The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages
The story of the Bamburgh Sword – one of the finest swords ever forged.

In 2000, archaeologist Paul Gething rediscovered a sword. An unprepossessing length of rusty metal, it had been left in a suitcase for thirty years. But Paul had a suspicion that the sword had more to tell than appeared, so he sent it for specialist tests. When the results came back, he realised that what he had in his possession was possibly the finest, and certainly the most complex, sword ever made, which had been forged in seventh-century Northumberland by an anonymous swordsmith.

This is the story of the Bamburgh Sword – of how and why it was made, who made it and what it meant to the warriors and kings who wielded it over three centuries. It is also the remarkable story of the archaeologists and swordsmiths who found, studied and attempted to recreate the weapon using only the materials and technologies available to the original smith.
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The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages
The story of the Bamburgh Sword – one of the finest swords ever forged.

In 2000, archaeologist Paul Gething rediscovered a sword. An unprepossessing length of rusty metal, it had been left in a suitcase for thirty years. But Paul had a suspicion that the sword had more to tell than appeared, so he sent it for specialist tests. When the results came back, he realised that what he had in his possession was possibly the finest, and certainly the most complex, sword ever made, which had been forged in seventh-century Northumberland by an anonymous swordsmith.

This is the story of the Bamburgh Sword – of how and why it was made, who made it and what it meant to the warriors and kings who wielded it over three centuries. It is also the remarkable story of the archaeologists and swordsmiths who found, studied and attempted to recreate the weapon using only the materials and technologies available to the original smith.
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The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages

The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages

The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages

The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages

Hardcover

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Overview

The story of the Bamburgh Sword – one of the finest swords ever forged.

In 2000, archaeologist Paul Gething rediscovered a sword. An unprepossessing length of rusty metal, it had been left in a suitcase for thirty years. But Paul had a suspicion that the sword had more to tell than appeared, so he sent it for specialist tests. When the results came back, he realised that what he had in his possession was possibly the finest, and certainly the most complex, sword ever made, which had been forged in seventh-century Northumberland by an anonymous swordsmith.

This is the story of the Bamburgh Sword – of how and why it was made, who made it and what it meant to the warriors and kings who wielded it over three centuries. It is also the remarkable story of the archaeologists and swordsmiths who found, studied and attempted to recreate the weapon using only the materials and technologies available to the original smith.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781780277844
Publisher: Birlinn, Limited
Publication date: 01/03/2023
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Edoardo Albert is a London-based writer of Italian and Sri Lankan extraction who specialises in religion, travel and archaeology. His previous books include: Warrior: A Life of War in Anglo-Saxon Britain and Northumbria: The Lost Kingdom, both of which he co-authored with Paul Gething.

Paul Gething is Director of the Bamburgh Research Project. He studied Archaeological Science at the University of Sheffield and began excavating in 1987. Since then, he has worked in the Middle East, North Africa, France, Spain and the length and breadth of the UK. He has written for History, Current Archaeology, The Great Outdoors and Time Out.

Table of Contents

Maps vii-viii

Introduction: Finding the Bamburgh Sword ix

Part 1 The Evolution of Swords

1 What Is a Sword? 3

2 The Prehistory of Swords 8

3 The Age of Iron 28

4 Medieval Swords 43

Part 2 Creating the Bamburgh Sword

5 Getting Iron 55

6 The Smith 70

7 Forging the Sword 85

8 The Hilt 115

9 The Scabbard 133

10 Gold and Garnets 144

Part 3 The Sword in Action: Life and Death in the Seventh Century

11 The Buried Sword and the Drowned Sword 157

12 White Pebbles 170

13 Hwaet! The Warrior in Tale and Culture 177

14 War, What Is It Good for? 195

15 Swordfighting for Beginners 215

16 There Will Be Blood 225

Epilogue: The Perfect Sword 247

Acknowledgements 253

Index 256

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