Recommended Exhibition & Book: The Sword - Form and Thought

Lee · 10th December 2015, 03:51 PM

Continuing through Feb 28, 2016 is the exhibit The Sword - Form and Thought at the Deutsches Klingenmuseum in Solingen, Germany. If you are at all interested in European medieval swords, then you would likely find a visit to the exhibition very worthwhile as there are a number of seldom exhibited and even first exhibitions of swords including a substantial number from the collection of a member of this forum. This exhibition focuses on documentation and presentation of a number of fine examples of swords in the context of stories forming the 'legend' of the sword. Everything is presented against the emerging backdrop of the role of geometric relationships in the design of the European medieval sword and Peter Johnsson's observations in this regard.

The likely role of the Church in medieval arms manufacture and supply has increasingly been recognized in the past few years. Some scholars interpret the crosses in the +Ulfberht+ sword inscriptions as evidence of a monastic connection (see The Vlfberht sword blades reevaluated by Anne Stalsberg ) and this interpretation has been corroborated by the observation that from the +Ulfberht+ blades forward for several centuries there are specific relationships between hilt and blade length as well as crossguard and other hilt components, just as similar geometric proportions are identified in cathedral design of the same period.

The exhibit labeling is presented only in German, however the accompanying book presents the exhibition in extended detail with sections explaining the geometric relationships and functional characteristics in both German and English along with descriptions of each sword in the exhibit accompanied by an excellent overall image and hilt detail image in color for each sword.

10th December 2015, 03:51 PM	#1
Lee EAAF Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 914	Recommended Exhibition & Book: The Sword - Form and Thought Continuing through Feb 28, 2016 is the exhibit The Sword - Form and Thought at the Deutsches Klingenmuseum in Solingen, Germany. If you are at all interested in European medieval swords, then you would likely find a visit to the exhibition very worthwhile as there are a number of seldom exhibited and even first exhibitions of swords including a substantial number from the collection of a member of this forum. This exhibition focuses on documentation and presentation of a number of fine examples of swords in the context of stories forming the 'legend' of the sword. Everything is presented against the emerging backdrop of the role of geometric relationships in the design of the European medieval sword and Peter Johnsson's observations in this regard. The likely role of the Church in medieval arms manufacture and supply has increasingly been recognized in the past few years. Some scholars interpret the crosses in the +Ulfberht+ sword inscriptions as evidence of a monastic connection (see The Vlfberht sword blades reevaluated by Anne Stalsberg ) and this interpretation has been corroborated by the observation that from the +Ulfberht+ blades forward for several centuries there are specific relationships between hilt and blade length as well as crossguard and other hilt components, just as similar geometric proportions are identified in cathedral design of the same period. The exhibit labeling is presented only in German, however the accompanying book presents the exhibition in extended detail with sections explaining the geometric relationships and functional characteristics in both German and English along with descriptions of each sword in the exhibit accompanied by an excellent overall image and hilt detail image in color for each sword. Attached Images