The swords in this pair were found separately. The first, unadorned sword was found in 1952 in a ditch, while the second was found five years later by a farmer.¹  The copper used to create the bronze could not have come from Denmark and as the swords are entirely bronze, making them would have required a good deal of imported copper. This means the swords come from a time when Scandinavians were trading outside of their homelands. In fact, the Bronze Age was when the Norse began the process of adapting to wider European contact.²  Later sources talking about the Norse would have insisted that such contact could not have existed, especially so early in the so-called barbarians’ history. The second sword also includes a simple carved picture of a ship, one of the earliest known examples from Denmark. The ship is one of the more common Bronze Age Danish images found on items, primarily carved stones.³  The swords are evidence long before the Viking Age, the Norse had contact with at least some of Europe and had an appreciation for art. These ideas strongly contrast with the picture of isolated barbarians that medieval texts describe for us.

The swords’ shape suggests that they served a ceremonial or decorative role instead of a practical one. The curved nature, decorative additions, and high quality all suggest that these were not simple tools made for fighting. The swords were most likely prestige items that allowed a rich Bronze Age family to display their wealth.⁴  That Bronze Age Scandinavian societies could contain intricacies such as weapons not made for warfare or the use of items solely as a display of wealth works against the traditional idea of the Norse as primitive, belligerent raiders. No doubt many medieval texts would have insisted The Rørby Swords could only have been used for violence against the people of Europe.