Forgive the question from the guy with the woeful lack of literature on historical swords/sword-making, but is it known if blacked/blued fittings were common ( or at least sometimes found ) on European swords in the 11th-14th centuries?

If not, when did it become common and did it serve any purpose other than the merely decorative ( rust prevention perhaps )?

Hello, Nick
Until A recently, I had never intended to speak about blade turned blue before the end of XVe century.
I discovered on the site of a troop of living history, a XIIe century browned sword (replica). It is treated by an oil bath. That returns it more resistance, appears it. The autor joint a photograph of a "miniature". I'm not on it is a proof, the brown color can be due to a bad color of the painter...
You can see this at http://www.1186-583.org/article.php3?id_article=31
-Franck-

Laloë,
I think Nick was asking about blackened hilts. Not blades. :)

I have no information on if hilts were blackened or blued or not however if it was done I should think that it was done for the same reason that modern firearms are blued or blackened, namely to protect the metal from rust and that any cosmetic qualities were a side effect. If it is historical then my guess is that our ancestors would have done it for the same reasons.

Does anyone know when people started blackening or bluing firearms? I don't know enough about it's origins.

Alex

The typical consensus from when I worked at Albion and talked with Peter as well as McHugh, is that there is no eveidence for blueing in a historical context until the late 15th on into the 16th centuries and beyond. Of course there may be exceptions. Guilding was more typical, whether it be silver or gold (which I imagine was not all that common).

Some of the pictures Peter had of the Bayerisce? Sword showed remains of guilding on the guard and on the pommel. The patina on many of these existing pieces are apparently derived over time and not deliberate.

Thanks for the input gentlemen :).

- Nick