Research grant of the National Science Centre, Kraków, Poland, No. N N109 051438


Sword manufacture technology in the present-day territory of Poland, the 5th-the end of the 15th c.

Typology of construction of sword blades

 

    A point of departure is the analysis of technology of Roman Period swords, carried out by M. Biborski, P. Kaczanowski, Z. Kędzierski and J. Stępiński (Biborski, Kaczanowski, Kędzierski, Stępiński 1982; with additions in the work of M. Biborski and J. Ilkjær, 2006, and modified by G. Żabiński). Furthermore, it was completed with the typology of construction of La Tène swords proposed by R. Pleiner (Pleiner 1993) and with a scheme of construction of blades according to L. Bergman and B. Arrhenius (Bergman, Arrhenius 2005; a comprehensive discussion of the issue has recently been offered by A. Williams, see Williams 2012). Most obviously, all these authors underline that their typologies must be treated with care. For instance, R. Pleiner stressed the fact that in several cases it was impossible to examine the entire cross-section of the sword, and several construction types proposed by M. Biborski, P. Kaczanowski, Z. Kędzierski and J. Stępiński are based on visual inspections of blade surfaces. Furthermore, several examined swords went through the funeral pyre, which obviously influenced their chemical composition and removed traces of thermal treatment. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that if  welding of several pieces of metal (e.g., high carbon edges and low carbon core) was done well, traces of welding may sometimes be difficult to identify. It will be thus hard to say whether the edges were in fact welded-on or carburised. Eventually, different part of the blade may display different construction patterns, so one and the same blade can be classified to different groups. 

    The first division concerns two basic groups of blades:

- A – made of one piece of metal

- B – made of many pieces of metal

    Group A can be further divided into subgroups:

- A. I – made of one piece of heterogeneous metal 

- A. I. 1 - traces of welds are distributed in a random manner and they result from repeated forging of blooms in order to receive larger and possibly homogeneous pieces of metal. The same concerns the distribution of microstructure components, with special reference to zones with higher carbon content. Generally, these are low carbon blades which renders thermal treatment hardly possible

- A. I. 2 – the distribution of microstructure components results from intentional proceeding of the manufacturer. Zones with higher carbon contents are distributed in the edges and (although not necessarily) in the flats of the blade, while the core is low carbon. Such blades could undergo thermal treatment

- A. I. 3 – the distribution of microstructure components results from intentional proceeding of the manufacturer. However, the high carbon zone encompasses one edge only. The zone may encompass a half of one flat or a half of both flats

- A. II – blades made of one piece of homogeneous metal. This subgroup can be divided into:

- A. II. 1 – blades made of one piece of iron (or low carbon steel, so that no thermal treatment is possible)

- A. II. 2 – blades made of one piece of steel. Such blades could be thermally treated. This group also includes blades made from crucible steel

    Group B can be further divided into subgroups:

- B. I – blades made from horizontally arranged laminas (layers) of metal, where traces of welding basically go in parallel to the flats of the blade

- B. II – blades made from bars, where traces of welding basically go in perpendicular to the flats of the blade

    Further divisions of Subgroup B. I are the following:

- B. I. 1 – blades from layers of iron

- B. 1. 1. 1 – blades from layers of iron, where traces of welds go in parallel to the flats of the blade

- B. I. 1. 2 – blades from layers of iron, arranged obliquely to the horizontal axis of the cross-section of the blade

- B. I. 1. 3 – blades from layers of iron, where the flats and the core layers also form the edges

 

- B. I. 2 – blades from layers of steel

 

- B. I. 3 – blades from layers of heterogeneous, consciously selected metal (iron or low carbon steel and high carbon steel). This subgroup is divided into:

- B. I. 3. 1 – blades basically made from three layers of metal. There is a steel core which also forms the edges and this core is covered with two layers of iron which form the flats. This subgroups also encompassed three-layered blades, composed of layers with different properties (hard steel in one flat, steel of medium hardness in the core and low carbon steel or iron in the other flat), as well as blades with two layers – iron and steel

- B. I. 3. 2 – blades with three or more layers of metal. The core (made or iron, homogeneous or composed of layers, or made from layers of iron and steel) is covered with two layers of steel on the flats, which also form the edges

- B. I. 3. 3 – blades made from more than three layers of metal, iron and steel interchangeably

- B.  I. 3. 4 – blades made from several layers of iron and steel, arranged obliquely to the horizontal axis of the cross-section of the blade

-  B. I. 3. 5 – blades made from several layers of iron and steel, arranged obliquely to the horizontal axis of the cross-section of the blade in such a manner that high carbon zones can be seen in one edge only

- B. I. 3. 6 – blades with two layers forming the flats, with different carbon contents. The core is composed of several bars of metal with different carbon contents

- B. I. 3. 7 – blades made from layers of iron, with one carburised edge

 

    Subgroup B. II (the largest and the most diversified one) included blades made of bars of metal, usually with different microstructure and chemical composition. Its further divisions are the following:

- B. II. 1 – blades with no visible pattern in their flats (not pattern-welded), made by welding the edges to the core. Within such blades, there are:          

- B. II. 1. 1 – blades with welded-on iron edges, in all probability made without a conscious selection of material. The number of bars in the core may vary; furthermore, they may be arranged in one or two layers

- B. II. 1. 2 – blades with welded-on steel edges. The number of bars in the core may vary; furthermore, they may be arranged in one or two layers and there may be differences in carbon content between the core bares and the edges

- B. II. 1. 3 – blades with welded-on steel edges and cores composed of several layers of metal with lower carbon content

 

- B. II. 2 – blades with a visible pattern in their flats (pattern-welded). They consist of a core which is made from several bars and welded-on edges. Such blades are further divided into:

- B. II. 2. 1 – blades with the pattern running from one flat to the other one. This subgroup is further divided into:

- B. II. 2. 1. 1 – blades with a pattern of bars which are welded in perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the cross-section

- B. II. 2. 1. 2 – blades with a pattern of bars composed of thin layers of metal with different properties. Such layers are welded together and then twisted. The number of bars may vary and they are welded together in perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the cross-section of the blade

- B. II. 2. 1. 3 – blades with a pattern of bars which were welded together in perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the cross-section of the blade. In some parts such bars consisted of layers which were welded together in a straight manner, and in other parts they were twisted

 

- B. II. 2. 2 – blades with the pattern which does not run continuously from one flat to the other one. This subgroup is further divided into:

- B. II. 2. 2. 1 – blades with one pattern-welded flat

- B. II. 2. 2. 2 – blades with two pattern-welded flats. This subgroup is further divided into:

- B. II. 2. 2. 2. 1 – blades with two pattern-welded flats which also form the core. Such blades include:

- B. II. 2. 2. 2. 1. 1 – blades with a pattern of bars consisting of layers which were welded together and then twisted. The core consists of two layers of bars

- B. II. 2. 2. 2. 1. 2 – blades with a pattern of bars which were welded together and twisted in such a manner that a pattern of trellis or diagonal grid can be seen on the surface

- B. II. 2. 2. 2. 1. 3 – blades with diversified patterns of bars, being combinations of stripe, herringbone and others

 

- B. II. 2. 2. 2. 2 – blades with two pattern-welded flats and a homogeneous iron or low-carbon steel core. This subgroup includes:

- B. II. 2. 2. 2. 2. 1 – blades with two pattern-welded flats. The pattern is formed from bars which are welded in perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the cross-section of the blade. Their cores are made from one piece of metal

- B. II. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2 – blades with two pattern-welded flats. The pattern of bars is composed of thin layers of metal with different properties. Such layers are welded together and then twisted. The number of bars may vary and they are welded together in perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the cross-section of the blade. Their cores are made from one piece of metal

 

 

Bergman, L. T, Arrhenius, B. 2005 Excavations at Helgö XV. Weapon Investigations. Helgö and the Swedish Hinterland. Stockholm

 

Biborski, M., Ilkjær, J. 2006 Illerup Ådal. 11 Die Schwerter. Textband. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications 25: 11, 2006. Aarhus

 

Biborski, M., Kaczanowski, P., Kędzierski, Z., Stępiński J. 1982 “Metallographische Untersuchungen als Kriterium einer Identifikation römischer Schwerter.”               

In Ancient iron manufacture centres in northern central Europe. Archaeologia Interregionalis III, Warszawa-Kraków, 65-98.

 

Pleiner, R. 1993 The Celtic Sword. Oxford

 

Williams, A. R. 2012 The Sword and the Crucible. A History of the Metallurgy of European Swords up to the 16th Century. Leiden-Boston

 

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