Forty years of intensive research into the specialised subject of the straight two-edged knightly sword of the European middle ages are contained in this study. Spanning the period from the great migrations to the Renaissance, Oakeshott emphasises the original purpose of the sword as an intensely intimate accessory of great significance and mystique as well as an artefact for archaeological examination. There are over 300 photographs and drawings of swords, each fully annotated and described in detail, supported by a long introductory chapter with diagrams of the typological framework, now updated, first worked out and presented in The Archaeology of Weapons, and further elaborated in The Sword in the Age of Chivalry. There are appendices on inlaid blade inscriptions, scientific dating, the swordsmith's art, and a sword of Edward III.

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