*Editor's Note: Given its composite form this is quite possibly a sword that was property of the Varagian Guard. Only the Varangian Guard possessed weapons that had both Nordic and Byzantine composite features - as indicated by finds from Bulgaria. Raffele D'Amato numbers several composite swords that are of Varangian Guard provenance that display characteristics of both Byzantine Swords and Viking Swords. In this case it is a lenticular blade coupled with a Viking hilt.