The Ulfberht Swords (of which the above is an example found in Finland) were a series of swords of exceptional quality uncovered throughout Europe, especially Scandinavia. The swords are known by the distinctive script etched into the blade, which usually reads “+VLFBERH+T”. Most of the swords are found either as grave goods or either mistakenly discarded in rivers or swamps or discarded in such bodies of water as a votive offering.
The Ulfberht swords appear to have been produced in the lower Rhine area of what was then the Frankish Empire. Although the swords are excellent examples of swords during the Viking Age, again albeit of exceptional quality, that is only a fraction of the story of these swords. The swords are known to have been manufactured by what appears to have been a man or a distinctive workshop (hence the Ulfberht name) in the 9th century Frankish Empire.¹  These swords then found a way up to Scandinavia, either by way of trade, raid, or as ransom for captured persons, and were dispersed wherever the Norsemen went, even as far as the Volga trade routes. The dispersal of these swords throughout pagan Europe shows the extent of the trade networks that operated throughout Europe at this time, with swords forged in Germany being carried up to Sweden and then as far away as the Black Sea by the Volga and Dnieper trade routes. The swords also made their way, albeit in lower numbers and possibly either in pagan or Christian hands, throughout Christian Europe. The lower numbers of swords found in Christian Europe may, however, be a misnomer due to differences in Christian and Pagan burial practices.  It is perhaps ironic that the fine ironwork of the Franks probably came to be used against them when these swords were taken on raids into Frankish lands.²
The distinctive mark of these swords was also copied by swordsmiths producing inferior-quality metalwork – counterfeit Ulfberht swords, so to say. These swords show that not only goods but the reputation of a “brand-name” swordsmith was able to proliferate throughout Europe. Furthermore, the fact that blacksmiths were attempting to copy the work of a particular swordsmith, as well as the importance attached to these swords in the burial contexts they are so often found in, shows the status and cultural weight these swords had.

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