[A.J. Chalifoux]

I had a thought the other day; is there any reason to believe that Irish ring-pommeled swords of the 15th & 16th century may have had wooden inserts where the "hollow" of the pommel is? In Irish Medieval Swords c. 1170-1600 , the lack of pommel on many surviving specimens leads to speculation over the use of entirely wooden pommels on many Irish swords. There is even one example of a sword that actually does have a surviving wooden pommel.

With this in mind, might it be reasonable to suspect that the hollow ring pommels actually contained wooden inserts to cover the otherwise exposed tang? Has there ever been evidence of glue or other binder (despite the corroded condition of these swords) to indicate an insert?

[Zach Gordon]

Short answer, no. There aren't that many Irish ring swords in existence, and none of the ones that are do. I forget the exact number but it's something around a dozen, and that's it. That being said, most are in too degraded a form to tell, any organic material is gone. I think the only one with significant grip remaining is Danish not Irish (though perhaps originally Irish), and in a private collection, and an atypical type overall.

It's entirely possible, what you propose.. But also entirely without evidence. Perhaps we'll get another find with more organic material in the future!
Z

[Arne G.]

However, artwork from the period clearly shows no "inserts" of any kind; the tang is clearly visible. See in particular Durer's art depicting Irish warriors.