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The idea of a burly Nordic warrior / barbarian angrily swinging a large weapon in both hands is popular in fantasy and historical fiction, and people sometimes commission blade smiths to make a two-handed version of a Viking sword.

Every now and then someone speculates about whether longswords or hand-and-a-half swords might have existed in the Viking Age. There is a particular archaeological find and two interesting pieces in a museum that fuel such speculation.

In this video I talk about whether there is real evidence for them and why in depictions of battles (like on the Bayeux tapestry) you see a few two-handed axes but otherwise only spears and single-handed swords used with shields. There are some practical reasons that I find plausible as potential explanations.

The shield I show here is made by Vaughn Morphett (great work!)
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Intro song:
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Outro:
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