While reading Esther Cameron’s book, “Sheaths and Scabbards in England AD400-1100” I noted with interest the statement about braids associated with scabbards. (not the part about binding or peace bands) Since the only evidence was the finding of microscopic traces of yarn inside of buckle plates, it would seem as there is the possibility of woven baldrics? Except for the association with the buckles there is little evidence, but equally there seems little proof against. A tablet woven suspension would be a variation for the same old. Just some thoughts

I have often thought about this possibility, thank you for giving me a little something to go on. I find naalbound wool baldrics and guiges to be simply wonderful because they have a little stretch and spring, which makes them very comfortable, and they never bite into you like leather sometimes can. Tablet woven wool would not have as much stretch, but would have the same advantages to some degree. On a related note, I know that I have read about traces of wool and fur being found inside some of the better-preserved Viking Age shield bosses, though I can not remember where exactly.

Edit: The 10th-11th century Baltic wappenknivr (the kind with narrow thick blade and often silver-wire-wrapped wooden grip) were suspended from wool cords with bronze spiral ("spring-like") beads.

Well, there is some information suggesting that at least in some cases tablet-woven bands where used for sword suspension - one example would be famed Snartemo sword that, apparently, was carried on a baldric made from complicated tablet woven band. In one of richest 11th century Lethgallian burials in Latvia (Priekuli-Gugeri burial nr. 30) there where 3 tablet woven bands found under the leather baldric, that seems to have been used to attach the sword scabbard.

See this thread: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...ht=galloon