+++++++ Welcome to Sword-Site! +++++++
May 23, 2014 13:05:46 GMT
Post by Jack Loomes on May 23, 2014 13:05:46 GMT
+Welcome to Sword-Site. The World's Largest Free Online Sword Museum.
Follow us on Instagram! www.instagram.com/sword.site/
I'm your host Jack Loomes B. A. European Literature (University of New England).
I created Sword-Site because there was no genuine resource for students of the sword out there. Sure there are plenty of discussion forums, but getting useful information out of them requires sifting through many, many irrelevant posts, often only to come upon nothing or the tiniest pieces of useful information. On said forums people generally post images of swords but provide no sources, measurements or any other critical data along with it. Furthermore the information is never organized in a useful way.
Sword-Site is different. Here you will find volumes of useful data, well organized, and provided in a way that is easy to access. Better yet this site actually cites references; the hallmark of university level research, which separates Sword-Site from the blowhards.
This is the site I longed for - so I decided to build it single handedly; and here it is, the product of my lifelong interest in Swords. My gift to the world, free of charge.
I'm a swordsman and maker of swords myself ( www.jack-loomes.webstarts.com ) and it struck me that though our times are often cited as a "renaissance of the [study of the] sword", that there was no central point from which that study could radiate. That all changes with Sword-Site.
HOW SWORD-SITE IS ORGANIZED:
In the first section you will find academic documents relating to the study of the sword, extracts form the seminal Records of the Medieval Sword by the late Ewart Oakeshott outlining the pre-eminent typology used in the description of medieval swords, and the open forum.
I've then listed the swords, which are all original pieces, in the section called the 'Original Sword Gallery'. We're currently at over 870+ pieces in the exhibition!
Please note that in the original sword section I have generally included all of the original text that accompanied the sword with a minimum of editing; the views accompanying swords do not necessarily reflect my own views. I chose to include all the original text because I believe it was important to do so, but I advise you to use your discretion regarding it - sometimes the original assessor of the sword will be astute and knowledgeable, other times this may not be the case.
There are literally hundreds of reading hours here, and thousands of images - my gift to humankind's study of the sword now and for generations to come.
I will generally only list a 'type' of sword once, using an archetypal or spectacular example, so that the type of sword is represented in the collection but not over used. In other words there may be many 'types' of Viking swords or Scimitars listed here, but you will find that none of the pieces listed will be too alike others others also in the collection.
This site is about going back the originals to learn from them. Too many modern 'students' of the sword have learnt what little they know from what the modern commercial players in the sword industry tell them about original historic swords. So here are the original pieces to inspect so that you can decide what is and what isn't historically accurate rather than having some chump who has a financial interest in convincing you that second bevels never existed on historic swords or some other such nonsense.
Rather than speculate about swords I like to just put the information up and let people do their own thinking, though occasionally I will throw in a few sentences to help explain a piece (marked by "editor's note"), I generally take the view that short of metallurgical analysis reports, that visual analysis of swords is highly subjective and that archaeology (again excepting the scientific components like carbon dating) tends to be a game of positing high likelihoods rather than certainties. Because of this my view is that, though I have years of study behind me (and a relevant University Degree [B.A. European Lit.]), there are just too many unknowns with regard to a sword, until a metallographer has run a full suite of tests on that sword, for anything other than broad strokes to made with any certainty - for instance that a sword is most probably from Western or Central Europe in the Middle Ages and so on.
In other words I take a Socratic view of history and archaeology; and feel that less is more - I post swords for people to wonder over. I often have people write to me and say "Jack, I am sure this or that sword is from 1350 and was rehilted a century later..." and so on, to which I invariably reply that I believe that the person writing to me should try to take a less acute view of the sword unless he or she has access to credible scientific dating tests as well as other kinds of evidence like art and primary texts to support his ideas.
If you love this site and want to help there are several ways you can assist:
1. Buy Sword-Site merchandise through our CafePress affiliate site (click the link/banner at the top or bottom of each page)
2. Donate money to the upkeep of the site. To do this you can contact me through the site or on Instagram: www.instagram.com/sword.site/
3. Submit a request to have a historic sword entered into the site. The most likely to be included are unusually well preserved and otherwise exceptional pieces.
Why is the Sword Still So Important in the Age of the Gun and the Missile?
There has never been a weapon invented that is a more versatile hand to hand weapon than the sword, and I doubt there ever will be. This is why no military, even today, has completely given up on the use of the sword or its utilitarian cousin the machete. The knife may be faster, but blocking with a knife is an exercise in getting hurt, the spear has a longer reach, but a spearman is compromised by someone who gets too close to him, the axe is generally pretty lousy when thrust, and top heavy; but in the sword is found the perfect balance of all matters of offence and defence.
Moreover no weapon consistently represents the harmonious balance of form and function as well as the sword does.
The sword is at the center of many of the world's largest cultures. What are the European speaking peoples of the world if not the descendants of swordsmen? The Spanish Conquistadors, the English Broadswordsman, the Italian Fencer, the Greek Cataphract - even the American Revolutionaries under Washington were rarely equipped without a sword. Then if we look to Asia: the vast Armies of the Han fought with swords, the Japanese Samurai and virtually every other Asian nation or population group in the Asian sphere of influence had their version of the sword and swordsman at the heart of their military culture. The Islamic world had the Gazis, Africa gives us swords and swordsmen of astonishing variety too. Even nations whose technological acquisitions had not yet included the use of metal used swords: The Australian Aboriginal Sword Club - The Kiribati Shark Toothed Sword Club - The Aztec Macana, all were unarguably types of swords.
For better or worse the sword is ubiquitous. The sword today is associated primarily with its positive attributes. Nonetheless I believe it would be naive in the extreme to think of the sword in terms of its aesthetic appeal or form and not its function. All these things are part of the cultural enigma of the sword, that will continue to fascinate and intrigue people for thousands of years to come.
Yours in swords,
Jack Loomes
Follow us on Instagram! www.instagram.com/sword.site/
I'm your host Jack Loomes B. A. European Literature (University of New England).
I created Sword-Site because there was no genuine resource for students of the sword out there. Sure there are plenty of discussion forums, but getting useful information out of them requires sifting through many, many irrelevant posts, often only to come upon nothing or the tiniest pieces of useful information. On said forums people generally post images of swords but provide no sources, measurements or any other critical data along with it. Furthermore the information is never organized in a useful way.
Sword-Site is different. Here you will find volumes of useful data, well organized, and provided in a way that is easy to access. Better yet this site actually cites references; the hallmark of university level research, which separates Sword-Site from the blowhards.
This is the site I longed for - so I decided to build it single handedly; and here it is, the product of my lifelong interest in Swords. My gift to the world, free of charge.
I'm a swordsman and maker of swords myself ( www.jack-loomes.webstarts.com ) and it struck me that though our times are often cited as a "renaissance of the [study of the] sword", that there was no central point from which that study could radiate. That all changes with Sword-Site.
HOW SWORD-SITE IS ORGANIZED:
In the first section you will find academic documents relating to the study of the sword, extracts form the seminal Records of the Medieval Sword by the late Ewart Oakeshott outlining the pre-eminent typology used in the description of medieval swords, and the open forum.
I've then listed the swords, which are all original pieces, in the section called the 'Original Sword Gallery'. We're currently at over 870+ pieces in the exhibition!
Please note that in the original sword section I have generally included all of the original text that accompanied the sword with a minimum of editing; the views accompanying swords do not necessarily reflect my own views. I chose to include all the original text because I believe it was important to do so, but I advise you to use your discretion regarding it - sometimes the original assessor of the sword will be astute and knowledgeable, other times this may not be the case.
There are literally hundreds of reading hours here, and thousands of images - my gift to humankind's study of the sword now and for generations to come.
I will generally only list a 'type' of sword once, using an archetypal or spectacular example, so that the type of sword is represented in the collection but not over used. In other words there may be many 'types' of Viking swords or Scimitars listed here, but you will find that none of the pieces listed will be too alike others others also in the collection.
This site is about going back the originals to learn from them. Too many modern 'students' of the sword have learnt what little they know from what the modern commercial players in the sword industry tell them about original historic swords. So here are the original pieces to inspect so that you can decide what is and what isn't historically accurate rather than having some chump who has a financial interest in convincing you that second bevels never existed on historic swords or some other such nonsense.
Rather than speculate about swords I like to just put the information up and let people do their own thinking, though occasionally I will throw in a few sentences to help explain a piece (marked by "editor's note"), I generally take the view that short of metallurgical analysis reports, that visual analysis of swords is highly subjective and that archaeology (again excepting the scientific components like carbon dating) tends to be a game of positing high likelihoods rather than certainties. Because of this my view is that, though I have years of study behind me (and a relevant University Degree [B.A. European Lit.]), there are just too many unknowns with regard to a sword, until a metallographer has run a full suite of tests on that sword, for anything other than broad strokes to made with any certainty - for instance that a sword is most probably from Western or Central Europe in the Middle Ages and so on.
In other words I take a Socratic view of history and archaeology; and feel that less is more - I post swords for people to wonder over. I often have people write to me and say "Jack, I am sure this or that sword is from 1350 and was rehilted a century later..." and so on, to which I invariably reply that I believe that the person writing to me should try to take a less acute view of the sword unless he or she has access to credible scientific dating tests as well as other kinds of evidence like art and primary texts to support his ideas.
If you love this site and want to help there are several ways you can assist:
1. Buy Sword-Site merchandise through our CafePress affiliate site (click the link/banner at the top or bottom of each page)
2. Donate money to the upkeep of the site. To do this you can contact me through the site or on Instagram: www.instagram.com/sword.site/
3. Submit a request to have a historic sword entered into the site. The most likely to be included are unusually well preserved and otherwise exceptional pieces.
Why is the Sword Still So Important in the Age of the Gun and the Missile?
There has never been a weapon invented that is a more versatile hand to hand weapon than the sword, and I doubt there ever will be. This is why no military, even today, has completely given up on the use of the sword or its utilitarian cousin the machete. The knife may be faster, but blocking with a knife is an exercise in getting hurt, the spear has a longer reach, but a spearman is compromised by someone who gets too close to him, the axe is generally pretty lousy when thrust, and top heavy; but in the sword is found the perfect balance of all matters of offence and defence.
Moreover no weapon consistently represents the harmonious balance of form and function as well as the sword does.
The sword is at the center of many of the world's largest cultures. What are the European speaking peoples of the world if not the descendants of swordsmen? The Spanish Conquistadors, the English Broadswordsman, the Italian Fencer, the Greek Cataphract - even the American Revolutionaries under Washington were rarely equipped without a sword. Then if we look to Asia: the vast Armies of the Han fought with swords, the Japanese Samurai and virtually every other Asian nation or population group in the Asian sphere of influence had their version of the sword and swordsman at the heart of their military culture. The Islamic world had the Gazis, Africa gives us swords and swordsmen of astonishing variety too. Even nations whose technological acquisitions had not yet included the use of metal used swords: The Australian Aboriginal Sword Club - The Kiribati Shark Toothed Sword Club - The Aztec Macana, all were unarguably types of swords.
For better or worse the sword is ubiquitous. The sword today is associated primarily with its positive attributes. Nonetheless I believe it would be naive in the extreme to think of the sword in terms of its aesthetic appeal or form and not its function. All these things are part of the cultural enigma of the sword, that will continue to fascinate and intrigue people for thousands of years to come.
Yours in swords,
Jack Loomes
.png?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)