The Sword

In appearance a very simple symbol, which might tempt us to think that it is only a way to represent the status of a deceased person, but there is much more underneath the surface.

The sword was always an object with an important role in our legends; the most famous example being the Arthurian stories, but what does this faithful steel companion of ours hide?

The answer is to be found directly in our tradition, it was common practice the passing of a sword from father to son, it was not only a simple inherence of an object, but with it the accumulated honor was also transferred, this sword would be connected with the deeds of the possessor, by committing a dishonorable act the name of all those who have carried the sword would have been stained.

The sword is a symbol of the ancestral energy also called Honor (Hamingja from old norse that can also mean luck) that can be transmitted exclusively through a specifical bloodline.

The Knighthood initiation (the accolade in French, deriving from the Latin ad "to" + collum "neck", this term was later used generally to mean "praise" or "award" or "honour") is another example of a common medieval tradition with a deep meaning: the king lays its sword on the shoulder on the kneeling initiate, only then the initiate arises and the king gives him the honor of the new role. This elaborated ritual is clearly symbolical: the king represents the Sky God (the crown is a symbol of the sun rays), with his sword which is as well a symbol of the sun/vital energy/thunder/divine light is transferred to the initiate/fetus/newborn. This ceremony is used as a symbolical rebirth.

It was a common practice to bury someone with a sword on his chest, this custom was not only a way to show the prestige and the warrior class of the deceased person, but it is an ancient tradition that can be traced back to the European Bear-Cult, where instead of a sword a biface stone/axe was placed on the heart of the buried person. During the period of today’s Halloween feast, a group of initiates around the seventh year of age descended in the Burial mount (that was often a cave) to dig up the dead and collect the previously mentioned stone with which they would light a fire. This ritual symbolized the rekindling of life and thus the rebirth of the ancestor, the biface stone represented the heart that was revived symbolically because the fire is an avatar of the blood in our mythology.

Near the tombstones archeologist have found traces of fire used for ritualistic purposes, some have thought about a possible cremation practice, which could be possible, but I think it is also connected to the previously mentioned stone age tradition that can also be found in the symbol of the sword, which represent the rekindling of the fire/vital energy and thus it represents rebirth.