River Witham sword explained

There are two notable swords known recovered from the River Witham, both kept in the British Museum.

The River Witham "Viking sword" (actually a blade of German/Ottonian manufacture, with hilt fittings added by an Anglo-Saxon craftsman), also known as the "Lincoln sword",^[1] British Museum 1848,10-21,1 is dated to the 10th century. It is classified as a Petersen type L variant (Evison's "Wallingford Bridge" type). It was found in the River Witham opposite Monks Abbey, Lincoln. The guard is inlaid with silver and copper alloy, in a series of lozenges, each lozenge of copper surrounded by a bronze border and hammered on to a cross-hatched, prepared field. The sword is remarkable for being one of only two known bearing the blade inscription Leutfrit (+ LEUTLRIT), the other being a find from Tatarstan (at the time Volga Bulgaria, now kept in the Historical Museum of Kazan). On the reverse side, the blade is inlaid with a double scroll pattern. The sword weighs 1.214kg (02.676lb), at a total length of 91.5cm (36inches).^[2] Peirce (1990) makes special mention of this sword as "breath-taking", "one of the most splendid Viking swords extant".^[3]

The River Witham knightly sword, was found in 1825 in the River Witham near Lincoln.^{[4] [5]} is dated to the later 13th century. It is likely of German origin^[6] The blade bears an inlaid inscription reading +NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI+^[7] The weapon's length is^[8] 960mm964mm ^[9] in length. The hilt of the weapon measures 165mm.^[10] The blade itself is 815mm in length.^[11]

See also

• Medieval sword
• Witham Shield

Notes and References

1. Book: White, Andrew . 1979 . https://www.lincolnmuseum.com/assets/downloads/IS_arch_13_antiquities_from_the_witham_anglo_saxon_and_viking.pdf . Antiquities from the River Witham: Part 2 Anglo-Saxon and Viking . Lincolnshire Museums Information Sheet . Archaeology Series . 13 . Lincolnshire Museums.
2. https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=65088&partId=1 Britisn Museum 1848,1021.1
3. Peirce, Ian (1990), "The Development of the Medieval Sword c.850–1300", in Christopher Harper-Bill, Ruth Harvey (eds.), The Ideals and Practice of Medieval Knighthood III: Papers from the Fourth Strawberry Hill Conference, 1988, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, pp. 139–158 (p. 144).
4. Web site: Medieval Sword Carries Mysterious Inscription . Palmero . Elizabeth . 12 August 2015. news.yahoo.com . Yahoo News . 13 August 2015 . The 13th-century weapon was found in the River Witham in Lincolnshire, in the United Kingdom, in 1825..
5. Web site: Double-edged sword . www.bl.uk . The British Library . 13 August 2015 . This example was found in the river Witham, Lincolnshire, in July 1825, and was presented to the Royal Archaeological Institute by the registrar to the Bishop of Lincoln. .
6. Web site: 13 August 2015 . Double-edged sword . The British Museum . It is likely that the blade was manufactured in Germany, which was the centre of blade manufacture in Europe at this time. . britishmuseum.org/.
7. Web site: British Library asks for help deciphering a medieval sword . Starr . Michelle . 9 August 2015 . www.cnet.com . CNet . 13 August 2015 . On one side, it also bears an inscription:+NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI+.
8. Web site: Double-edged sword . www.britishmuseum.org . The British Museum . 13 August 2015 . Overall length: 960 mm.
9. Web site: Double-edged sword . www.bl.uk . The British Library . 13 August 2015 . 165 mm (6½ in.) across the hilt, it has a double-edged blade and.
10. Web site: Double-edged sword . www.bl.uk . The British Library . 13 August 2015 . Weighing 1.2 kg (2 lb 10 oz), and measuring 964 mm (38 in.) in length and 165 mm (6.5 in.) across the hilt, it has a double-edged blade and, if struck with sufficient force, could have sliced a man’s head in two....
11. Web site: Double-edged sword . www.britishmuseum.org . The British Museum . 13 August 2015 . Blade length: 815 mm.