|The Gilling Sword (C 9th) **|
From the late 8th Century C.E. the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian sword began to change. The parallel-sided broad blade became less common and the more tapering style of blade more common. Simultaneously, there was a move away from the composite metal / organic hilts of the Migration towards simpler, and possibly more robust, solid iron hilts and pommels. Many of these English swords had a downward curved lower guard and an upward curved pommel-guard suggesting a more dynamic cut and thrust style of sword-play.
With particular reference to the elegant Petersen Type L sword, it is worth discussing their form and function.
**image (right) property of Vintagedept@flickr
**image (right) property of Vintagedept@flickr
The swords of the so-called ‘Viking Age’ evolved from those of the Migration Age. All these weapons had an average blade length of about 78-81 cm. (that is around 30-32 inches) excluding the tang. Blades became more tapered, bringing the balance point closer to the hilt. Even so, the swords became slightly heavier and the fuller on each side of the blade became increasingly pronounced.
Twist-welded blades continued to be made at least into the early 10th century CE. however, over the course of the 9th century, with improvements in the manufacture of good quality iron and steel, blades were increasingly made plain, with a core of laminated wrought-iron with carbon-steel cutting edges fire-welded on.
Such swords of Continental origin were sometimes decorated with twisted iron inlays forming letters. These iron inlaid inscriptions often take the form of names, ULFBERHT and INGELRII are the most common. Sometimes these are associated with the Latin inscription ME FECIT indicating these may have originally been makers’ names. However, as these names remained in use for a couple of centuries as inlays, they may better be regarded as trademarks intended to indicate the workshop which produced the blade and thus proof of quality. This was important, as it was no longer possible to study the quality of the pattern in order to determine the quality of the work.
Just as today, where the marketplace is awash with fake designer goods, the wide degree of variations in letter formation and spelling would suggest that, if the trademark hypothesis is correct, rampant counterfeiting prevailed. Today, ending up with a ersatz Gucci bag is merely unfortunate but to our sword-wielding ancestors, a poor-quality sword which failed catastrophically in the heat of battle could be a matter of life and death. Caveat emptor indeed !
For the blades with inlaid names, a geometric pattern was often seen on the opposite blade face. Inlays of circles, lines and curved symbols were also seen.
These inlays, fire-welded into the surface of the blade, are often formed of twisted wire made from the very phosphorus-rich iron which had, hitherto, been used in pattern-welding; the silvery ferrite providing a good contrast.
By the second half of the 11th Century C.E. these designer labels had been simpler inlaid inscriptions, most commonly consisting of various corrupted spelling of IN NOMINE DOMINI, ("In the name of the Lord,") probably reflecting the surge of pseudo-religious fervour in that time of the earliest Crusades.
Anglo-Saxon swords of this period most often are equipped with a curved lower guard of stout iron. This design innovation is important in that it better protects the sword-hand / wrist by catching the blade of an enemy’s weapon and preventing it slipping onto the grip. It also allows more wrist movement, for a swifter style of sword-play. In this later period, swords were increasingly used for thrusting as well as for cutting strokes. The Scandinavians copied the curved form quite widely but the fashion did not survive the coming of the Normans and we find that, post conquest, swords were again produced with straight guards. These were, though, considerably longer. This design was less elegant but equally functional. It was also slightly simpler to manufacture but the compelling reason was probably ‘religi