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Kirk Lee Spencer




Location: Texas
Joined: 24 Oct 2003

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PostPosted: Mon 08 Sep, 2008 6:50 am    Post subject: Classification Charts: Viking Age         Reply with quote

Hi All...

Over the last few years I have collected (and produced) charts related to sword typologies. This thread is started to provide access to some of these charts and to provide a place to include other helpful charts related to classification schemes of Viking Age finds.

ks



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PetersenTypology.Web...jpg
Petersen's Typology modified Chart in Ian Peirce's "Swords of the Viking Age"

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WheelerVikingsClassifiction.jpg
Wheeler's Classification of Viking Age Swords with Ewart Oakeshott's Additions

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GeibigBladeTypes.Dates.Web.jpg
Geibig's Blade Classification modified from "Entwicklung des Schwertes im Mittelalter" (The Development of the Sword in the Middle Ages).

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Viking Design Typology From "VIKINGS: North Atlantic Saga" ed. William Fitzhugh and Elisabeth Ward. [ Download ]

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Kirk Lee Spencer




Location: Texas
Joined: 24 Oct 2003

Spotlight topics: 6
Posts: 820

PostPosted: Mon 08 Sep, 2008 7:21 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

...A few months ago I had a chance to work through Geibig's Monograph on Sword Typology: "Entwicklung des Schwertes im Mittelalter" (The Development of the Sword in the Middle Ages). It is a very important work... compiling much that has been learned about Viking Age Swords over the last century.

Christopher (C.L.) Miller's excellent article on Geibig's work has been published here, on myArmoury, under the title:

"The Sword Typology of Alfred Geibig"

It seems that Geibig is most noted for the classification of blade forms. And this was the most original part of his monograph. However his work contains a tremendous amount of information on hilt types distinguished as combinations of pommels and guards. His illustrations give views of these forms from the top and sides as well as frontal views. This allows us to get a better idea of what the types look like in three dimensions.

I have taken these charts and restructured them. I put examples of the blade typology at the top of the chart and below this the Chronology of Geibig's combinations and their relation to Petersen's Typology. In the large field below this are the type combinations that Geibig has defined.

In the progression from one combination to the next you can see the blade types that were used during the type these combinations were popular in the upper register outlined in red.

I have downloaded each type combination in Geibig's sequence. The desire of this project is to try and create a video effect as each type moves along the timeline from left to right. To best see this you should download the images into a folder and arrange by Name (under view in windows). Then do a slideshow in rapid sequence. This should show how the Viking Age sword changed from the 8th to the 13th century.

take care

ks


















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Two swords
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One of iron and one of ink
To place within a bloody hand
One of God or one of man
Our souls to one of
Two eternities
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Kirk Lee Spencer




Location: Texas
Joined: 24 Oct 2003

Spotlight topics: 6
Posts: 820

PostPosted: Mon 08 Sep, 2008 7:27 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Geibig's Typology Continued.


















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Two swords
Lit in Eden’s flame
One of iron and one of ink
To place within a bloody hand
One of God or one of man
Our souls to one of
Two eternities
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Kirk Lee Spencer




Location: Texas
Joined: 24 Oct 2003

Spotlight topics: 6
Posts: 820

PostPosted: Mon 08 Sep, 2008 7:35 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Geibig's Typology Finish...

(To save images, click download and open to screen, then right click and select "save picture as"...)

ks


















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Two swords
Lit in Eden’s flame
One of iron and one of ink
To place within a bloody hand
One of God or one of man
Our souls to one of
Two eternities
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M. Eversberg II




Location: California, Maryland, USA
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PostPosted: Mon 08 Sep, 2008 8:44 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Very good work! I may have to get the ones in the original post enlarged and printed some time.

I would like to motion that this gets put into the "features" section.

M.

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J.D. Crawford




Location: Toronto
Joined: 25 Dec 2006

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PostPosted: Tue 28 Jun, 2011 4:56 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Nice work Kirk - I missed this in 2008. Here's another chance for people to have a look.
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William P




Location: Sydney, Australia
Joined: 11 Jul 2010

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PostPosted: Wed 29 Jun, 2011 1:01 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

that chart is excellent, because it sort of helps me identify where my 'hanwei practical norman' ACTUALLY fits historically, at least in termsof hilt and pommel if nothing else

though that first chart doesnt seem to mention the tea cosy pommel..
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Paul Mortimer




Location: England, Essex
Joined: 28 Aug 2003
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Posts: 285

PostPosted: Wed 29 Jun, 2011 4:52 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Many thanks, Kirk for sharing this.

Paul
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Kai Lawson





Joined: 26 Aug 2010
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PostPosted: Fri 23 Aug, 2019 5:30 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Apologies for casting my thread necromancy spell, but I’m curious as to why the typology blade+pommel classifications here differ from those in the Geibig Typology article, specifically concerning the type 5 blades and their pommel types. The article lists pommel types 12, 15, 17vI and 18 for Type 5 blades, but those pommels don’t have the red outline for the type 5 blade in this lovely thread. I don’t have access to the original work—which one is correct?

EDIT: I see it now. I looked through too quickly and missed a few of the variant images. The ones missing compared to the article are the type 17 and 18 pommels, and these charts add the type 16 variants. I answered my own question.

"And they crossed swords."
--William Goldman, alias S. Morgenstern
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