medieval finnish swords / saami weapons

chevalier · 5th July 2008, 08:19 PM

does anyone here have any examples of finnish swords made before 1800? ive always wondered if the finns made unique blades or if they just co-opted viking designs from norway/sweden.

and did the saami ever make swords?

Jim McDougall · 6th July 2008, 12:18 AM

Probably the best resource on this topic would be "Swords of the Viking Age" by Ian Pierce, 2002, and in which Dr. Lee Jones was instrumental in producing, along with Ewart Oakeshott.

In the late 1940's thru the early 1950's, the late Dr.Jorma Leppaaho discovered numerous swords of the late Viking period in Finland in graves, publishing in 1964:
"Spateisenzeitliche Waffen aus Finnland", Helsinki, and which describes these swords of 9th to 12th centuries.

Historically, Finland was under Swedish rule from the 13th century, and we would presume swords of these times, afforded primarily only be wealthier warriors, were likely acquired from the same sources as most Viking weapons, from Frankish forges.These blades would have been hilted locally in many cases. Many of the blades carry the well known +ULFBERHT+ name, which is presumed from the Middle Rhine regions which became Solingen.

While it seems established that tribes in Finland developed uniquely characterized weapons during Merovingian and Viking periods, it is believed that these were most likely short swords and knives, while full size swords seem to have come from the Continent.

Although this would seem largely the case, it may be that some swords could have been forged there, as noted by James Cowles Pritchard in his 1841 work, "Researches into the Physical History of Mankind" (p.286),
"...that the Finns knew of old the art of smelting iron, found probably in thier bogs, and which in the native state is called 'holma'", noting further that, "...Finnish swords are renowned in the Icelandish sagas".

Naturally it is unclear whether these Finnish swords were forged there, or as described, the products of Frankish smiths, but the presumption seemed worthy of note.

The Saami are the Lapplanders of the north in Finland, and I did not locate any references to swords made or used by them. However the small knives used by them are the Leuku, which parallel the famed puukko knives of the Finnish people.

Jim McDougall · 8th July 2008, 07:01 AM

'passim'

Though the Saami seem not to have had thier own weapons, they were known to have given hlifsteinar (=protection stones) actually of stone or metal to warriors to place in the grip of the sword. These were to give power to the sword.

Jim McDougall · 8th July 2008, 04:36 PM

Chevalier, I hope this was of some use to you. I did enjoy the research, as always,and learned from it myself as I did. I did not expect much response overall on this, but appreciate your posting.
Thanks

kronckew · 8th July 2008, 05:01 PM

the lapps also have fairly long versions of their knives approaching machete size that they use for chopping, and can also be used as a short sword...

Rich · 8th July 2008, 06:05 PM

That Finnish machete is also made by Marttiini of Rovaniemi, Finland.
Same company as mentioned in the previous post.

Rich S

Jim McDougall · 8th July 2008, 06:53 PM

Hi Kronckew and Rich, thank you guys for responding on this. I always find the attention to some of these more esoteric topics really interesting, especially the puukko discussions. I cannot recall offhand, but how early did the puukko develop?

Rich · 8th July 2008, 09:07 PM

Jim -

The basic puukko and leuku designs have been around for several
hundred, maybe a thousand years dating back to Viking times. Of
course you never see anything that old outside of a museum. My
earliest puukko that I can date with accuracy is the late 1800's.
Although I really doubt that the Sami peoples ever used the
Marttiini machete. They certainly did use long (10-12 inch) leuku.

Here's some pics of some of my collection of Scandinavian knives.

http://home.earthlink.net/~rsblade/nordic.htm

Rich S

Jim McDougall · 9th July 2008, 05:46 AM

Thank you so much Rich for sharing those! What magnificent knives, and its easy to see how the Finns so personally treasured these, and how formidable they were in its use.

All the best,
Jim

Rich · 9th July 2008, 12:54 PM

Jim -

Thanks, I don't post much about them on this site as the puukko and leuku are
primarily tools, not weapons. Although the Finnish troops certainly used
them quite lethally during the Continuation, Winter and Second World wars.

Rich S

5th July 2008, 08:19 PM	#1
chevalier Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 119	medieval finnish swords / saami weapons does anyone here have any examples of finnish swords made before 1800? ive always wondered if the finns made unique blades or if they just co-opted viking designs from norway/sweden. and did the saami ever make swords?

6th July 2008, 12:18 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	Probably the best resource on this topic would be "Swords of the Viking Age" by Ian Pierce, 2002, and in which Dr. Lee Jones was instrumental in producing, along with Ewart Oakeshott. In the late 1940's thru the early 1950's, the late Dr.Jorma Leppaaho discovered numerous swords of the late Viking period in Finland in graves, publishing in 1964: "Spateisenzeitliche Waffen aus Finnland", Helsinki, and which describes these swords of 9th to 12th centuries. Historically, Finland was under Swedish rule from the 13th century, and we would presume swords of these times, afforded primarily only be wealthier warriors, were likely acquired from the same sources as most Viking weapons, from Frankish forges.These blades would have been hilted locally in many cases. Many of the blades carry the well known +ULFBERHT+ name, which is presumed from the Middle Rhine regions which became Solingen. While it seems established that tribes in Finland developed uniquely characterized weapons during Merovingian and Viking periods, it is believed that these were most likely short swords and knives, while full size swords seem to have come from the Continent. Although this would seem largely the case, it may be that some swords could have been forged there, as noted by James Cowles Pritchard in his 1841 work, "Researches into the Physical History of Mankind" (p.286), "...that the Finns knew of old the art of smelting iron, found probably in thier bogs, and which in the native state is called 'holma'", noting further that, "...Finnish swords are renowned in the Icelandish sagas". Naturally it is unclear whether these Finnish swords were forged there, or as described, the products of Frankish smiths, but the presumption seemed worthy of note. The Saami are the Lapplanders of the north in Finland, and I did not locate any references to swords made or used by them. However the small knives used by them are the Leuku, which parallel the famed puukko knives of the Finnish people.

8th July 2008, 07:01 AM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	'passim' Though the Saami seem not to have had thier own weapons, they were known to have given hlifsteinar (=protection stones) actually of stone or metal to warriors to place in the grip of the sword. These were to give power to the sword.

8th July 2008, 04:36 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	Chevalier, I hope this was of some use to you. I did enjoy the research, as always,and learned from it myself as I did. I did not expect much response overall on this, but appreciate your posting. Thanks

8th July 2008, 05:01 PM	#5
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,183	the lapps also have fairly long versions of their knives approaching machete size that they use for chopping, and can also be used as a short sword...

8th July 2008, 06:05 PM	#6
Rich Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: comfortably at home, USA Posts: 432	That Finnish machete is also made by Marttiini of Rovaniemi, Finland. Same company as mentioned in the previous post. Rich S

8th July 2008, 06:53 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	Hi Kronckew and Rich, thank you guys for responding on this. I always find the attention to some of these more esoteric topics really interesting, especially the puukko discussions. I cannot recall offhand, but how early did the puukko develop?

8th July 2008, 09:07 PM	#8
Rich Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: comfortably at home, USA Posts: 432	Jim - The basic puukko and leuku designs have been around for several hundred, maybe a thousand years dating back to Viking times. Of course you never see anything that old outside of a museum. My earliest puukko that I can date with accuracy is the late 1800's. Although I really doubt that the Sami peoples ever used the Marttiini machete. They certainly did use long (10-12 inch) leuku. Here's some pics of some of my collection of Scandinavian knives. http://home.earthlink.net/~rsblade/nordic.htm Rich S

9th July 2008, 05:46 AM	#9
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	Thank you so much Rich for sharing those! What magnificent knives, and its easy to see how the Finns so personally treasured these, and how formidable they were in its use. All the best, Jim

9th July 2008, 12:54 PM	#10
Rich Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: comfortably at home, USA Posts: 432	Jim - Thanks, I don't post much about them on this site as the puukko and leuku are primarily tools, not weapons. Although the Finnish troops certainly used them quite lethally during the Continuation, Winter and Second World wars. Rich S