NORTHERN LIGHT - A Historical Background

When one talks of the Vikings (800-1050 AD), it is all too easy to be fascinated or repelled by their travels and pillaging raids over a large part of the world. The fact that Leif Eriksson discovered America 1000 AD is nowadays generally accepted in history books worldwide, but what many people do not know is that the Vikings were also farmers and skilled traders who traveled widely in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and North Africa.

The tales of their adventurous travels are forever carved into the rune stones erected to the memory of their daring chieftains, sailing into unknown and uncharted territory. The Vikings' intentions were not always peaceful, but were about power over trade and what today is called merchant shipping, something which was soon apparent in the lands where they raised hell. Old myths, legends and songs still bear witness to the brutality that was the trademark of the Vikings.

This makes even more surprising the conclusions that modern-day historians have arrived at. Our Vikings spread and introduced laws that gave birth to a social order that to this day forms the basis for legislation in the western world; laws governing sanctuary for women and concerning housing, and which originate from these coarse Vikings; laws which were then carried by later descendants across the Seven Seas, and which contribute to the modern-day grasp of reality and of human values.

The Vikings were highly-skilled craftsmen, and artifacts from the 7th century AD show that they could manufacture so-called damask blades. The word 'damasked' relates to the town of Damascus, a former center for knife and sword manufacturing in present-day Syria, and it should be understood to be a blade consisting of many layers of steel. As was quite common, it was an accidental discovery that many layers of steel packed close together would make an essentially stronger alternative to the solid blade. A broken sword was equal to death on the battlefield, whereas the tougher damask steel with a harder steel inlay held up better to the demands of battle - technology prevailed over brute strength.

Today's manufacturing methods may seem more sophisticated, but the refining of iron into steel, the understanding of the laminate strength and the arrival of stainless steel about 50-60 ago are discoveries/ inventions that influence knife-making to this day, our computerized world notwithstanding. The finds in excavations of the Viking communities bring rich evidence of their knowledge of advanced steel-making; and even though the handles of their swords, daggers and knives have decomposed, there is reasons to believe that our Vikings were as sophisticated as we are. To them, survival was a high priority, where none but the strongest and best-equipped prevailed. A good trusty handle was one among many basic requirements for full control over the swinging sword.

The Northern Lights Series will remind us about the heritage of the world's best-edged tools, knives and swords that have emanated from an exchange of knowledge between various cultures - from Japan, China, Syria to the USA of today - that have contributed to refining humanity's most widespread and oldest tool - the knife.