[Harry Marinakis]

Thanks Mikko

I was trying to find out when the Viking sword suspension changed from the slider to the 3-way ring.
I was wondering if there were any other scabbards with such a 3-way ring suspension beside the Isle of Man scabbards.

According to Oakeshott, the slider/baldric was replaced by the sword belt in the 10th Century. The Sigmund frieze that was in the Old Minster cathedral in Winchester shows not only a sword belt, but also a secondary accessory strap, the purpose of which was probably to pull the scabbrd out of the vertical into a more oblique position:


From the Sigmund frieze, dated to late 10th or early 11th C

So in summary we have the slider suspension (on a belt? baldric?) in the 5th-10th C that was either replaced or supplemented by the 3-way ring baldric in the 10th C, that was then replaced by the sword belt in the 10th-11th C.

[It is interested that the accessory strap as seen on the Sigmund frieze disappeared in the 11th-12thC, a period in which scabbards were hung vertically from the sword belt. Did they really prefer a vertical suspension to a more oblique hang? Then the offset belt was developed around AD 1200 and we were back to the oblique scabbard suspension...]

So I was wondering if anyone had any other data on these transitions from one suspension methods to another.

[Craig Johnson]

There is some good info in this report though not extensive some nice detail given. While they do not cover the scabbards to greatly they do show some illustration on construction. Townfoot Farm, Cumwhitton, Cumbria : Investigative Conservation of Material from the Viking Cemetery

[J. Nicolaysen]