Ulfberht

Ulfberht is a name given to unique Viking swords used throughout Scandinavia more than a thousand years ago. The standard of their unique, high-quality steel remained unparalleled until the Industrial Revolution. Alan Williams, an archaeometallurgist and consultant to the Wallace Collection, claimed that the Ulfberht was "the greatest sword ever made", surpassing weapons such as the katana and longsword. 171 such swords have been found so far, but only a few of these have been proven to be authentic Ulfberht swords. The earliest date from 850.

Creation
Little information is available about the fabrication of these swords. However, modern tests have revealed that genuine Ulfberht swords were forged from steel sourced from Afghanistan and Iran. While most medieval weapons were made of soft iron with a low level of carbon, the steel used to fabricate an Ulfberht had a much higher level of carbon and less slag. This made the weapon more flexible and reliable, as well as easier to remove from enemy shields. Some Ulfberht swords bear the quality of modern steel rather than medieval steel. It is theorized that this technology was first acquired by Vikings who travelled to Central Asia, and then improved upon. Using a speculated method, modern-day blacksmith Richard Furrer successfully made a replica of an Ulfberht.

Usage
The Ulfberht was probably a very rare weapon only carried by elite warriors and chieftains, giving its user a great advantage over common weapons of the Viking age made of lower quality steel. Although of a similar size and shape, the Ulfberht was far more durable than a common Viking sword and penetrated armor more easily. The only physical difference that can be seen with the eye is the inscription "+ULFBERH+T" close to the hilt. The purity of the steel is not evident to the naked eye. Its primary purpose was to break through an enemy's shield and chain mail armor; an Ulfberht's blade was very flexible compared to other weapons of the time and would not easily get stuck after penetrating wood or steel, giving the wielder a chance to move on quickly after cutting down a foe.

The name
This type of sword is known by the Frankish word "Ulfberht" because of the inlaid inscription on the lower part of the blade, spelling "+ULFBERH+T" or +ULFBERHT+ (that was used in swords made from lower-quality steel) in Latin letters. The name itself is shrouded in mystery and there is no record as to who or what "Ulfberht" referred — the most common hypothesis is that it was the name of a swordsmith who passed the craft onto apprentices or family members. It was possibly the name of a group of craftsmen. However, Ulfberht seems to have been a known "brand" and swords with different lettering (such as +ULFBERHT+) exist as inferior copies, being crafted of normal medieval steel. A real Ulfberht brand had +ULFBERH+T lettering.