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Contributing Authors

Alexi Goranov
Alexi is a postdoc in the biological sciences at MIT. He has had an outstanding interest in medieval military history and weaponry for many years, but only started collecting in late 2003. His main interests lie towards European weapons and warfare practices of the 13th and 14th centuries.

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Bill Grandy
Bill Grandy is an instructor of Historical European Swordsmanship and sport fencing at the Virginia Academy of Fencing. He has held a strong passion (obsession?) for swords and swordsmanship for as long as he can remember. He admits that this passion comes from a youth spent playing Dungeons and Dragons, but he'll only admit that if there are no girls around.

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Björn Hellqvist
Björn Hellqvist is a Swedish optometrist with an interest in historical European swords.

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Boris Bedrosov
Boris Bedrosov was born in 1974 and now serves as an officer on active duty in the Bulgarian Army. He has had a general interest in weapons, martial arts, and military history since the beginning of the 1990s. His focus on Japanese arms and armour came about the very end of the same decade.

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Bruno Thomas
Dr. Thomas served as director of one the most important repository of arms and armour in the world: the Waffensammlung, i.e. the Arms Collection of the Hapsburg Imperial Court, now a division of the Museum of Art History (Kunsthistorisches Museum) in Vienna. He studied art history, history, and languages. He began his career at the Waffensammlung in 1934; his principal aims—for the realization of which he has done research all over the world—have been the correlation of arms and armour history with generic art history, the development of refined methods of historical research, the installation at the Kunsthistorische Museum of effective and scientific restoration laboratories, and the reorganization and display of the entire Hapsburg collection in correct chronological order. He is the author of about two hundred publications in monograph and book form.

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Bryan Heff
Bryan Heff is a Systems Analyst living in the Philadelphia suburbs with his wife and 2 sons. He has always been intrigued by the European sword as a work of art, symbol and weapon of war. His main area of interest is rooted in the 8th to 14th centuries but he has interests in other time periods as well. In addition to adding to his small but growing collection of swords, he enjoys modifying and customizing swords in his compact basement workshop, hiking and exploring historic sites and trying to get his boys to do their homework.

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Chad Arnow
Chad Arnow is a classical musician from the greater Cincinnati area and has had an interest in military history for many years. Though his collecting tends to focus on European weapons and armour of the High Middle Ages, he enjoys swords, knives and armour from many eras.

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Christopher L. Miller
Christopher Liebtag Miller, or C.L. Miller as he is known to many, is a writer and music critic currently living in South Burlington, Vermont. His interest in the culture and history of Medieval Europe has been lifelong, and his favored area of study is the Holy Roman Empire of the Ottonian, Salian and Hohenstaufen emperors.

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Craig Johnson
Craig Johnson is a craftsman who has been making swords and armour at Arms & Armor, Inc. in Minneapolis for about twenty years. A desire to study and learn about medieval and renaissance weapons and armour stems from a deep love of history and a misspent youth of watching Errol Flynn movies and the 70s version of The Three Musketeers. An interest in how these items were used also lead to a study of western martial arts. He also holds the position of Secretary to The Oakeshott Institute.

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Dan Howard
Dan Howard is a writer from Newcastle, Australia with a BA in History and Classical Studies and is an independent scholar in Experimental Archaeology. He has had a long standing interest in body armour from the Bronze Age through to the Renaissance with a particular interest in Ancient Greece. His collection includes accurate reconstructions of various types of armour from the early Bronze Age through to Classical Rome.

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David Kite
David Kite has had a fascination with edged weaponry since early childhood. Disaffected for years by the lack of martial intent in swordplay, he finally discovered the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts and has been pursuing swordsmanship under the ARMA way for three years. He has long harbored suspicions that his swords are the reason for his difficulty getting dates.

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Doug Gardner
Doug Gardner is a psychologist specializing in human-computer interaction and usability. He has been interested in historical warfare and equipment since seeing an antique suit of armour in a friend's house as a young child. He began collecting swords because he thinks they are cheaper than planes and ships, and because he has a wife obsessed with all things Tolkein!




Eric Nower
Eric Nower lives in Bouckville, New York. He has had an interest in swords and armour ever since he first saw the original Beastmaster movie and the dream of owning a real sword came true when he ran into Albion Armourers through armourers Mercenary's Tailor. He's interested in all sorts of medieval arms and armour, especially that of the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

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Felix Reich
Felix Reich is a veterinarian working in the field of food science. He is interested in the evolution of European arms and armour from medieval times to the early Renaissance. His main interest is the late 14th, early 15th century, from the "transitional period" to the appearance of full plate armour. He also started historical fencing in a study group in Germany in 2006.

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Frank Docherty
Frank Docherty is an English martial arts practitioner with 23 years training and who is a Provost and Assistant Instructor to Ancient Maister Terry Brown in the English martial arts. His interests lie in the broadsword, backsword, sword & buckler, sword & dagger, quarterstaff, bill hook, threshalls, and knife work based on Silver's System and Principles. He also practices bare fist fighting, and has a special interest in the seax, particularly the English broken back seax. Mr. Docherty has a Shodan in Jodo (Japanese stick fighting), a Shodan in Iaido, a black sash in five animals kung fu, and has been a kickboxing Instructor.

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Freiherr Alexander Von Reitzenstein
Baron von Reitzenstein, born in 1904 in Germany, received his degree in Art History in 1928 and dedicated his career to public service and to arms-historical literature. In addition to many essays and studies, he has published books on the art of the armourers of Augsburg, Nuremberg and Landshut, i.e. Der Waffenschmied and Rittertum and Ritterschaft.

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G.L. Williamson
Geoffrey (G.L.) Williamson is a 12 year combat arms veteran of the U.S. Army, having served twice in Iraq. He is interested in all aspects of historic weapons and armour, their use, and exquisite reproductions of them. He is a published author and is working on a novel between runs to take out his much-loved dog.

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Gene George
Gene George has been fascinated with weapons and armor as long as he can recall. A former archaeologist and historian, he lives with his wife 14 miles west of where they filmed The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and 60 miles North-Northwest of where they filmed Captain Blood (1935). He has a big pile of swords and wants more.

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Geoff Freeman
Geoff Freeman is a student at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater and has been interested in swords and the cultures that used them since he began fencing in high school. His area of interest runs the gamut from the age of Rome to the Napoleonic Era, leaning heaviest on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

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George Gush
George Gush was educated at Tonbridge School, Kent, and won an Open Scholarship in History to Christ Church, Oxford, and has pursued a teaching career ever since graduation.

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Gordon Clark
Gordon Clark spent seven years as a wandering college mathematics professor before settling down to a real job. He is now an analyst for a scientific consulting firm in the Washington DC area. A few years ago he realized a childhood dream of owning a real sword. His wife says that he has re-realized that dream too many times since then.

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Gordon Frye
Gordon Frye has had a deep interest in history and weapons of all sorts from early childhood, earning a Master of Arts degree in Western History in 1982. He has worked as an assistant Reenactor Coordinator for Cavalry for such historical films as Ride with the Devil and The Patriot, having taken part in a host of others. His present passion is Renaissance Cavalry, and is presently living in the Puget Sound area of Washington with his wife, two horses, three chickens and five cats.

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Greg Griggs
Greg Griggs has been running the family gasket manufacturing business in Kansas since 1988. Like most of the people who get involved with this sort of thing, he has had a passion for history since his childhood, with an emphasis on the weapons and armour of the Dark Ages through the Renaissance periods. He is not too proud to admit that he’s learned more about swords and historical use in the past few years than with all the previous 40 years worth of misconceptions.

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Greyson Brown
Greyson Brown is a soldier in the United States Army, and a student of European history. He has been interested in arms and armour for as long as he can remember. That interest has also inspired him to become a hobby blacksmith.

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Henrik Bjoern Boegh
Henrik Bjoern Boegh is currently working on becoming a truck and bus driver. He has always been interested in history and weapons. His main interest is the Jacobite period in British history and the weapons used during this time. He is also interested in the general history of 17th-18th century as well as the Viking period. He has studied Kendo and Kali and is eager to learn more about Historical European swordsmanship.

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J.D. Crawford
J.D. Crawford is Professor and Canada Research Chair of Visuomotor Neuroscience at the York Centre for Vision Research, Toronto. He has had a hobby interest in military history and weaponry, primarily the development and use of the sword in early Medieval North-Western and Central Europe, since childhood.

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James Byrnes
James Byrnes is sales professional by day, Knight Errant (wannabe) at all other times. An avid role-player, he decided that collecting weapons and armor, and then actually being versed in their use was far more interesting in real life then in any pen and paper fantasy. James is a founding principle in the Rocky Mountain Historical Combat Guild and lead instructor of the "Kunst des Fechten" study track. He currently resides in Denver, CO with his wife, son and three hounds.

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Jason Elrod
Jason Elrod is a retail manager with Borders Books in Dulles, VA. His sword obsession is tempered only by the knowledge that no matter how large his collection becomes, he still will not be able to use it to send his son to college.

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Jeff Hsieh
Jeff Hsieh is a mild-mannered Purdue business school student by day and a 13th century Hospitaller by night. His first love of swords and swordsmanship came from reading fantasy novels in junior high, but he'll lie about it if you ask him. He also enjoys traditional archery, pipe smoking, camping, film noir, and reading an unhealthy amount of books.

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Jeremy V. Krause
Jeremy Krause is a Clinical Social Worker currently living in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His interest in the Middle Ages and European medieval arms began as a child and has developed into a particular fascination of arms and armour from the early medieval period. His collection consists primarily of pieces representing the period 1000-1300 C.E.

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John Clements
John Clements is one of America's leading instructors and foremost practitioner-researchers of Renaissance fencing. He has practiced the subject since 1980, researched and taught on the subject in six countries, and is director of ARMA, the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts. He is the author of Renaissance Swordsmanship and Medieval Swordsmanship, both from Paladin Press. He writes and teaches on the craft full-time.

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John F. Hayward
Mr. Hayward, an art historian of international repute, has greatly advanced the serious study of arms and armor throughout his many years with the Victoria & Albert Museum and as an Associate Director of Sotheby & Co. His articles and monographs are by far too numerous to list; they have been published in most major languages in the world.

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Jonathan Blair
Jonathan Blair is a telecom detail engineer, i.e. a technical writer. He’s been interested in anything medieval since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. He lives in Hanover, PA, with his wife, Laura, and daughters, Meghan and Brianna. He dedicates this work to his Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Jonathan Sarge
Jonathan Sarge is a police officer and author living near Atlanta, Georgia. He has a deep interest in ancient Roman and Medieval European cultures, focusing primarily on weaponry and warfare. Jonathan collects all manner of arms and armour that range from proto-archaic Native American stone tools to late Medieval European swords. He currently studies Fiore dei Liberi's swordsmanship as a member of the Schola Saint George.

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Jonathon Janusz
Jonathon Janusz is a copier technician in Wisconsin with a degree in computer electronics. His interest in the medieval started in kindergarten playing with a set of plastic knights and a castle, and a decorative sword-like object on the family's bar room wall. Supportive parents in the antiques business started his collection many years ago with period Japanese artifacts, and it has evolved to include and focus on recreations of 14th and 15th century European arms and armour.

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Joseph Fults
Joseph Fults is a technology manager in the Columbus metropolitan area. For all intents and purposes a career student as long as he can remember, Joseph has been intrigued by history and tales of adventure. Long driven to learn about anything that intrigued him, over the last few years Joseph has nurtured a growing appetite for information about the medieval period of European history. Today his curiosity draws him to the people, items, and regional events of the Rhine basin in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.

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Kenton Spaulding
Kenton Spaulding is a student at the University of Maine. He has been studying and collecting swords since the summer of 2004. His main area of interest lies in European military history and technology from 750-1500. He has an interest in living history and historical combat techniques, though he has yet to act on either.

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Kirk Lee Spencer
Kirk Spencer is Assistant Professor of Science and History at The Criswell College in Dallas, Texas. Since 2001, he has researched western swords of all time periods, compiling an archive of thousands of photos and archaeological drawings. He also enjoys collecting and refurbishing modern sword reproductions.

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Lin Robinson
Lin Robinson is a banker and author who lives in Southwestern North Carolina. He is a long-time black powder enthusiast with emphasis on the traditional muzzle loading firearm and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland . He is also a participant in Scottish-American activities and has served as president of the Clan Gunn Society of North America. One of his recent published pieces is a book on Scottish firearms in the 17th and 18th centuries.




Mark Mattimore
Mark Mattimore is a writer living in Cincinnati. An obsessive reader and true lover of history, he has an abiding interest in medieval arms and armour in addition to being a student of the western mystery tradition. Professionally, he works as a copywriter with specialties in word-of-mouth marketing and brand identity development.

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Michael Edelson
Michael Edelson is a writer from New York. Like many enthusiasts, his passion for arms and armour predates his ability to remember its origins. He currently leads a historical European swordsmanship study group focusing on German medieval longsword arts as codified by Johannes Liechtenauer. Michael is also a collector of reproduction arms and armour with a heavy bias for all manner of weapons wielded with two hands.

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Michael P. Smith
Michael is a systems engineer living in Muncie, Indiana with his wife and daughter. Since childhood, he has had a keen interest in the Middle Ages, from music and literature to, of course, arms and armour. Currently, his collection is focused on the arms and armour of England in the 14th and 15th centuries.

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Mike Arledge
Mike Arledge is an IT Recruiter from Indianapolis and has had an interest in ancient history and weaponry since his college studies of Philosophy and Classical Studies. Though his collecting tends to focus on weapons and armour of the Roman, Migration and Viking Eras, he enjoys swords, knives and armour from many eras.

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Nathan Bell
New father and Cincinnati native Nathan Bell has been interested in ancient arms and armour since before he hit double digits in age. His interests of late have been arms and armor of the Celts.

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Nathan Robinson
Nathan Robinson has been interested in history and the hobby of reproduction arms and armour collecting for well over a decade. A professional Web developer in San Francisco, he started myArmoury.com as a resource for like-minded people and hopes to help educate and entertain enthusiasts and consumers alike. He strives to push the sword community forward, helping create a healthy market with functional and historically-researched pieces available for us all.

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Pamela Muir
Pamela Muir is a suburban homemaker from Virginia with a small, but growing, sword collection. She studies and practices historical European swordsmanship at the Virginia Academy of Fencing.

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Patrick Kelly
Patrick is a State Trooper serving with the Kansas Highway Patrol. He has been fascinated with edged weapons, particularly the medieval sword, since early childhood. Not only is Patrick thankful for any opportunity to indulge in his favorite hobby, he is also blessed with a wife who tolerates a house full of sharp pointy things.

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Paul Mortimer
Paul Mortimer has been interested in weapons as long as he can remember. After a flirtation with the army in his younger years, he became a schoolteacher and now teaches history and mathematics. He is particularly interested in arms and armour of the early medieval period.

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Peter Frank
Peter Frank works in IT and in his free time is an Instructor of Historical Fencing in Cologne, Germany. Since he watched too many period movies in his youth he is interested in all kinds of swords, but mostly sabres from the 18th to 19th century. He likes to spend his time reading through as many fencing manuals as he can access.

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Peter Johnsson
Peter Johnsson is a Swedish swordsmith and researcher, who does both custom work for collectors and designs for Albion Swords.




Peter Kren
Peter Krenn is the co-author of Imperial Austria: Treasures of Art, Arms and Armour from the State of Styria.

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Ralph Rudolph
Ralph Rudolph is an aeronautical engineer and strategist living and working in Frankfurt, Germany. His passion for medieval swords was evoked in 2005 after endless nights watching the complete Lord of the Rings trilogy, especially the sword and armoury production of the WETA workshop. Always attracted by symbols of male power and objects of outstanding elegance this led to a jump-start into a collection of high quality replicas and exploration of the weaponry and history of his own continent.

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Richard B. Neely
Dr. Richard B. Neely is an Associate Professor at Judson College in Marion, Alabama. He is a professor of history and has been a lifelong collector of firearms, edged weapons, and militaria.

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Richard Fay
Richard Fay is an author, artist, and home school dad residing in Upstate New York. His scholarly study of arms and armour and medieval history developed out of an interest in fantasy literature and playing Dungeons & Dragons during the mid 1980s. He is passionately devoted to gaining a deeper understanding of the weapons and warfare of medieval Europe and the military and cultural heritage of the medieval knight.

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Russ Ellis
Russ Ellis is a Systems Engineer working for Northrop Grumman by day and a scabbard maker by night. He has been a student of medieval history for many years and this eventually led him to the world of sword collecting. He currently resides in Alabama with his wife and three children.

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Sam Barris
Sam Barris is a native of Northern California who has had a passion for military history for as long as he can remember. He received a BA in Political Science and History from the University of California, San Diego, where he was also a fencer on the men's epee squad. Following graduation, Sam was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. In his off-duty time, Sam enjoys swordsmanship, fly fishing, hunting, horseback riding, music and reading as many obscure, eclectic tomes as he can lay his hands on.




Sean A. Flynt
Sean Flynt is a public relations professional in Birmingham, Alabama. He is interested in the martial culture of all periods and people but focuses on 1450-1650, with special interest in German and Austrian arms and armour.

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Shane Smith
Shane Smith is an avid Swordsman who started his martial arts journey studying and eventually teaching Asian martial arts. One fateful day, he stumbled upon the Western European methods quite by mistake while doing research. After being soundly bested and thoroughly impressed by the quality of the fencing observed on his first visit, he joined the Virginia Beach chapter of the Association for Renaissance Martial Arts (ARMA, formally HACA) where he remains very active.

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Stephen Fisher
Stephen Fisher is a member of the Army National Guard and is an assistant sport fencing instructor and student at Western Kentucky University. His interest in edged weapons stemmed from watching one too many swashbuckling movies years ago. It has since grown into a serious study of swords and their use. He is a collector of both reproduction and antique swords ranging from the 17th to late 19th century.

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Steve Grisetti
Steve Grisetti is an engineer and project manager who lives in the Orlando, Florida area. While he has had an interest in history from childhood, his collection of reproduction European arms and armour began only in 2004. His interests are eclectic, and span from the Bronze Age through the eighteenth century.

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Steve Maly
Steve Maly is a Physical Therapist in Oklahoma City. He has been a fan of "sword movies" all of his life and began actively collecting in 2001. He enjoys and collects swords of all eras, but primarily focuses on European examples from the 11-14th centuries.

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Ted Hitchens
Ted Hitchens is a U.S. Navy veteran who resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. A graduate from the University of Cincinnati, Ted's sword collection and historical interests focus mainly on the Medieval and early-Renaissance periods. Apart from collecting swords and attending Renaissance festivals, Ted is also a musician.

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Thomas McDonald
Thomas McDonald has been collecting swords since the 1980s. His interests have taken on a serious Scottish slant, with the baskethilt claidheamh mor being his main focus. He loves all types and styles of the sword but the call of his Highland roots is strong.

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William "Bill" Goodwin
Bill Goodwin has been interested in swords for well over 15 years. He became a more serious collector of 17th century swords sometime in 2002, gathering data primarily on mortuary swords and other sword types used during the English Civil War period. He is also strongly interested in the art of historical European swordsmanship, especially German longsword.

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Zdzislaw Zygulski, Jr.
Dr. Zygulsk was the Curator of the National Museum in Cracow and Assistant Professor in the Cracow Fine Arts Academy. He is the author of many articles and monographs published in periodicals and in book form in several languages; among the most important of these are A History of the Czartoryski Collection and On Rembrandt's "Polish Rider."

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