[curmudgeonII]

Why is it that movies and TV usually show Vikings using swords to do their nasty work?
Swords were a, largely, element of religious significance. The usual weapon for Vikings was the spear.

[Sherman Logan]

The usual weapon for Vikings was the spear.

True. Swords were extremely expensive and limited mostly to nobles and leaders. Take too much iron/steel and especially too much highly skilled labor to make one.

Any village blacksmith could make a perfectly good spear in short order. Or an axe, which was the other major Viking weapon.