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I Forge Iron

Viking Smith's grave contents


Steve Sells

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Very cool Steve, thanks for sharing the link. I've read lots of theories about the ritual "killing" of swords and spear heads but sadly the Vikings and earlier iron age folks who did it didn't leave much information as to why. My favorite theory has always been that they viewed a dead person as "broken" in this world but believed they would be made whole and at their best in the afterlife so in order for the weapon to arrive whole and usable it had to be ritually "killed" to follow it's master. I like this reasoning but it begs the question, why the sword and not the tools. I'll probably never know but it's fun to ponder.

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Well that clinches it.  I will go ahead and have all my shop tools buried with me to insure I can repair and build anything I might need in the halls of Valhalla.  However, I suspect my punishment for a poorly lived life will probably be voltage incompatibility of all the power tools.

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However many "killed" weapons are not associated with burials but deposits in water.  Possibly as victory "gifts".  Wouldn't want your enemies to have good swords in the afterlife... I would hazard that it was done to make them less of a target for grave robbing.

Kozzy; voltage will be fine it's just the frequency that will be off...

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I thought there were references in articles about the Skaldic Sagas to weapons having warrior spirits and a warrior's own spirit being augmented by his/er weapons. The assumption in those papers were that captured or fallen weapons  were destroyed to prevent an enemy or opponent from inheriting the weapon's spirit. Another opinion in the papers, (articles?) was a folded sword in a grave indicated the weapon's spirit was trapped and laid to rest with it's master.

I figure it could just as easily be they didn't want well armed ghosts wandering around looking to get even.

Frosty The Lucky.

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On 2016-06-07 at 5:19 PM, Steve Sells said:

I thought we had a thread about this already but I can not  find it, if I do I will merge the threads

Maybe you are referring to the Mästermyr chest that was found in Sweden in the previous century.

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20 minutes ago, gote said:

Maybe you are referring to the Mästermyr chest that was found in Sweden in the previous century

There is a VERY INTERESTING Book (with pictures) on this, esp. interesting to me as I've visited Gotland Island a while back.  Also Interesting in the fact so many things look similar to today's tools. 

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The Norwegian tongs are just like the tongs in the "Sigurdristning" (Google it I am unable to post a picture.) That also shows a two horned anvil ona thousand years ago. The picture was commissioned by a viking age lady to commemorate a bridge she had let build  

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5 hours ago, gote said:

The Norwegian tongs are just like the tongs in the "Sigurdristning" (Google it I am unable to post a picture.) That also shows a two horned anvil ona thousand years ago. The picture was commissioned by a viking age lady to commemorate a bridge she had let build  

I copied and googled and no tongs came up. 8-(

I was surprised at how thick of a cross section the tongs were. I expected more delicate tongs as metal was expensive. guess he built them to last.

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I tried again to post a pic REFUSED. Google   "Sigurdsristningen i Eskilstuna" choose pictures.  The pic from pixgallery.com has the smithy in the middle. He has not burnt himself. He has got blood from Fafner on his thumb and when he sucks his thumb the blood gives him the gift to understand the birds that tell him that he must kill his host not to be assassinated by him.

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10 minutes ago, gote said:

I tried again to post a pic REFUSED. Google   "Sigurdsristningen i Eskilstuna" choose pictures.  The pic from pixgallery.com has the smithy in the middle. He has not burnt himself. He has got blood from Fafner on his thumb and when he sucks his thumb the blood gives him the gift to understand the birds that tell him that he must kill his host not to be assassinated by him.

wow, that sounds like a fantastic story. thank you for the pictures it worked this time. 

 

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It's an inscription on a stone, try image search. Next to the decapitated man you will see a set of belows, next to that an anvil (multi faceted much like some of the bronze era ones found) and the , next to what may be a partially nude woman is a set of tongs. This is at the bottom of the stone (tho it is clearer if you rotate it 90 degrees clockwise placing the inscription in the bottom. 

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