[MR] History Blog: Intact Viking Scramasax

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, especially Vikings,

Today's History Blog entry concerns a remarkably preserved Viking
scramasax. The sword, or very big knife, was found at the bottom of a well
in Västerås, Sweden. Preserved in oxygen-deprived mud, the sword is nearly
intact, and has an exquisitely carved grip. A tiny wood sample dated the
scramasax to between the 7th and 9th centuries CE.

The story is at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/67467 .

The Viking scramasax is closely related to the Saxon "seax", which was a
type of weapon common to many Germanic peoples. More about this weapon is
at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seax .

The seax or scramasax made an appearance in the Star Trek TOS episode
"Friday's Child". Inhabitants of the planet Capella IV, a tribal people,
wave these swords at each other and at Kirk and his landing party. I always
thought these looked like kitchen carving knives (and they might have been,
given the show's budget constraints), but I was only 16 when I first saw
that episode, and hadn't yet been enlightened through the SCA. :~)

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Keeping Merry Rose relevant and alive for over 16 years.