Comments on: Viking Swords — The Afghan Connection(?) http://oldnorsenews.org/2009/01/viking-swords-the-afghan-connection/ News, Announcements, Comment and Resources for Medieval Scandinavian Studies Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:49:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Simon Galli http://oldnorsenews.org/2009/01/viking-swords-the-afghan-connection/comment-page-1/#comment-13265 Simon Galli Sun, 15 Mar 2009 03:10:41 +0000 http://oldnorsenews.org/?p=378#comment-13265 Indeed this leap is problematic... There is, it seems, a general tendency to jump on such "connections" without taking into account the other possibility, which is separate, independent discoveries (simultaneous or not). On the other hand there has been, AFAIK, many suggestions that some Scandinavians had imported technology from south and east, notably Magyar horse-equipment, and also clothing. Plus, we know that the Scandinavians often imported their swords from lands afar (notably from the Franks). This might be another solution to this "Afghan connection" : the technique was not imported but the swords were. In fact, I'd be curious to know how many Scandinavian swords were sampled in this study, and from where and when they were from. Are we talking about all Viking swords, or some Viking swords ? Another solution would be that of a technological transfer not directly from Iran to Scandinavia, but more progressively and slowly, through other places and peoples in between ; some kind of gradual "contamination" of this technique, as some other technologies did (AFAIK that is how agriculture is thought to have spread). Indeed this leap is problematic… There is, it seems, a general tendency to jump on such “connections” without taking into account the other possibility, which is separate, independent discoveries (simultaneous or not).

On the other hand there has been, AFAIK, many suggestions that some Scandinavians had imported technology from south and east, notably Magyar horse-equipment, and also clothing. Plus, we know that the Scandinavians often imported their swords from lands afar (notably from the Franks). This might be another solution to this “Afghan connection” : the technique was not imported but the swords were.

In fact, I’d be curious to know how many Scandinavian swords were sampled in this study, and from where and when they were from. Are we talking about all Viking swords, or some Viking swords ?

Another solution would be that of a technological transfer not directly from Iran to Scandinavia, but more progressively and slowly, through other places and peoples in between ; some kind of gradual “contamination” of this technique, as some other technologies did (AFAIK that is how agriculture is thought to have spread).

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