The viking sword and Exploration

The Viking sword +ULFBERH+T
 We recently learned about the +ULFBERH+T sword. It is a sword that has crucible steel in it. It is a steel that has very few dots and slags as they call them in it. It is better then other steel of its time. To make it you would have to heat the iron and coal to a very high temperature, and in Europe it seemed that no one could do it. But in the middle east there was swords made with crucible steel. This means that the Vikings must have gone to there and got the Crucible steel. Historians think that they went on the Volga trade route. This is a route from Sweden to Iran it is mostly on water. It goes along the Volga river and lakes. Then it goes to the Caspian sea and past it into modern-day Iran and Iraq. Vikings might have got Crucible steel from here. I think they did and so do others. Then they would have gone back to Scandinavia in small rowboats. There they would shape the steel into the sword. But the inscription of +ULFBERH+T is still a mystery. No one knows who Ulfberht was. Christian Abbots and Popes put a cross in front of their name. Maybe this was a Christian Abbot who had made it. But the Christians were forbidden to Trade with the Pagan Vikings. Maybe a Christan viking had made it. Or maybe just a Viking had made it. Or it was a brand name. But it showed that the sword was made with Crucible steel. Other Ulfberht swords were made but they did not have Crucible steel in them. They were fakes. They had the letters +ULFBERHT+ on them. Someone was trying to copy +ULFBERH+T. If you had a +ULFBERH+T sword you would be highly honored as a great and rich warrior. +ULFBERH+T Swords were like the best kind of weapons. 

Exploration
The Vikings who originated in Scandinavia, explored from North America to Pakistan.
They were great explores on sea. They were not the best on land though. Proof that they had gone to North America and Pakistan is real. A viking ruins was found in North America and Statues of Buddha were found in Viking graves. The Vikings also went to Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland,  Israel, Constantinople, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Russia, France, England, Ireland,Greece, Iraq and Iran. Like you probably know Vikings did not have horns on their helmets and there are also peaceful and economic vikings.

The youngest Templar.

The youngest Templar is a series I have been reading . It has three books .I have read 2 of them and am reading the third on page 103 .The author is called Michael P. Spradlin.

The book is about a orphan called Tristan who became a squire of a Templar knight called Sir Thomas. When he and the other Templar knight and squires were about to get killed by a army of Saladin's men, Sir Thomas gives him the holy grail and tells him to bring it to a monk in Scotland. On his way there he meets friends that accompany him on his journey. He is pursued by a evil Templar knight called Sir Hugh.

Sir Hugh wants the grail for himself. They encounter many hardships along the way .So far they are in the middle of England heading north to Scotland. Richard the Lionheart's mother said that Tristan
had claims to the throne.

The book has its version of Robin Hood in it with an archer called Robard Hode.

The Book is placed in the time of the crusades.

The Templars were a group of knights fighting for Jerusalem but they were loyal to the pope not to the king. They also believed artifacts such as the holy grail would help them win. In the end though Saladin wins as we know from history.

The Castle

The other day I got a book about crafts from knights day and age and I decided to make a castle from cardboard. It was a lot of work, but it was fun too. I made towers and a gate and walls and my dad helped me glue everything together.

I'm pretty tired tonight to tell everything I love about castles, but I have been reading 2 fun books called the Castle in the Attic and the Battle for the Castle which tell all about knights and castles. Brian is the top guard in the Castle in the Attic. At first he worked for Alastor the evil wizard, but after Alastor was defeated he became servant to the Silver Knight.