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Sharpen your knowledge of swords with Kristen B. Neuschel as she takes you through a captivating 1,000 years of French and English history. Living by the Sword 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. Neuschel 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 (from wills, inventories, records of armories, and treasuries) in the possession of nobles and royalty, she explores the meanings people attached to them from the contexts in which they appeared. These environments included other prestige goods such as tapestries, jewels, and tableware—all used to construct and display status. Living by the Sword draws on an exciting diversity of sources from archaeology, military and social history, literature, and material culture studies to inspire students and educated lay readers (including collectors and reenactors) to stretch the boundaries of what they know as the "war and culture" genre.
This study concerns the importance of the sword in Anglo-Saxon and Viking society, with reference to surviving swords and literary sources, especially Beowulf.
The image of a giant sword melting stands at the structural and thematic heart of the Old English heroic poem Beowulf. This meticulously researched book investigates the nature and significance of this golden-hilted weapon and its likely relatives within Beowulf and beyond, drawing on the fields of Old English and Old Norse language and literature, liturgy, archaeology, astronomy, folklore and comparative mythology. In Part I, Pettit explores the complex of connotations surrounding this image (from icicles to candles and crosses) by examining a range of medieval sources, and argues that the giant sword may function as a visual motif in which pre-Christian Germanic concepts and prominent Christian symbols coalesce. In Part II, Pettit investigates the broader Germanic background to this image, especially in relation to the god Ing/Yngvi-Freyr, and explores the capacity of myths to recur and endure across time. Drawing on an eclectic range of narrative and linguistic evidence from Northern European texts, and on archaeological discoveries, Pettit suggests that the image of the giant sword, and the characters and events associated with it, may reflect an elemental struggle between the sun and the moon, articulated through an underlying myth about the theft and repossession of sunlight. The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in 'Beowulf' is a welcome contribution to the overlapping fields of Beowulf-scholarship, Old Norse-Icelandic literature and Germanic philology. Not only does it present a wealth of new readings that shed light on the craft of the Beowulf-poet and inform our understanding of the poem’s major episodes and themes; it further highlights the merits of adopting an interdisciplinary approach alongside a comparative vantage point. As such, The Waning Sword will be compelling reading for Beowulf-scholars and for a wider audience of medievalists.
The Resplendent image of the medieval knight is concentrated in the symbolism of his sword. The straight, two-edged, cross-hilted knightly sword of the European middle ages was an object of vital importance, a lethal weapon on the battlefield and a badge of chivalry in that complex social code. Ewart Oakeshott draws on his extensive research and expert eye (and hand, for he has a special sense for the feel of a sword) to develop a typology for and recount the history of the sword, from the knightly successors of the Viking weapon to the emergence of the Renaissance sword - that is, roughly from 1050 to 1550. Within this time-span, two distinct groups of swords successively evolved. Problems of dating are acute, and evidence is adduced from literature and art as well as from archaeology, for a sword (or some parts of a sword) could have been in use several generations after it first saw battle. To deal with such overlap, Ewart Oakeshott develops, refines and illustrates a detailed typology of swords which takes in entire swords, pommel-forms, cross-guards, and the grip and scabbard.
A multidisciplinary overview of current research into the enduringly fascinating martial artefact which is the sword.
As the only female detective in Tokyo's most elite police unit, Mariko Oshiro has to fight for every ounce of respect, especially from her new boss. But when he gives her the least promising case possible, the attempted theft of an old samurai sword, it proves more dangerous than anyone on the force could have imagined. Mariko's investigation has put her on a collision course with a curse centuries old and as bloodthirsty as ever. She is only the latest in a long line of warriors and soldiers to confront this power, and even the sword she wields could turn against her.
In this retelling which features stained glass illustrations, young Arthur proves himself to be the rightful heir to the throne by being the only one able to pull the sword from the steel anvil.
In Bible and Sword Barbara Tuchman provides a stirring account of the religious, cultural and political motives which led to the British conquest of the Holy Land in 1917 and to the Balfour Declaration.
A sweeping history of the often-violent conflict between Islam and the West, shedding a revealing light on current hostilities The West and Islam -- the sword and scimitar -- have clashed since the mid-seventh century, when, according to Muslim tradition, the Roman emperor rejected Prophet Muhammad's order to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam, unleashing a centuries-long jihad on Christendom. Sword and Scimitar chronicles the decisive battles that arose from this ages-old Islamic jihad, beginning with the first major Islamic attack on Christian land in 636, through the Muslim occupation of nearly three-quarters of Christendom which prompted the Crusades, followed by renewed Muslim conquests by Turks and Tatars, to the European colonization of the Muslim world in the 1800s, when Islam largely went on the retreat -- until its reemergence in recent times. Using original sources in Arabic and Greek, preeminent historian Raymond Ibrahim describes each battle in vivid detail and explains how these wars and the larger historical currents of the age reflect the cultural fault lines between Islam and the West. The majority of these landmark battles -- including the battles of Yarmuk, Tours, Manzikert, the sieges at Constantinople and Vienna, and the crusades in Syria and Spain--are now forgotten or considered inconsequential. Yet today, as the West faces a resurgence of this enduring Islamic jihad, Sword and Scimitar provides the needed historical context to understand the current relationship between the West and the Islamic world -- and why the Islamic State is merely the latest chapter of an old history.
The Seeker of Truth takes his rightful place as the new ruler of D’Hara in the third novel of the #1 New York Times–bestselling author’s epic fantasy series. After escaping from the Palace of Prophets, Richard comes to terms with his true identity as a War Wizard. But when he brings down the barrier between the Old and New Worlds, the Imperial Order suddenly poses a threat to the the freedom of all humankind. As the Imperial Order sends delegations and armies into the New World, Richard’s only chance to stop the invasion is to claim his heritage as the new Lord Rahl and ruler of D’Hara. But convincing the D’Harans of his legitimacy won’t be easy. Meanwhile, a powerful enemy is on the trail of Richard’s love, Kahlan Amnell. And when the spell Richard cast to protect her is broken, he must martial his newfound authority—and the armies that come with it—to save her life.