This is great. The sword was a prestige weapon, useless for anything but killing men, so most guys were satisfied with an axe (which is easier to fight with anyway). So the owner was probably a man who either a) had served as a professional soldier abroad, or b) was very rich and could afford to show off. We might have a saga character here, if we could only identify him.
Indeed, the fact of the sword's relative rarity and prestige makes it strange that it wasn't recovered. Are there any saga characters you can recall who went out thus armed, and vanished never to be found again? A case of murder (where the body was hidden, and the sword not kept because it would have been recognized)?
Fair enough. Let's keep our eyes out for such a character. It may well be framed as a disappearance, not a murder: since the weapon was never found, perhaps the body never was either.
(Indeed, it would be worth looking around that location to see if a body could be found -- but I don't have the resources for an expedition to Iceland.)
Grim, my parents are going there next week. I'll see if they will keep their eyes open. (Not that they'll be too far off the beaten track, but with my parents, well, one never knows.) :)
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Yeah, I've got nothing to add. You win the internet today.
This is great. The sword was a prestige weapon, useless for anything but killing men, so most guys were satisfied with an axe (which is easier to fight with anyway). So the owner was probably a man who either a) had served as a professional soldier abroad, or b) was very rich and could afford to show off. We might have a saga character here, if we could only identify him.
Indeed, the fact of the sword's relative rarity and prestige makes it strange that it wasn't recovered. Are there any saga characters you can recall who went out thus armed, and vanished never to be found again? A case of murder (where the body was hidden, and the sword not kept because it would have been recognized)?
Nobody comes to mind. But my fingertip knowledge of the sagas is limited.
Fair enough. Let's keep our eyes out for such a character. It may well be framed as a disappearance, not a murder: since the weapon was never found, perhaps the body never was either.
(Indeed, it would be worth looking around that location to see if a body could be found -- but I don't have the resources for an expedition to Iceland.)
Grim, my parents are going there next week. I'll see if they will keep their eyes open. (Not that they'll be too far off the beaten track, but with my parents, well, one never knows.) :)
LittleRed1
The Hall should launch an archeological expedition, history research trip, and goose hunt. I wonder if there's a visa category for that.
Begin the grant applications!
The finder has a Facebook page. He says he thinks the sword belonged to Ingólfr Arnarson.
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