Well, after years of procrastinating due to the cost, I broke down and bought a copy of Ewart Oakeshott's Records of the Medieval Sword. As I have not been all that interested in Medieval weaponry aforenow, I had difficulty justifying the cost of the book but my interest in swords has expanded to include the period and I now bought one. It is, upon early scanning, quite a fascinating book and not in the least bit dry reading. I really enjoyed those of Oakeshott's lovely little anecdotes and asides that I read in that scanning, most particularly his masterful discussion of the controversy surrounding the Edward III Sword. I was also interested to noter that his picture of the Kragehul Bog Sword that Patrick Barta reproduces and calls a "Roman Riding Sword" is labelled a Behmer Type IV and dated to ca. 400 CE. It also clearly shows the narrow fullers that Patrick includes in his version. I was fascinated by his discussion of the Italian cinquedeas as I bought one from Tinker Pearce.

I will try to remember to post more as I have more time to study the book.

My 'Records' finally arrived last week, 3 months after ordering. :confused: It is a great book, I really like it, especially the part of appendix B that explains why he thinks long griped and long bladed swords were used much earlier then most of us think... And that beautiful Celtic sword with almost rectangular point... :cool:

I got mine about 3-4 months ago. I love it. I am eagerly awaiting my copy of Swords of the Viking Age to arrive soon! I hope it will be as good.

It's a classic for sure! I use it universally when showing folks my collection along with a few other books as appropriate.

Pierce's Sword in the Viking Age is to the Viking Sword what Records is the the medieval sword. Pierce gives more dimensions and weights which is really nice.

I need an archtypical book on seaxes!

But let us all raise one for Ewart Oakeshott!

Jeremy

Excellent! If I could suggest it Hugh, you now need to get a copy of The Sword in the Age of Chivalry to complement it. Not as many pictures, but a whole lot more text...

It's a great book. I keep it by my bed for light reading. Guess it shows how bad I've gotten. ;)

Gentlemen-If you want a good read, get Archaeology of Weapons. It is great, and contains Mr Oakshott's earliest thinking on the subject, particularly the erily saxss, which is the onlybook where he went into that subject so deeply as far as I know. My copy is about 40 years old and one of my greatest treasures. Congrats on getting Records, I have it and refer to it all the time.

It's about time you picked up your copy, Hugh. :)

While I think Records is a must-have book, I find it more as a support work for other books on the subject. As mentioned, Archaeology of Weapons and Sword in the Age of Chivalry are a much finer reads. Records serves as an important update to both volumes, however, and rounds them out beautifully.

What makes Records great is it's role as a public relations tool for myself and my collection. Those with no or little knowledge on the subject can learn something about- at the most basic level- what swords really looked like.