700-1000 AD. Viking age. An iron sword with a long, doubled-edged blade, culminating in a point with a wide, rectangular guard and hemi-spherical pommel, corresponding broadly to Petersen’s Type W. The sword was an elite weapon during the Viking period, and only the most well-off warriors - the cavalry - would have been able to afford one. Such swords were used both by the Vikings and Khazars. The elite status of swords during the Viking age is made clear both by their presence in some of the richest graves as well as a law of Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor, which requires soldiers who could afford to maintain a horse to be equipped with a sword. Excellent condition; on a custom stand. See Petersen, Jan (1919). De Norske Vikingesverd. Kristiania.Size: L:342mm / W:52mm ; 365g; Provenance: Property of a central London Ancient Art Gallery; previously obtained from a British private collection formed before 2000.