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miekka

physical description: Sword KM 17777:1 from Hattula (formerly Tyrväntö) contains the combinations NIOIN+ and +NMIN+ on opposite sides of the blade. Both of them may refer to an IN NOMINE DOMINI –inscription. The inlays were made with either straight pattern-melding or plain steel. The combination NIOIN appears on a blade with non-ferrous inlays from Rheinsberg, Germany dating from the 13th century.

Another unique find is a sword with a hilt cast in hollow bronze (KM 17777:1 from Hattula). The lower guard resembles Petersen’s type Æ,1271 and Jouko Räty calls this type the bronze-hilted and rune-stone –styled type, categorizing it as his own type II.1272 In the present study, it is called the ‘bronze-hilt’ type since there are no other bronze-hilted swords among the analysed finds. Type Æ has no proper pommel, but only two guards curving acutely away from the grip, oval when viewed from the top, and widening towards their ends in profile. The lower guard has a small peak on its lower face, pointing towards the blade tip, as in some Petersen’s type Z hilts. Petersen’s type Æ is dated to between 950 and 1000 AD,1273 while other scholars place it more likely between 1000 and 1100 AD.1274 Petersen knew of hilts of this type only from Norway and Sweden, and he thought the type was of Norwegian origin.1275 According to the possible parallels, the place of origin may also be in the southern parts of Scandinavia.1276 The sword in question has a different, more like lenticular pommel and also a hollow bronze grip.

The ornaments of the hilt of KM 17777:1 were first carved in the wax models of the hilt’s parts and were then made by casting, creating a relief (Fig. 113). All the motifs are composed of one or two symmetrical snake-like beasts, and are very similar on the opposite sides of the hilt. The variations in the dimensions on the opposite sides of the hilt were most likely due to the decorations being carved by hand into the models, each side separately. In addition to the pommel and the lower guard, smaller animal motifs are also to be found on the hollow grip.

A complete sword in fair condition. Weight: 922 g. Balance point: 140 mm. On one side the fuller bears the inscription +NIOIN+, and the reverse side is inscribed +NMIN+. The material of the inlays seems to be nontwisted pattern-welded rod, or steel with longitudinal slag inclusions or a corroded structure. The material of the inlays seems to be of higher carbon content than the blade. The inlays were defined by surface examination and radiographs nos. 948 and 950.
The parts of the hilt are hollow cast bronze, resembling Petersen’s type Æ.
The sword is a stray find from an inhumation cemetery, and belongs to the same collection number as finds excavated by O. Keskitalo in 1968 (KM17777:2–9), possibly from a different grave.

Literature: Keskitalo 1969; Kivikoski 1973: 143, Tafel 132:1171;
Lehtosalo-Hilander 1983: 295; Lehtosalo-Hilander 1984: 403; Moilanen
2010b: 55; Räty 1983: 94–102, 109, 156, 177–178, 279–280; Taavitsainen
1990: 91.

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