Byzantine Swords

[Dain II.]

In the avar graveyard of Kölked-Feketekapu A, probably dominated by an gepidic ethnos, there was found an double edged, straight byzantine sword with a "batman-logo"-like bronze guard. Both parts have an diamond-shaped cross-section. There was no pommel attached. A friend of mine works actually at an reconstruction of the gavecontents for our avar group.

Where would we place the Khan Kubrat sword? [url:r26xz2xl]www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_2_13c.html[/url] A Byzantine diplomatic gift made in a style a "barbarian" would appreciate? There are probably other examples of this type of thing lying around which haven't been identified as such I suppose.

The sword from Mala Perescepina is related to the avar finds of Bocsa, Kunagota, Kunbabony, Visegrad and so on, and also to the paintings of Turks, Sogdians and Chachs in Afrasiab and to finds from Japan before (as far as I know) the Taika-reform by Tennō Kōtoku in 646. The european finds and central-asian depictions date from late 6th to the second third of the 7th century and are mostly single edged.

kind regards

[Blake]

New link address for the Byzantine Sword feature thread: http://sword-site.com/thread/99/byzantine-swords?page=1

[Urselius]

Interstingly the Emperor Manuel I (1143-1180) is recorded as saying that he thought that the swords of Western European knights were based on Byzantine models. Which probably shows that Byzantine and Latin swords were essentially from the same tradition.

Turning to earlier swords, I think that the Germanic peoples are credited with far too much originality in regard to sword design. In the first few centuries AD they were producing imitation gladius models - see the Nydam remains - and later, c.250-550, they like the Romans were producing copies of swords originating in Central Asia of Sarmatian and other Steppe-nomad origins.