazy 360 upload... and shortened... excellent work on destroying a brilliant documentary.
@leung Yep modern druidary is an invention. While we have poems in which to draw inspiration from ~ however it is still practiced with "pure heart and intent". To honour the seasons, to honour all life as sacred. Druids where the peacekeepers, philosophers and community elders of the Celtic people. So we try and be that now. Druids treat all life as sacred “do no harm”. Ross Nickles and Gerald Gardener used to meet up not far from me in a nudist commune in Highcliffe. So before the war, Ross Nickles created OBOD and Gerald Gardner created Wicca. OBOD has the biggest worldwide community, with a training available to develop. Wiccans/Wicca is modern and not many know that going sky clad was Geralds idea (because of his nudist preferences). In the craft you don’t do that. Not to say theres anything wrong with it, theres something valuable about being open, vulnerable and sexual with others. In the New Forest, Burley... theres was a famous witch called Cybel Leek who was known for curing local people with herbs, and being nice to animals. She had a direct linage to "the Craft".. this is the original craft thats NEVER been broken. [[[Some things to consider: Society needs scapegoats so that it (the people) can feel Pure. We use the words “satan, devil, lucifer” as scapegoats and so over time they have become thought forms, or powerful symbols that have power over people. Satan was “Saahtan” and its original meaning is “Adversary”. So if someone is being an adversary they are being your satan in that moment. A Dev-EL = this image of pointy horned god was created to stop pagans in Europe going off and enjoying themselves in the woods, honouring nature and shaggingg. Stop honouring the horned god and goddess of nature with all its sexual lustyness you heathens. Stop being so sexual ~ WHY? because sexual orgasm has the potential to bring people into direct experience of the unity - oneness - of the god within! The witnesser Lucifer = actually means “bringer of light” or “Sun of the morning” and is the function of en-light-en-ment. It is the sun of the morning (Venus/Star of Bethlihem). Jesus was also known as the sun of the morning too. So when you look at your dark nature in order to heal your past hurts and become a better persons - that’s the energy you are using. The energy of enlightenment is “Lucifer the bringer of light in the darkness, heals all wounds, loves all” is Venus personified. … needless to say, people have basterdised all these original meanings and they’ve turned into “ooOOooo” its spooky, horrid and don’t ever go there lol. Just because societies have occult (hidden) knowledge doesn’t make them evil. Its just a group people with its own secrets. In every group, I do acknowledge theres the potential for evil doers but conversely theres also the potential for good as well. So balanced view on this is needed. There is nothing in the darkness - other than ourselves - and what we are capable of. Know thy self]]] Theres also a version of the craft coming from the Rominey side. The reason the new forest has wild horses and horse riding is because the gypses - gypisums - egyptians - silk road traders set up in the new forest and had horse markets. And so now we have "Horse Law" and their version of "The Craft". The original craft is like spells in the form of poems, herbs, poppets, and nails in boots that kind of thing. Cyble Leek used to be visited by Crawley when he was still ok and had not gone down the Hedonistic “don’t give a shit about people” route. Crawley invented his own form of the craft called Thelema (which has nothing wrong with it, but not my cup of tea). It is still about harm non. Crawleys teachings however are riddled with traps and dead ends. He was a very intelligent trickster you see. At the end of the day, all of these paths - lead you to realise you don’t need priests to talk to god for you, nor do you need to have faith in them and hope that they are not lying to you. If you can stand in a forest or by the beach and have a sense that you are connected to it ALL in some deep down way. When you are willing to take responsibility for all the things you say and do. At that point you don’t need a projection or scape goat to lay all your owes on. You can then “Do as thy will - but harm non” [Do as you like in this life - so long as you don’t harm anyone or anything ~ and just enjoy it] Some thoughts to consider. All the best
@DiyEcoProjects We hardly know anything about the Druids anyway. Modern Druidism is largely an invention of British Romanticist, based on little to no evidence and a lot of vivid imagination.. ;-)
@leung oOO! Cheers Leung, thanks very much for our explaination. Hmm interesting. We also have (self proclaimed) Arch-druids. I say theres no such thing as an arch druid because the word Arch" is greek meaning "Ar-cos" greatness. So whats a greek word doing anywhere near celtic stuff I have been working with egyptian words if your interested, on a private level
Highly unlikely. The swords date back to the 9th - 11th century and were most likely manufactured in East Francia. The name was not only pretty common there at the time, its etymology is also pretty clear. It's a typical Germanic composite name consisting of "ulf" (meaning "wolf") and "berht" (meaning "bright"), two of the most commonly used words in Germanic name-giving tradition (i. e. Ulfhard, Wolfhart, Wolfgang, Adolf, Rudolph, Lütolf, Beowulf etc. as well as Robert, Rupert, Ruprecht, Bertram, Bertrand, Berthold, Engelbert, Albert, Albrecht, etc.). King Arthur otoh supposedly was a 5th/6th century Brittonic (or rogue Roman) leader, who fought against Germanic tribes like the Jutes, the Saxons and the Angles. In this era the Britons were an exclusively Celtic People who spoke either Common Brittonic (i. e. Celtic) or Latin, not Germanic. The current consensus is that the name "Arthur" is derived from Latin "Artorius", while a minority of scholars presume it is of Celtic origin.
Can we please stop for a moment and admire the blacksmith. years of training years of dedication to his craft to be able to do this and unlock secrets lost to history. This man is truly a master of his craft
He's a hilarious entertainer as well. I know Ric personally.
Very true he is worthy of a Japanese sword master
Yes I admire him 😌 this is my fifth time watching this documentary it's truly amazing
Ric is the man. I made a skeggox with him over a weekend in 2013 and would enjoy returning to create another piece. 7:35 Ric shows his passion for this art. And 17:25 "To be able to make a weapon from dirt is a pretty powerful thing."
I did the "Knife from dirt" class over a weekend last November and my local blacksmith club just hosted him for the third time to our winter conference - the man's a brilliant blacksmith and metallurgist...and a hilarious entertainer!
This was stunning, the craft and power in the process is more than impressive. Plus the flaming quench was really cool!
The book deep work brought me here, i was really interested in the story and to see it for myself was almost how i imagined it, really breathtaking how the sword was englufed in flames as it was pulled out
Wow wow me to. Am reading it and it pointed out Ric a blacksmith who did it at his best.
So I decided to first pause the book and check for the video
46:58 was the best part. The fact that the steel was still soo hot that after going into the oil it reignited after emerging. I'm sorry but pulling out a flaming sword is just badass any which way u wanna cut it.
@Bob Moor Hardening, quenching, tempering.
We know those techniques today. And I know the same expert starring in this documentary says you can tell by the crystalline structure whether it was hardened or not in a video of scholagladiatora.
But here they just say "we don't know whether it was hardened or quenched".
@Faramund if what's "done in reality though" (honest question)
In fact one of many kennings Snorri lists for swords is 'brand'. Who knows, perhaps it is from this. Also there is the kenning herðir, 'hardened'.
They say they don't know whether it was done in reality though, however I'm thinking, you should be able to see the crystalline structure through a microscope...
In Norse mythology, the fire giant Surtr has a flaming sword and he will burn the entire universe with it at the climax of Ragnarok.
tru
Amazing video! very cool sword that Richard made. If I messed up while making the sword, I would rage quit being a blacksmith!
Vking 🗡️
I want an Ulfbert too! However, considering the skill, art and talent it takes to make one, an Ulfbert is priceless.
Nova is one of the best documentary system television show out there period
Very interesting. I wanted to see the completely finished sword though!
I don’t know why this is so fascinating, but it is.
Thanks for the outstanding video, it’s the best I have seen so far 👍
The sword was the most prized, but least common. Swords were expensive and required a lot of steel. Axes were cheaper, easier and faster to make and used less steel.
7:55 "The ONLY man on the planet with the skill and knowledge to unravel this mysterious blade"
"First I'mana draw a pitcher of it on the paper"
Awesome video I have learned so much more about sword making.
I was a little upset they didn't finish polishing and sharpening of the sword. I wanted to see that thing in action.
To Faramund (commenter below): Thank you for injecting some sound name information! Some further thoughts: Look into Radhanite traders (maybe based near Baghdad but trading via networks from China to Spain, and favored by Carolingian rulers such as Louis the Pious) as possible transporters of the early Iranian-created steel, an ingot of which a skilled German swordsmith might have acquired, studied, and then began producing locally for the empire (early 9th cent.?). Then, look at potential monasteries for the Ulfberhts' production (Fulda and Lorsch have been suggested) during the later Carolingian era and into the post-Carolingian period (to c.1000+ CE). The individual histories of these monasteries might offer a clue about reasons for the beginning and end dates for Ulfberht production. Finally, I have heard that tests are being developed (still in process as of Jan. 2023?) to identify the origin of the iron used in the real Ulfberhts, based upon trace inclusions of other elements. That will be very helpful.
Man, I know at least one Ulfbehrt sword was made out of wootz, but from what I hear, that's the exception rather than the rule, and since crucible steel was already old news around India and Persia, you can't say it was 1000 years in advand of its times...
Huge respect to Rick!
Beautiful!
I want an Ulfberht.
I would actually like to buy a few pounds of wootz steel that Richard makes and use that to make a sword or tools.
The +ULFBERH+T is most likely one of the first branded items. The crosses, are to signify the four cardinal points, not a christian symbol.It is the model T of the ULFBERH blacksmith .
I want one!
I held an Ulfberht sword once, at a blade smith’s gathering.
Ulf in old gemarn is "wolf" and bert is "bright" I know in the sagas it talks of "wolf's" fangs glistening "bright" with blood yes there is a cross but we know in almost all subjugated "pagans" hide seemingly Christian phases and symbols to hide their true pagan meaning I just wonder if there is a correlation
@Faramund Thank you for injecting some sound information! Some further thoughts: Look into Radhanite traders (maybe based near Baghdad but trading via networks from China to Spain, and favored by Carolingian rulers such as Louis the Pious) as possible transporters of the early Iranian-created steel, an ingot of which a skilled German swordsmith might have acquired, studied, and then began producing locally for the empire (early 9th cent.?). Then, look at potential monasteries for the Ulfberhts' production (Fulda and Lorsch have been suggested) during the later Carolingian era and into the post-Carolingian period (to c.1000+ CE). The individual histories of these monasteries might offer a clue about reasons for the beginning and end dates for Ulfberht production. Finally, I have heard that tests are being developed (still in process as of Jan. 2023?) to identify the origin of the iron used in the real Ulfberhts, based upon trace inclusions of other elements. That will be very helpful.
I agree it has far more pagan ideology then Christian by far, even the name of the sword suggest pagan. So we get to where they learned it from and again I do believe we agree middle eastern influence that it's self can explain the cross pagans understand the power of symbols it could just be a pagan who hedged his bets for the afterlife and it continued through the cult without understanding it's true meaning
@josh langston I don't think you read all of what I wrote given your reaction.
But I would like to add that Snorri in his Edda lists A TON of kennings for swords. One of them is 'Vinnbjartur' which is Windbright.
Which would suggest that Ulfberht simply means Wolfsword. The wolf in this case may well be Wen (Oðinn), given other kennings for swords like Oðinns Eldar, Wens fire.
There's also more kennings like it, even werewolf is one. Also 'miðfáinn', mid-decorated (that's right, much like the wulfberht sword). 'Skjómi', glinter. Málvitnir, symbol wolf. Vitnir, wolf. Ljómi, light. Herbrái, host-shining.
So in fact Wolf and Bright could BOTH be seen as kennings for sword, combining them into one name, it becomes the ultimate sword name!
Also this would make names like Robert, famous blade. Adelbert, noble blade. Bertrand, blade edge.
I always thought berht was a kenning for blade, an old theory of mine. But I was put down by a linguist who said it wasnt in Snorris list while it CLEARLY iS! But I only found that out thanks to you! Made me dive deeper into it!
Oh and Damascus steel refers to the area, technic, and hardness of the steel for comparison think rolles Royce (d steel) and Mercedes Benz (u steel) they were both pretty high quality just with different techniques and materials but yes their had to be some middle eastern influence but again I think that would be a Varangian guard would returned home and copied what he saw with the material he had at home and it fits with in with a cult culture a strong warrior returning home and starting his own clan bring back magics from far off lands five generations pass by and the original warrior has been turn into myth and the knowledge turns to legend and eventually they disappear just for us to find them and ask how the hell did they do this and why lol.
If it was a name of a person I think we would see multiple names being that these swords were hundreds of years old, most names and name sakes are three generations old, grandfather, father, son. These swords start appearing few hundred years after the fall of Rome and last right up into the middle of the viking age, if it was a Christian craftsmen why where they in the hands of pagans especially back then that was a huge no no. There are quite a few conundrums about these swords most likely I think it has to do with infusing the spirit of the animal into the steel, the cross may just be a T with a penis off the top of it to represent prowess.
could iron have come from the Cape York meteorite? has been shown the norse in greenland did use it for some metal items
@leungEuropeans inc Celts and Norse were over that way, covering the time frame involved. if people could get there, some resources could,and probably did flow back to Europe. Compared to say fish, I would have thought iron would be deemed a more profitable export. Manufactured and finished goods usually more profitable, but that would take fuel... charcoal... from trees.... and Greenland doesn't have many.
I'm not trying to provide an exclusive answer as to source. likely many many trade routes, any one or a mix could have provided until more research is done and is accepted As you say "little archaeometallurgic research that has been done has not been peer-reviewed yet"..
@steve cummins The Celts had nothing to do with the Ulfberht swords either, let alone the Inuit, as those swords were not manufactured anywhere near Iceland, but in Middle Europe, i. e. East Francia. Some experts in the field - like Alan Williams or Anna Stalsberg - hypothesize that the steel, which shows remarkable similarities to Wootz steel from Asia. It's not unreasonable to assume it was imported from there, either by Viking tradesmen via the Volga trade route or by Frankish tradesmen via the Moors in Spain, who traded extensively with the Abassid Empire. But the evidence for this Hypothesis is still very scarce and the little archaeometallurgic research that has been done has not been peer-reviewed yet. Other experts like Alfred Geibig and Robert Lehmann have not ruled out the local origin of high carbon steel at the time, so it's possible the iron ore for the Ulfberht swords comes from deposits in Germany. Lehmann apparently has done some pretty high level archaeometallurgic research on an Ulfberht Sword found in the Weser river in Gossenweiden in Lower Saxony, but the research has unfortunately not been published yet.
@leung I'm also aware there is supposed to be a long worked out deposit of "native" iron in germany somewhere. Efiel region? . Some kind of volcanic eruption or ignious intrusion into a coal seam, which kept the iron from oxiding.
@leung norse were somewhat aware of the iron there. Prior to norse the Inuit were aware of it, and ultising it. There were celtic peoples in Iceland before the norse... I'm not sure how far back such went... Could they to have gotten to Greenland?
Regardless . If there iron in greenland known to be super high quality... It could easily become a resource traded long distance.
The Ulfberht swords have not been manufactured by the norse.
Wait wasn’t it an Anglo-Saxon sword only carried by extremely wealthy or noble warriors? Yeah the Vikings took more than half of England, but King Alfred got half of it back through a peace treaty and continued to rule this new united country. It was in this United county that this sword was made, not in Scandinavia or by the Vikings in the north. Just look at the sword, it looks nothing like Viking weapons.
Nope. According to the current scientific consensus the Ulfberht swords were neither manufactured in Viking-Era Scandinavia nor in Anglo-Saxon era England, but somewhere in East Francia in the lower Rhineland region by the Franks, i. e. Germany. But just like the Scandinavians, the Anglo-Saxons definitely have imported Ulfberht swords, since a few of them have been found on the British Isles. The Ulfberht swords are dated between the 9th and 11th century, so they are by definition Viking-Era swords. They on average have a slightly longer blade (~90 cm) than Viking-Era swords from Scandinavia (70 - 90 cm), but the length of the hilt and its general construction is practically identical, because all Viking-era swords are based on the classic Roman Spatha design. They come with various pommel shapes that are also found on other Viking-era swords all over Europe, including the ones from Scandinavia, so they very much DO look like "Viking weapons".
I want one built for me for my burial
Epic Voice Narrator: "John Clements is an expert swordsman"
John Clements: * holds katana incorrectly*
Brilliant comment.
der selbsternannte schwertmeister😀
Yeah, let's stab with the spatha, and ignore the OTHER roman sword known almost exclusively for thrusting...
GREAT...only 5 years old, but here is one of the Great OLD NOVA Films....before PBS/NOVA were bought off by the Climate Choas maniacs! Thanks for this one Barry Rima!
XD Iranian steel, Catholic manufacture, Viking use. This sword is the iPhone of it's era :P
39:40 why don't they just make swords out of what ever his chisel is made from? Look how easy it cuts into his sword.
Chisels for metalworking are very hard, but brittle. They would snap if used like a sword.
The steel isn't hardened, so it can be carved by the chisels.
Odds are that the chisels are made of steel that is suitable for swords, but those are made with modern steels that are known.
Making the Ulfberht steel from dirt to sword is the greater challenge.
He used a piece of glass
What about Baltic amber ?
When it comes to creating and manufacturing, keep this in mind--The story is that Europeans got Algebra from the Arabs, all this special tech metallurgy gunpowder etc from the Asians yet, the scientific Revolution started and exploded in Europe...them old barbarians did pretty good for themselves. This subject is called “The Neeham question”.
We know the Vikings raided monasteries. Would make sense that Vikings got those swords from such raids.
Oh, it just stopped? We didn't get to see the finished sword.
Cool video but loads of misinformation the steel was not superior to later swords they were definitely extremely valued at the time but crucible steel had already been around for a while in the east and even some older European pattern welded swords had steel edges
@Jona Jo that's what I'm saying the complexity of pattern welded swords of this era far exceeds Japanese swords and even wootz as you mentioned was considered brittle in the northern climates
@Alban Fisher I feel like I should mention that the katana isn't technologically advanced, but perceived so due to Japanese swordsmithing traditions essentially being known for maintaining the process of pre-industrial swordsmithing when compared to other regions.
What I'm saying here, is that everything Japan did would've been very similar to what was being done globally. Especially when we talk about stuff like folding, and forming a blade with an iron core. It's a lot more common than you think, and definitely something you'd see often in late medieval Europe.
@Epic Phantom why so that I can hear the b.s that much louder? 😆 🤣
@Jona Jo I've heard the same thing reading about pattern welded swords in anglo saxon England the complexity of the patterns and the steels used are truly fascinating I would argue that the pattern welded sword was and still is the most technologicaly advanced sword next to even a katana the skill required surpasses what any people consider to be the king of sword
Should rewatch the documentary with listening device next time.
What happened to 9 bars of soft Iron twisted into 3 bars then 2bars of hard tool steel welded into the whole sword hard edged soft Middle flexibility etc. or am I giving away the SECRETS. But I did not see any twisting to give the dragons breath patterns. ??!
I think as a Norwegian. It means wolfbear
"Ulf" certinly means "wolf", but "berht" doesn't mean "Bear" but "bright". It is a commonly used word in Germanic names (Albert, Adalbert, Albrecht, Norbert, Engelbert, Robert, Rupert, Ruprecht, Bertram, Bertrand, Berthold, Berchtold, Bertel, etc.)
Not all of the uthberts would have had engraving
Here because of deep work. :)
Same hahaha
Going to Ric's shop tomorrow!
They made em out of salvaged ufo parts .
This is true. The steel of Scandinavia can he traced back to Asgard....
just got one of these badboys on a discount for bringing some good weed to a fellow sword nerd.
anyone come from the book deepwork?😃
Me
Anyone is here after deep work ( cal newport) then hit like button
sweden isnt famous about its iron and finns dont do tar & charcoal :)
Ulfberth....elf beard
Ummm Ulfberht ? Shouldn't it be in runic lettering ? Just asking for my cat.
I remember when this first aired... actually in 720p and hd... now it's a joke to watch in this lazy 360 upload... and shortened... excellent work on destroying a brilliant documentary.
PBS Nova used to put out some good stuff...just about everything on the TV today is shite🤮
Such complexity for a simple tool that is for just shoving it into some poor sod's belly.
*Ufbert - Ulther - Arthur ???*
@leung Yep modern druidary is an invention. While we have poems in which to draw inspiration from ~ however it is still practiced with "pure heart and intent". To honour the seasons, to honour all life as sacred. Druids where the peacekeepers, philosophers and community elders of the Celtic people. So we try and be that now. Druids treat all life as sacred “do no harm”.
Ross Nickles and Gerald Gardener used to meet up not far from me in a nudist commune in Highcliffe. So before the war, Ross Nickles created OBOD and Gerald Gardner created Wicca. OBOD has the biggest worldwide community, with a training available to develop. Wiccans/Wicca is modern and not many know that going sky clad was Geralds idea (because of his nudist preferences). In the craft you don’t do that. Not to say theres anything wrong with it, theres something valuable about being open, vulnerable and sexual with others.
In the New Forest, Burley... theres was a famous witch called Cybel Leek who was known for curing local people with herbs, and being nice to animals. She had a direct linage to "the Craft".. this is the original craft thats NEVER been broken.
[[[Some things to consider: Society needs scapegoats so that it (the people) can feel Pure. We use the words “satan, devil, lucifer” as scapegoats and so over time they have become thought forms, or powerful symbols that have power over people.
Satan was “Saahtan” and its original meaning is “Adversary”. So if someone is being an adversary they are being your satan in that moment.
A Dev-EL = this image of pointy horned god was created to stop pagans in Europe going off and enjoying themselves in the woods, honouring nature and shaggingg. Stop honouring the horned god and goddess of nature with all its sexual lustyness you heathens. Stop being so sexual ~ WHY? because sexual orgasm has the potential to bring people into direct experience of the unity - oneness - of the god within! The witnesser
Lucifer = actually means “bringer of light” or “Sun of the morning” and is the function of en-light-en-ment. It is the sun of the morning (Venus/Star of Bethlihem). Jesus was also known as the sun of the morning too. So when you look at your dark nature in order to heal your past hurts and become a better persons - that’s the energy you are using. The energy of enlightenment is “Lucifer the bringer of light in the darkness, heals all wounds, loves all” is Venus personified.
… needless to say, people have basterdised all these original meanings and they’ve turned into “ooOOooo” its spooky, horrid and don’t ever go there lol. Just because societies have occult (hidden) knowledge doesn’t make them evil. Its just a group people with its own secrets. In every group, I do acknowledge theres the potential for evil doers but conversely theres also the potential for good as well. So balanced view on this is needed. There is nothing in the darkness - other than ourselves - and what we are capable of. Know thy self]]]
Theres also a version of the craft coming from the Rominey side. The reason the new forest has wild horses and horse riding is because the gypses - gypisums - egyptians - silk road traders set up in the new forest and had horse markets. And so now we have "Horse Law" and their version of "The Craft".
The original craft is like spells in the form of poems, herbs, poppets, and nails in boots that kind of thing. Cyble Leek used to be visited by Crawley when he was still ok and had not gone down the Hedonistic “don’t give a shit about people” route. Crawley invented his own form of the craft called Thelema (which has nothing wrong with it, but not my cup of tea). It is still about harm non. Crawleys teachings however are riddled with traps and dead ends. He was a very intelligent trickster you see.
At the end of the day, all of these paths - lead you to realise you don’t need priests to talk to god for you, nor do you need to have faith in them and hope that they are not lying to you.
If you can stand in a forest or by the beach and have a sense that you are connected to it ALL in some deep down way. When you are willing to take responsibility for all the things you say and do. At that point you don’t need a projection or scape goat to lay all your owes on. You can then “Do as thy will - but harm non” [Do as you like in this life - so long as you don’t harm anyone or anything ~ and just enjoy it]
Some thoughts to consider. All the best
@DiyEcoProjects We hardly know anything about the Druids anyway. Modern Druidism is largely an invention of British Romanticist, based on little to no evidence and a lot of vivid imagination.. ;-)
@leung oOO! Cheers Leung, thanks very much for our explaination. Hmm interesting.
We also have (self proclaimed) Arch-druids. I say theres no such thing as an arch druid because the word Arch" is greek meaning "Ar-cos" greatness. So whats a greek word doing anywhere near celtic stuff
I have been working with egyptian words if your interested, on a private level
Highly unlikely. The swords date back to the 9th - 11th century and were most likely manufactured in East Francia. The name was not only pretty common there at the time, its etymology is also pretty clear. It's a typical Germanic composite name consisting of "ulf" (meaning "wolf") and "berht" (meaning "bright"), two of the most commonly used words in Germanic name-giving tradition (i. e. Ulfhard, Wolfhart, Wolfgang, Adolf, Rudolph, Lütolf, Beowulf etc. as well as Robert, Rupert, Ruprecht, Bertram, Bertrand, Berthold, Engelbert, Albert, Albrecht, etc.). King Arthur otoh supposedly was a 5th/6th century Brittonic (or rogue Roman) leader, who fought against Germanic tribes like the Jutes, the Saxons and the Angles. In this era the Britons were an exclusively Celtic People who spoke either Common Brittonic (i. e. Celtic) or Latin, not Germanic. The current consensus is that the name "Arthur" is derived from Latin "Artorius", while a minority of scholars presume it is of Celtic origin.
This is so historically inaccurate
Very interesting but I need the dueling men to have eye protection. Cringing...
Need to STOP with the "barbarian". Northern Europeans were NOT "barbarian".
28:37 SUS
Major dorkage incoming
+RICBERH+T