9th-early 10th century AD. A rare single-edged Viking Sword of C type following the classification of the Petersen (1919, pp.66ff.), with a finely tapered blade, being in almost pristine condition for most of its length and showing wonderful pattern-welding according to the style of ninth or tenth century AD; the exquisite pattern-welding runs into a good solid cutting edge, although, like in the sword of Telemark, the cutting edge itself does not appear to be pattern-welded, but consists of bundles of thin longitudinal rods; a small copper alloy dragon is inlaid on the upper part of the blade, whose edges are almost parallel all the way to the point; towards the end of the blade are traces of corrosion, revealing the structure of the blade in a very remarkable way; the cross is boat like in shape, like the sword from Telemark, unusually delicate for a single-edged weapon, it is pierced by a broad, acute tapering tang; the pommel is forged in one piece, well-formed and decorated by two horizontal lines in copper alloy; the hilt is decorated with a continuous X-pattern, all around; excellent condition of the blade due to the glødeskall. See Petersen, J., De Norske Vikingsverd, Oslo, 1919; Bøe, J., ‘Norse Antiquities in Ireland’ in Bjorn A., Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland, part III, Oslo, 1940; Oakeshott. E, The Archaeology of Weapons, Arms and Armour from Prehistory to the Age of Chivalry, Woodbridge, 1960 (1999); The national museum of Ireland, Dublin 1000, Dublin, 1988; Peirce, I., Swords of the Viking Age, Suffolk, 2002. 1.1 kg, 1.01m (39 3/4"). From an important private family collection of arms and armour; acquired on the European art market in the 1980s, and thence by descent; believed originally from the Dnieper River; accompanied by an academic report by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This specimen belongs to the group of many single-edged weapons found in Viking graves. Very similar swords have been published by Petersen (1919, p.56, fig.51) and Peirce (2002, pp.39-40"). Some specimens came from the Kilmainham-Island Bridge area (Bøe, 1940, p.12; the National Museum of Ireland, 1988, p.12), others from Dublin, others two found in Danemark and preserved in the Copenhagen Museum (museum accessions C24550 and C24554, although with different hilt types"). A wonderful specimen, substantially identical to our sword, was excavated, together with other weapons and tools, in the North Arhus Farm, near Telemark, in Norway. These single-edged weapons were very common in the ninth and early tenth century alongside other types and they appear to have been much neglected by students of the Viking sword. The category was discussed by the scholars since the first publication from Petersen. Schetelig raised the possibility that these swords were still present at the beginning of the Viking Age, Petersen limited them to the early beginnings of the Viking Age, because they do appear together with weapons that earlier have been presumed to belong only to the actual Viking period, but that in his opinion began already in the 7th Period of the Iron Age. According to Petersen of the ten finds studied from him, especially coming from Vestlandet, eight belong to the 10th century, and only two belong to the second half of the 9th century. Petersen believed that the finds of single edged swords should be dated not on the base of the indicated time period for the double-edged swords, since that these swords could have been accidentally stored over a longer period, which was not likely due to the large number of swords. Excellent condition and very rare, especially in such good state of preservation. Most probably our specimen is from a grave or a settlement. The analysis of the single-edged swords is particularly important for the study of the weapons of the older Viking Age. The find-combinations that are created by them also have significance for the determination of the oldest weapons of the Viking Age. Single-edged swords also occurred during the Viking Age, but then they have guards, and similarly the blades partly differ. With regards to the hilt, it is evident that the single-edged swords have assumed this [characteristic] from the double-edged swords with guards, mainly of type B and C of Petersen classification. The main body of the blade was cunningly fullered, to reduce the blade weight and improve wield-ability, both in this sword as well as in the Telemark one. Peirce suggest this to be an almost standard feature of the single edged weapons. The pattern-welding was particularly exquisite in such weapons, and have proper names in the Viking technical language. According to Oakeshott (1960 (1999), p.151"). “The decoration is called Mal or Moel, but it was really used far more often in describing the blade of a sword—one of the things which baffled scholars a good deal before the identification of pattern-welding. There is frequent mention of the wave-sword (Vaegir in Old Norse and Waegsweord in Old English), but even more obscure seemed the descriptive terms for certain blade-patterns: Blood-eddy, for instance (Bloida), or Ann, which is an old Norse word for swathes of mown corn (the same word as the Middle High German Jan).… Of a more robust character are two other terms occurring in a poem as features or parts of a sword: Blodvarp and Idvarp. This could (and probably does) refer to a style of pattern-welding where the pattern is made up of long parallel stripes running lengthwise down the blade. Varp means a warp in weaving, and the long lines down the blade are likened to the warp of a web which is completed when the blade is imbrued with blood or vitals (Blod is blood, and Idr means intestines"). The pattern welding is of blodida configuration, similar, according to Peirce (commenting the sword of Telemark) to 'the swirling eddies at the bend of a small stream'.