Overview

The sword was the most important of weapons, but relatively little has been written about its metallurgy. The results of the microscopic examination of over a hundred swords are used to tell the story of the making of swords from the first examples through the Middle Ages to the 16th century.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alan Williams
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Brill
Volume:   77
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.596kg
ISBN:  

9789004227835

ISBN 10:   9004227830
Pages:   292
Publication Date:   03 May 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Preface . . . vii PART ONE: THE FIRST METALS 1. The Extraction of the First Metals. . . 3 2. The Smelting of Iron and the Production of Steel . . . 12 3. Different Ways of Making Steel-Eastern and Western Steelmaking. . . 24 PART TWO: THE FIRST EUROPEAN SWORDS 4. Celtic and Roman Swords . . . 49 5. Pattern-Welding . . . 62 PART THREE: THE DARK AGES IN EUROPE 6. The Revival of Science in Europe . . . 85 7. The Survival of Technology From the Ancient World . . . 96 8. Viking-Age Swords and Their Inscriptions . . . 116 PART FOUR: STEEL ARMOUR AND SWORDS 9. The Invention of the Blast Furnace and Finery . . . 187 10. Bloomery Steel and the Development of All-Steel Swords after 1400 . . . 202 11. The Mass-Production of Steel for Swords and Armour . . . 210 12. The Decoration of Swords by Etching and Gilding . . . 223 13. Medieval European swords after 1000 . . . 230 Further reading . . . 287 Index . . . 291

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Author Information

Alan R.Williams, PhD (1974) in History of Science, University of Manchester, now works as an Archaeometallurgist in the Wallace Collection, London. He has published extensively on the metallurgy of swords and armour and is the author of The Knight and the Blast Furnace (2003)

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