Living by the sword: weapons and material culture in France and Britain, 600-1600

Abstract

This text sharpens the readers' knowledge of swords as it traverses through a captivating 1,000 years of French and English history. The book reveals that warrior culture, with the sword as its ultimate symbol, was deeply rooted in ritual long before the introduction of gunpowder weapons transformed the battlefield. The book argues that objects have agency and that decoding their meaning involves seeing them in motion: bought, sold, exchanged, refurbished, written about, displayed, and used in ceremony. Drawing on evidence about swords in the possession of nobles and royalty, the book explores the meanings people attached to them from the contexts in which they appeared

Contents

Introduction: What Do Swords Mean? -- Swords and Oral Culture in the Early Middle Ages -- Swords and Chivalric Culture in the High Middle Ages -- Swords, Clothing and Armor in the Late Middle Ages -- Swords and Documents in the Sixteenth Century.