Variations of famous Viking-era swordsmiths' names

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by JanskyS

We likely all know that the most famous makers of Viking-era (and post) were the "Ulfberht" and "Ingelrii" workshops. I have read interesting articles about swords that have alternate spellings of Ulfberht and the theories are that contemporary swordsmiths (most likely illiterate) tried to enhance the value of their blades by unintentionally misspelling the fake "maker's mark" on their blades.

There are relatively many "Ulfberht" swords, but supposedly only @20 "Ingelerii" swords. Literature usually leaves out the second "i" at the end. My question is: does anyone know of genuine swords with a variation of Ingelrii? My research in what the word could mean has led me to many interesting ends: In Latin, Ingeri is the present passive infinitive of ingero, i.e. "to be carried". In Finnish, Inkeri means a region around the southern shores of Gulf of Finland that in Viking times was controlled by the Swedes.

So, is the second most famous Viking sword "brand" not a maker's name but a status symbol or location...or are any variations fakes?

Fascinating and excellent topic!! and welcome to our forum!
I am sure you have "Swords of the Viking Age" by Pierce, Oakeshott and Lee Jones. Naturally you are in the right place to discuss this (it is Viking Sword after all
Thank you for sharing the interesting perspectives you have discovered on the names, and looking forward to more from other members, especially Lee Jones, who pretty much has this field covered.