—Updated May 23, 2013

—Updated Apr 20, 2013

—Updated Dec 27, 2012

—Updated Nov 8, 2012

—Updated Sep 26, 2012

—Updated Apr 8, 2012

—Updated Jan 27, 2012

—Updated Jan 9, 2012

—Updated Nov 3, 2011

—Updated Oct 8, 2011

—Updated Jul 11, 2011

—Updated Jul 3, 2011

I find this book to be a constant reference review of necessity, as it is loaded with information

—Updated Jun 30, 2011

—Updated May 17, 2011

—Updated Mar 13, 2011

—Updated Nov 11, 2010

—Updated Oct 24, 2010

—Updated Oct 5, 2010

—Updated Jul 28, 2010

—Updated Apr 28, 2010

—Updated Apr 17, 2010

—Updated Mar 4, 2010

—Updated Feb 1, 2010

—Updated Jan 31, 2010

—Updated Aug 13, 2009

—Updated Aug 10, 2009

—Updated Jun 5, 2009

Good foundational overview of the history of the european sword.

—Updated May 15, 2009

—Updated Apr 26, 2009

—Updated Mar 25, 2009

—Updated Mar 19, 2009

—Updated Jan 13, 2009

—Updated Jan 6, 2009

Very useful basic literature for starting investigating mediaeval weapons.

—Updated Dec 16, 2008

—Updated Dec 12, 2008

—Updated Nov 30, 2008

—Updated Nov 8, 2008

—Updated Aug 22, 2008

An excellent overview about the history of European arms and armor throughout the ages--it's not as detailed and as "mature" as Oakeshott's later works, and some of the concepts contained therein are a bit dated, but still a good starting point for a scholar who wants to understand the "big picture" before going into greater detail on specific regions and periods. Prospective readers should make sure that they get the newest edition(s) because the additional notes and errata do a fairly good job at correcting and updating the original 1960s text.

—Updated Aug 22, 2008

—Updated Jul 14, 2008

—Updated Jul 4, 2008

—Updated Apr 27, 2008

—Updated Apr 24, 2008

—Updated Mar 21, 2008

—Updated Mar 20, 2008

—Updated Jan 28, 2008

—Updated Jan 10, 2008

—Updated Jan 5, 2008

—Updated Nov 16, 2007

—Updated Nov 4, 2007

—Updated Oct 26, 2007

—Updated Sep 21, 2007

—Updated Jul 4, 2007

—Updated Jun 28, 2007

—Updated Jun 21, 2007

—Updated May 7, 2007

—Updated Feb 22, 2007

—Updated Jan 31, 2007

—Updated Jan 30, 2007

—Updated Jan 1, 2007

An enjoyable read.

—Updated Dec 19, 2006 :: 0 of 1 members found this review helpful

—Updated Oct 20, 2006

This work by Ewart Oakeshott is possibly the premier introduction to the study of arms and armour. Oakeshott dicusses Bronze Age, Roman, and Viking arms and armour, but it is clear his focus is on the arms and armour of medieval Europe. Oakeshott introduces his classification of the medieval sword in this book, a typology still in use by scholars and collectors. The book is also richly illustrated with Oakeshott's own drawings. This is the primary book to have in any arms and armour library.

—Updated Oct 17, 2006 :: 1 of 1 members found this review helpful

—Updated Aug 25, 2006

This is the first book I read on historic arms and armour. It serves as a good starting point for anyone researching European arms and armour, from its beginning all the way to the end of the Middle Ages. It will give the reader a solid foundation for approaching other texts dealing with a more specific area or time period.

—Updated Jul 28, 2006 :: 1 of 1 members found this review helpful

—Updated Jul 26, 2006

One of the first steps one should take on their study of the sword.

—Updated Jul 14, 2006

—Updated Jun 19, 2006

Enjoyable reading.

—Updated Jun 17, 2006

Very excellent history lesson with regards to the sword (and battles and peoples) from prehistory to rome to migration period to vikings through the middle ages and age of chivalry.

—Updated Apr 26, 2006

—Updated Apr 9, 2006

—Updated Mar 27, 2006

—Updated Mar 23, 2006

This title is the least sword-focused of Oakeshott's works (that's not a bad thing). It covers swords in plenty of detail but also other weapons and armour from many eras. All in all, it's a nice overview book. There are titles that are more in-depth on each area covered in this work, but few that are as good a general resource. This is one of those titles that should serve a foundational role in libraries on European Arms.

—Updated Feb 13, 2006 :: 2 of 2 members found this review helpful

—Updated Feb 2, 2006

One of Oakeshott's earlier works (and becoming increasingly hard to find), 'Archeology' describes in much detail the armor and weapons of the post-Roman period (the Migration Era, or the so-called "Dark Ages"). The detail and terminology may be bit too comprehensive for the casual reader or to someone new to this subject, but the wealth of info in this book makes it a highly valuable resource.

—Updated Jan 12, 2006 :: 1 of 1 members found this review helpful

—Updated Dec 16, 2005

—Updated Dec 16, 2005

A very easy to read and broad overview of the development European arms and armour, especially concerning swords. Not an easy task to tackle, but Oakeshott took it on amiably and makes the subject easy to understand without getting too bogged down in the tiny technical matters.

—Updated Dec 13, 2005 :: 1 of 1 members found this review helpful

—Updated Dec 13, 2005

—Updated Dec 9, 2005

—Updated Nov 24, 2005

I rate this work very highly on a couple of grounds. First, it is cheap and readily available, unlike many other well rated works. Second, it is of great historical importance (among us weapon afficianados) since it was one of the earliest works to properly look at weapons and armour, and is the first great work of Oakeshott. It is not the easiest reference work - it is written in a very conversational style instead of being rigidly organized. This makes it very readable (another great strength). Oakeshott discusses the structure of weapons and armour, and mixes in historical and literary material with archelogical or museum data. Everyone with an interest in pre-Renaissance warfare should own this book.

—Updated Nov 5, 2005 :: 1 of 1 members found this review helpful

I really enjoyed this book. I found that it was well written and easy to understand. Mr Oakeshott does a very good job at conveying enough information without becoming tedious. As a new sword enthusiast, I found this book very informative and look foward to reading more of Oakeshott's work.

—Updated Oct 25, 2005 :: 2 of 2 members found this review helpful

—Updated Oct 24, 2005

—Updated Oct 22, 2005

Definitely worth the price of purchase. In a lot of ways this book covers all of Oakeshott's salient points. He revises some of the information in later books and other books are more lavishly illustrated, but all baselines are here.

—Updated Oct 10, 2005 :: 1 of 1 members found this review helpful

—Updated Sep 25, 2005

—Updated Sep 19, 2005

The book that got me interested in the serious study of medieval weapons and warfare, the conversational style is entertaining and his love for the subject shines through on every page. This is the book that introduces us to the now famous Oakeshott typology.

—Updated Sep 16, 2005 :: 1 of 1 members found this review helpful

—Updated Sep 15, 2005

—Updated Aug 16, 2005

—Updated Aug 12, 2005

E. Oakeshott was in my opinion one of the pre-eminent authorities on pre-modern age weaponry and this book reflects that. This book is written in a style that is easy to read and keeps the readers attention. The research is excellent and readily conveys Oakshotts vast knowledge of ancient and medieval weaponry as well as his understanding of humanities migration across Europe.

—Updated Aug 9, 2005 :: 1 of 1 members found this review helpful

—Updated Aug 8, 2005

First published in 1960, this was Oakeshott's first serious literary work on the sword. The book covers a wide period of history from the Bronze Age through the age of chivalry. Its 359 pages provide an excellent cross-section of information on the sword. The book contains 32 pages of black and white photographs that illustrate important pieces in the field of arms study. It also outlines Oakeshott's typology of the medieval sword for the first time. One cannot fully understand Oakeshott's intent in developing his typology without reading this book. While not as topic-specific as some of Oakeshott's later books, The Archaeology of Weapons is still one of the best and broadest European sword references in print. —Patrick Kelly

—Updated Aug 1, 2005 :: 2 of 2 members found this review helpful

—Updated Jul 21, 2005