Sub-Roman British Swords
Oct 25, 2015 22:35:58 GMT
Post by tea on Oct 25, 2015 22:35:58 GMT
I tried to use the Search function to see if this topic had been covered before, but came up with nothing. I recently posted on the SBG FB page an article about a late Roman Spatha that was found somewhat recently on the banks of the River Lugg in England. According to the article, this is one of only 8 such swords that have been found in Britain. While the date of this sword is from the 2nd or 3rd Century CE, thus preceding the Sub-Roman period (i.e. the period between the Roman abandonment of Britain in 410 and the fall of Elmet, the last of the native British kingdoms, in 616), I posted this an example of the type of sword that would have been carried by the Britons (e.g. any historical figures that the legend of King Arthur may have been based upon) in their wars against each other, the Picts, Irish and of course the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.
Picture from the article:
X-rays of the sword posted in another sword forum by one of the members there:
Note the much more tapered design of this sword compared to the Germanic Migration Period swords and the later Viking swords. The hilt was most likely organic and rotted away before being found. Also, some interesting speculation as to why it was bent and abandoned. Bent by accident when testing the blade? Bent on purpose as an offering? The former would seem to indicate a local sword manufacturing industry rather than a reliance on imports. The latter would indicate a strong continuation of Celtic religious beliefs in Roman Britain before Rome abandoned the British in 410.
When looking at Del Tin's examples of their Roman Spatha and their La Tene sword (IMHO the best example of a commercially available copy of the La Tene sword in terms of the blade geometry - most "Celtic" swords on the market are too short and are the wrong shape), one can easily see the Celtic influence on the Roman sword.
and 
However, this late Roman find in Britain appears to have a much more tapered blade geometry than either of the Del Tin examples
My particular interest lies in the region from York to Gwynedd, as my mother hails from N. Wales and I've traced my family name to having most likely originated in the Sub-Roman kingdom of Elmet (the place name "Chevin" and the earliest records of last names possibly derived from the place name Chevin being distributed in this region - e.g. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chevin). (map courtesy of John Morris from his The Age of Arthur)
I've been toying with the idea of a project to create a Sub-Roman British type sword combining Roman and Celtic design elements. Given the lack of archaeological for swords from this period, I such a project would be largely an exercise in speculation and imagination.
Does anyone here have any other sources on this topic other than John Morris's The Age of Arthur, Myles Dillon and Nora Chadwick's The Celtic Realms, or Stephen Allen's Lords of Battle?
Picture from the article:
X-rays of the sword posted in another sword forum by one of the members there:
Note the much more tapered design of this sword compared to the Germanic Migration Period swords and the later Viking swords. The hilt was most likely organic and rotted away before being found. Also, some interesting speculation as to why it was bent and abandoned. Bent by accident when testing the blade? Bent on purpose as an offering? The former would seem to indicate a local sword manufacturing industry rather than a reliance on imports. The latter would indicate a strong continuation of Celtic religious beliefs in Roman Britain before Rome abandoned the British in 410.
When looking at Del Tin's examples of their Roman Spatha and their La Tene sword (IMHO the best example of a commercially available copy of the La Tene sword in terms of the blade geometry - most "Celtic" swords on the market are too short and are the wrong shape), one can easily see the Celtic influence on the Roman sword.
and However, this late Roman find in Britain appears to have a much more tapered blade geometry than either of the Del Tin examplesMy particular interest lies in the region from York to Gwynedd, as my mother hails from N. Wales and I've traced my family name to having most likely originated in the Sub-Roman kingdom of Elmet (the place name "Chevin" and the earliest records of last names possibly derived from the place name Chevin being distributed in this region - e.g. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chevin). (map courtesy of John Morris from his The Age of Arthur)
I've been toying with the idea of a project to create a Sub-Roman British type sword combining Roman and Celtic design elements. Given the lack of archaeological for swords from this period, I such a project would be largely an exercise in speculation and imagination.
Does anyone here have any other sources on this topic other than John Morris's The Age of Arthur, Myles Dillon and Nora Chadwick's The Celtic Realms, or Stephen Allen's Lords of Battle?
