Hi fellow enthusiasts-

I have been a collector of militaria for many years- since childhood. As soon as I was able to, I started collecting guns and swords, particularly 18th-19th century British cavalry swords.

As my finances have expanded I have been able to branch into 16th-17th century armour. If my pocket ever allows me I hope to find my way into the 15th century too!

I have a good knowledge in the areas that I have managed to collect in, but I have only very basic knowledge of mediaeval swords. Are there any good, well-illustrated books that I could buy that will set me on the right path?

Thanks!

Hi Tom,
The most obvious book is 'Records of the Medieval Sword' by Ewart Oakeshott, then 'Swords of the Viking Age' by Ian Peirce. More specialised is 'The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England' by H.E.Davidson, then even more are 'Early Medieval Swords from Central and Eastern Europe' by Lech Marek and 'Mediaeval Swords from Southeastern Europe' by Marko Aleksic. There are also excellent articles in almost every issue of the catalogue/handbook to the annual Park Lane Arms Fair. I can also give you titles to good books on medieval (and later) swords in French, Italian and German if you like.
Some of these may be hard to find - good luck.
Neil

Hi Tom,
The best known references would be the works of Ewart Oakeshott, particularly "the Sword in the Age of Chivalry" and "Records of the Medieval Sword". Plenty of information and illustrations/photos here to get you acquainted with swords from throughout the medieval period, as well as the most commonly used typology for classifying blades and hilts.

The books are not without flaws (eg. dating, which you can find argued here in the forum!) but they are definitely a good place to start.

If you are interested in the earlier part of the period, "Swords of the Viking Age" is another good starting point, with lots of detail and illustrations.

Happy collecting!

Thanks Mark and Neil for your replies- that's a good shopping list for me to hunt down! In this game there can never be any substitute for having the right books and the right knowledge- especially until your personal experience grows!

Neil, if there are any good books in French that you can point me towards that would also be good, thanks. German and Italian are beyond my capabilities I'm afraid!

We take books seriously around here. They are the best source of knowledge available on the subject of arms and armour for most of us. We've spent a great amount of time and resources putting together our own libraries and promoting the idea for our members to make their own.

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We have several articles in our "Paper Armoury" series:
The Paper Armoury: Our Top Shelf
The Paper Armoury: Firearms
The Paper Armoury: Japanese Swords
The Paper Armoury: Scotland the Brave
The Paper Armoury: Polearms

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Thank you all for the advice. I have bought the Viking, Anglo-Saxon and Record books. Nathan, you'll be pleased to know that the Anglo-Saxon and Records books were through the myArmoury portal.

Thank you! Every little bit helps! I just had to pay the huge annual hosting bill so these things take away from that sting a bit.

More importantly, we're pretty serious about getting info about books and whatnot into the hands of our members. A lot of work went into building these resources so I'm glad when they are used.

2 more books:
one bilingual in French & Italian: 'A Bon Droyt', a catalogue of an exhibition in Aosta in 2007, edited by Mario Scalini. Lots of good photos of swords and armour.
next in French: 'Epee', a catalogue of exhibition in Paris (Cluny Museum) in 2011, authored by fellow-forumite Fabrice Cognot among others. Again lots of good photos of swords and artwork showing swords.
Bonne chance.
Neil

Tom, I sent you a PM a week ago. Let me know if you did not receive it.
Neil