On-Line Library

Documents original to this site

Blade Patterns Intrinsic to Steel Edged Weapons, a brief illustrated discussion of patterns visible upon the surfaces of blades which arise from the materials used and techniques employed, some for structure, others for decoration.

Fun With Fimo by Dan Maragni (PDF format, 173 kb) was the handout accompanying a lecture on using hardenable clay to experiment with pattern development at the New England Bladesmith's Guild Ashokan conference in 1997 and includes examples pertinent to Viking Age swords.

De Norske Vikingsverd (The Norwegian Viking Swords) by Jan Petersen (1919) in a new translation by Kristen Noer. The most widely used classification of the swords of the Viking Age was first presented in this work. A few sections, reflecting progress to date, are available on-line.

A Record of European Arms and Armour Through Seven Centuries by Sir Guy Francis Laking (1919), the standard English language reference in the field for many years. A few sections, reflecting progress to date, are available on-line:

or Serpent in the Sword: Pattern-welding in Early Medieval Swords by Lee A. Jones (also available in PDF format, 427 kb, by clicking here), reviews the twisted rod structure of swords of the Migration Period and Viking Age. Reprinted by permission from the Catalogue of the Fourteenth Park Lane Arms Fair (1997).

Students of Arms; a survey of arms and armour study in Great Britain from the eighteenth century to the first World War: Chapter 6: Arms and Armour Study in Edwardian Britain by Michael Lacy, being largely a biography of Sir Francis Guy Laking and his contemporaries, from the forthcoming book.



Recommended documents on or from other sites
Please see also the Swords - Noncommercial section of the Links Page

From Rapier to Langsax: Sword Structure in the British Isles in the Bronze and Iron Ages, by Niko Silvester deals with the development of swords from their origins in the Bronze Age through the close of the Viking Age and is a component of the now closed Swordsmithy.

Russian Medieval Arms and Armor is an intriguing subject as there is a blend of both Eastern and Western influences, varying over time, which are well covered in this English language summary and illustrated glossary from the Xenophon Group.

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