Anglo-Saxon artists in all forms were fond of playing with images and letters, to suggest additional meanings beyond the obvious. The precise owner of this exquisite sword -- the blade is badly corroded but is believed to have been of the best quality, Ulfbearht type -- was clearly a man or woman of high status. The handgrip is unusually small, only 6.5 centimeters long. Another sword of this type, but with Viking imagery, was found at Suontaka, Finland in a woman's grave. If this sword did indeed originally belong to a woman, who could she have been? Historically, the highest status Anglo-Saxon woman known to have been in Norway at the time was Aelfgifu, handfasted wife of King Knut (Canute) of England, Denmark, and Norway. From 1030 to 1035, she ruled as Regent with their son, Svein, who had been appointed King of Norway by his father. Svein was about 16 at the beginning of his reign. Their rule ended abruptly in 1035 with an uprising of the Norwegian people against foreign domination. The mysterious, yet clearly Christian, symbols on the Langeid sword, as it is known, show a striking affinity with earlier Anglo-Saxon symbols on the coins minted for Queen Cynethryth of Mercia, in central England. At the time, England was not yet united, and Mercia was the most powerful kingdom, ruled jointly by King Offa and his notable Queen. Notable, especially, because Cynethryth was the only queen of the age to have a coin with her name and image on it. The central image on the right hand side (the reverse of the coin) is the stylized "M" for Mercia. The horizontal bar above indicates an abbreviation. On many of King Offa's coins, the "M" is less spiral in shape, more clearly a letter. On Cynethryth's coins, the outer arms of the "M" begin to spiral, with a more extended central point that looks like a nose. Two dots have also been placed within the spiraling arms to suggest eyes. Taken at first glance, one might even see a face. Looking back at the Langeid sword, the hilt also has a stylized spiral on both sides. The spirals clearly resemble eyes, with a horizontal bar at the top that has been integrated into the design, rather like the bar on a pair of glasses, and indications of a "nose" -- created by a bird's tail and a cross, respectively. Above one spiral, the Hand of God reaches down, carrying a cross, and accompanied by the runic "S" for Sigel, the Sun. On both hilt and pommel, the letter "E" predominates, and is oriented to the direction of the spirals. The abbreviations "SR" and "SH" on the pommel are also important in deciphering the possible owner of the sword. Taken together, the "SR" could well stand for the Latin phrase, "Serva Regina," or "[God] Save the Queen," and the "SH" for the Old English title, "Seo Hlafdige," or "Our Lady," by which Anglo-Saxon noble wives were addressed. If so, the identity of the "E" falls into place.
Aelfgifu, the wife of King Knut and later Regent of Norway by his appointment, had her name written as "Elgiva" in Latin. Did the sword belong to Aelfgifu/Elgiva? But what about Emma, the other (more famous) wife of King Knut? It is true that Knut also married the Norman lady, Emma, widow of the previous king, Aethelred. But she was not the slightest bit Anglo-Saxon, and no evidence exists that she was ever in Norway. However, Aelfgifu/Elgiva was descended from a powerful and noble Mercian family -- and, as my next blog will show, had every reason to welcome the Danish prince, Knut, to her shores, and to England's throne. Last edited: February 2, 2019. Comments are closed.
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