This is another "Typology '" that I came across on-line today.......it's Swanton's Spear Typology. I did a search within this forum and also Google and only found the vaguest reference in Ospreys "Anglo Saxon Thegn" plus "Anglo-Saxon Warfare" books, both of which I dont yet have. Does anyone have or know of this spear typology ? I am sure that others would be interrested also. ( Also, any other rare Typologies out there apart from Oakshott and Peterson, etc ?)

Yes. A summary is in Stephen Pollington's The English Warrior. This is a very fine book, by the by, with a discussion of the social aspects of being a warrior as well as weaponry. Several Anglo-Saxon battle poems are in the appendices, with original text and translations.

Osprey’s Anglo-Saxon Thegn has a half page illustration with examples of twenty-one of the thirty types and sub-types. Richard Underwood’s Anglo-Saxon weapons and warfare has a section on spearheads, but doesn’t go into Swanton’s typology. As mentioned Stephen Pollington's The English Warrior has a good summary of the typology, with a brief description of each type and sub-type, and illustrations of eighteen spearheads representing a number of different types.

However if you want to get serious, then you are going to have to hunt down a copy of Swanton’s The Spearheads of the Anglo-Saxon Settlements. It contains several examples of each type and sub-type drawn to scale, a map of their distribution and in-depth information. There is also information about earlier Germanic spearheads, and the last third of the book has illustrations and accompanying notes of Anglo-Saxon grave finds showing not just spearheads but also saxes, shield bosses, belt buckles, pottery etc all drawn to scale. While it is not cheap, and the writing can be a bit dry, I strongly recommend The Spearheads of the Anglo-Saxon Settlements to anyone interested in Anglo-Saxon weapons.

Generally the deeper into the research and archaeology side of things you get the more typologies you start finding. Non arms and armour objects like fibulae will often times get typology for a given time period. For the Celtic iron age I have often seen some pretty specific typologies like for different shaped strap and shield boss, and the same for the germanic shield boss. Typologies are only useful to a certain extent, some more so than others.

Shane

Yes indeed..............Thanks for that.......I hadn't heard of the book, but raced over to Amazon and PUT IT ON MY WISH LIST within seconds of reading your post... :cry:

Oh how amusing....I just bought the last two of these in stock from Amazon.

Don't worry, they'll get more in I'm sure! :p

I was talking about the hardcover version. :)