Psychic Data on Djurhamn Sword

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A letter sent to me on 8 October. I translate:

I write to you because of the sword find I had the opportunity to watch on ABC-nytt together with my mother. [...]

Please take the following for what it is worth. As it touches upon the sword you found, I write to you and leave it to you to handle the information.

My mother, N.N., has the second sight, reads cards and receives images out of the lives of people. Apart from the future, she also sees images from the past. [...] To a skeptic and academic, this may sound like complete nonsense. I am an academic myself [...] I must also emphasise that the second sight is no exact science, no science at all really. Perhaps it may be described as a feeling, it's there and it tells us things, but strictly scientifically speaking it is difficult to measure, define and repeat under controlled circumstances. [...]

[...] when watching the news clip about the sword and speculation as to how it may have ended up in the water, I said spontaneously that someone with the second sight should be allowed to touch the sword to possibly learn more. Hardly had I said this before my mother told me the following, albeit vague, images.

A man is standing in the prow of a small wooden boat with his sword raised. His looks, bearing and position in the boat hints that he is in command. [...] The man is wearing voluminous pants of black or dark blue with vertical wedges in gold or yellow. His jacket is tight.

On his head is a large black or dark blue voluminous, soft, brimless hat [...] yellow stripes from the apex [...] a yellow (?) feather. He drops the sword because the boat runs aground (beach/sand/shallows). Mother feels that things are hurried (perhaps someone not very friendly is expected), which is why nobody tries to retrieve the sword.

I asked my mother if she can find out a name -- she says something beginning with an A -- perhaps Alrik, Alarik, but nothing clear appeared.

[...]

If one wanted to make a somewhat more scientific investigation of this unscientific matter, without having to fumble haphazardly through archives on the basis of this extremely shallow and unscientific information, then one might contact other people with a well-established second sight [...] and ask them what they can see about the sword, without telling them what anyone else had said, where the sword was found or what the conditions were. The likelihood that a number of people who knew nothing about each other would describe the same images as my mother would then be statistically and scientifically negligible. If however they did describe similar images, colours and maybe a similar name, then there would be more of a lead to follow and also more to think about...

Be that as it may, perhaps the above may serve as an entertaining anecdote about the find, something for the imagination to build on in the absence of more solid facts.
[...]

Good luck with the find -- it must be what every archaeologist dreams of!

[...]

P.S. I append a little quick sketch that my mother made of the hat -- but she says that it most likely should be larger than in the sketch.

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So it seems like she also got a pair of those astral antennae, such as you have! :)

Well, the description of clothing do fit the time period quite well. At least the psyker have some sense for 16th century fashion.

By Mattias Niord (not verified) on 12 Oct 2007 #permalink

And should the impossible occur, and the fellow coming to claim his sword, you know you just can call your personal christian and I shall come running to banish him! :p

By Mattias Niord (not verified) on 12 Oct 2007 #permalink

Most exaiting - this sword....perhaps it's a "never ending story". I wonder what comes next?

If I could have a wish, what I'd really like to find at Djurhamn is the well-preserved foundations of a group of 16th century navy office buildings, preferably with a chapel.

This does not seem credible. The description of clothing and name do not sound at all like a ninja frogman.

By Tegumai Bopsul… (not verified) on 12 Oct 2007 #permalink

Now I must tell that I had a dream last night that my father was a celtic druid and at the same moment I woke up hastily because a strong wind blew right through my bedroom and a voice said at the same time:"... you have to search for the king. The sword is the holy sword and now the man must find the beaker, a friend of him will find it. His friend is K..."
Oh, the voice didn´t speak neither english nor swedish, some strange language, but I understood it... strange dream, it was very vivid and real...
Have a nice day!

Beaker: 1.A large and ornate cup; goblet 2. a jarlike container of glass or metal... 3. its contents or capacity.

This is what you have to look for. This together with the sword and a king is your and the friends, future companion of yours that will give you both the "fortune". Aren´t you curious about WHO is the other person? Or you already know?

Hmmm... voluminous pants, tight jacket.... Could it be this guy?

Actually, the Corded Ware culture is a Beaker culture (corded beaker, not belled beker...). And the CWC is known as the Battle Axe culture in Sweden. From there, there is no great leap to Battle Sword...
Therefore, as the Holder of the Sacred Beaker of Sweden, wielder of the Battle Arms of times Yore, I claim the Djurhamn Sword in the name of the Blessed Cords of Södertörn.

Will also accept a personal cheque.

Oh no!!! Too late I realise that your name is actually Kåsa Karsson. I must take my work underground to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands!

This is exactly why I hate finding anything "interesting."

First time comment here for me... I arrived here via Bad Astromony -> Quackometer -> here.

I couldn't help noticing that:

"...the second sight is no exact science, no science at all really. Perhaps it may be described as a feeling, it's there and it tells us things, but strictly scientifically speaking it is difficult to measure, define and repeat under controlled circumstances."

could be re-written as:

"Pure Chance is difficult to measure, define and repeat under controlled circumstances."

By L. Fuller (not verified) on 26 Oct 2007 #permalink

I gotta say, Chance is generating some pretty nonrandom material in my correspondent's mom's brain. How can that be? You don't suppose she might be... making it all up? No, no, no.

Isn't your skepicism a bit arbitrary Martin, that you
ran the entry by the guy who's mother had a vision about
your sword find? Don't mistake me. I beleive physical
senses and logic are by far the lesser part of human perception (though additional senses are mostly unused).
I favor logic and think skepicism, as you describe it;
is generally a healthy thing, but what people are skeptical
about often seems arbitrary.

Betyar, I think you'll find it useful in reading this blog to look skeptically on much of what I say. A lot of it is irony. This comment is not.

Well, it seems clear to me that what was found is the legendary Melnibonean sword "Stormbringer", whose 'owner' was "Elric" not "Alarik". The chap with the hat was probably Elric's companion Moonglum.

Oh no. Wait a minute... that's all fiction isn't it? I suspect N.N. has been re-reading some old Michael Moorcock novels she found in the loft.

(Sorry this post is somewhat after the event. I've been too busy fuming over some of the stuff that other 'psychics' are doing to visit as regularly as I'd like.)