When using this listing, please keep in mind that your browser is likely to have a "find" command to search this page for specific text. As this site matures, descriptive material will accompany each reference. The following color codes apply to this bibliography: Maroon for major works which I have found to be of enduring interest, dark blue for catalogs of great collections & green for works published in the present and preceding year. Works in electronic media (CD-ROM and laser disk) are noted in brown.
Alexander, D.G., "European Swords in the Collections of Istanbul: Part 1. Swords from the Arsenal of Alexandria," Waffen und Kostümkunde 27 (1985), p. 81 - 118. A thorough review of the medieval European swords remaining in museums in Istanbul (almost all are in the Askeri museum) with illustrations of the hilts and blade markings. Most of these swords bear engraved dedicatory inscriptions to the Mamluk arsenal at Alexandria, and were transferred to Istanbul in antiquity. The article provides historical background and logically speculates on the origins of these swords (war booty and diplomatic gifts) depending upon the time of their accession and the nature of blade markings and provides a classification of the types represented along the lines of pommel type.
Androshchuk, Fedir, Viking Swords: Swords and Social Aspects
of Weaponry in Viking Age Societies (Studies 23). Stockholm:
Swedish History Museum, 2014. A detailed academic work on swords
of the Viking Age including updated thinking on Petersen's typology,
dating, decoration and what may be inferred from the distribution
of the types. A detailed catalogue of relevant swords from Sweden
is included.
Anstee, J.W. and Biek, L., "The
Forging of a Pattern-welded Sword," in Davidson, H. R. Ellis,
The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England (Rochester: The Boydell
Press, corrected reprint 1994) p. 217 - 224 [Originally published
1962]. This short appendix describes experimental work undertaken
at the forge in 1955 culminating in the modern manufacture of
a simple pattern-welded sword.
Behmer, Elis, Das Zweuschneidige Schwert der Germanischen Völkerwanderungszeit (Stockholm: Tryckeriaktiebolaget Svea, 1939) (German). This work illustrates, describes and classifies swords of the Germanic Migration Period and is the standard academic reference in its field. Many of the illustrated swords are presently in the collection of the Württembergisches Landesmuseum in Stuttgart, a number of which are on display in the early middle-ages exhibit.
Bone, Peter, "The Development of Anglo-Saxon Swords from the Fifth to the Eleventh Century," in Hawkes, Sonia Chadwick, ed., Weapons and Warfare in Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1989), p. 63 - 70. A short essay based upon a lecture, this article presents a concise account of the development of swords in Anglo-Saxon and Viking England based primarily upon hilt evolution and includes a nice series of line drawings of hilt styles.
Clements, John, Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated Methods and Techniques (Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press, 1998) Besides exhaustive information on how medieval swords were used, to include single-handed forms used with shields as well as the application of two-handed forms, this work includes extensive sections on the origins and evolution of the swords of medieval Europe. The various specialized types of medieval sword are illustrated by line drawings and described in detail. Diagrams are also provided detailing the nomenclature of these swords and illustrating variations in their forms. A lengthy section on medieval shields is also included as is a section on the impact of plate armour.
Combe, Et., "Nouveaux Sabres Européens à Inscriptions Arabes de l'Arsenal d'Alexandrie," Bulletin of the Royal Archaeological Society of Alexandria 32 (1938), Extract p. 1 - 6. (French) An addendum to the preceding year's paper (see next entry below), this paper describes Arabic inscriptions on four European medieval swords, apparently all once belonging to Major J. A. Prescott of London. These swords appear to have subsequently been sold at Christie's in London: #1 - lot 240, 12 May 1994; #2 - lot 27, 18 April 1985 (on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art); #3 - lot 59, 10 July 1984; #4 - lot 36, 20 November 1991. The paper also briefly includes further anecdotes speculating on how many of the items once in the Ottoman imperial arsenal (formerly in the old Byzantine church of St. Irene) came to be in European collections of that time.
Combe, Et. & Cosson, A. F. C., "European Swords with Arabic Inscriptions from the Armoury of Alexandria," Bulletin of the Royal Archaeological Society of Alexandria 31 (1937), p. 225 - 246. While European medieval swords with Arabic inscriptions were present in western collections as early as the late Nineteenth Century, little was known about the nature of these inscriptions until the publication of this paper which translated the inscriptions on nine such swords and provided detailed interpretative and historical contextual information. Interesting speculations upon the origin and provenance of these swords are also presented. Many of the swords described are still present in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Royal Ontario Museum. Mr. Kienbusch's examples are now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Davidson, H. R. Ellis, The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England (Rochester: The Boydell Press, corrected reprint 1994) [Originally published 1962]. This wonderful book is the definitive English language text regarding the sword as an aspect of Anglo-Saxon and Viking culture and literature. Comprehensive and current at the time of first publication, some of the discussion on how and where these swords (and eastern Damascene swords) were made has been superseded by later research and should no longer be considered entirely accurate.
Geibig, Alfred, Beiträge zur morphologischen Entwicklung des Schwertes im Mittelalter: Eine Analyse des Fundmaterials vom ausgehenden 8. bis zum 12. Jahrhundert aus Sammlungen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Neumünster: Karl Wachholtz Verlag, 1991) (German). So comprehensive is the wealth of information in this work on swords of the Viking Age and the immediately following centuries that it spills over from 375 printed pages into a catalog on five included microfiche. This work opens presenting a tetranomial digital classification scheme based upon pommel and upper guard face profile, pommel and upper guard profile viewed on end, pommel and upper guard profile viewed from above and lower guard viewed from below, simplified into several "combination types," followed by a classification scheme for blades of the same period, and then by hilt construction types. Correlations between types and estimated date of manufacture and find places are then presented. A detailed discussion of blade inlays and inscriptions is also provided and includes much detail including fairly comprehensive listings of known examples of the ULFBERHT and INGELRII groups as well as discussion of the various variants of the IN NOMINE DOMINI and -ME FECIT inscribed swords. A large number of swords are illustrated with detailed photographs and detailed lists cross reference the classification scheme with known examples.
Geibig, Alfred, "Zur Formenvielfalt der Schwerter und Schwertfragmente von Haithabu," Offa 46 (1989), p. 223 - 267. (German, includes a brief English summary) A detailed description of swords, sword fragments and isolated sword mountings found in the area of Hedeby (Haithabu, near Schleswig, Germany), the largest city and most important trade center in the north a millennium ago, and now, literally, a cow pasture.
Gorman, Michael R., "ULFBERHT: Innovation and Imitation in Early Medieval Swords," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 16 (1999), p. 7 - 12. Iron +ULFBERHT+ inlays characterize many Viking Age sword blades from the late 8th Century through the mid-10th Century. Presently believed to be a smith's name or "trademark," these inlays are regarded as having been widely counterfeited at the time. This article, largely drawn from the German language works of Geibig (1989), considers the nature, distribution, chronology and authenticity of these inscriptions, as well as the slightly later INGELRII inscriptions, and includes illustrations of several examples, including some not previously published.
Hoffmeyer, Ada Bruhn, Middelalderens Tveæggede Sværd (Copenhagen: Udgivet af Tøjhusmuseet, 1954) (Danish with English summary). A doctoral thesis, this two volume work presents a classification of swords from the close of the Viking Age to the dawn of the Renaissance, dividing swords into seven main groups on the basis of pommel form, some of which are further subclassified. Dr. Hoffmeyer's chronology in this work tends to assign later dates (by one to two centuries) than those most recently presented by Oakeshott, who has been progressively drifting towards earlier dating for many types as further evidence accumulates (which he explains in the 1994 preface to the reprint of his Archaeology of Weapons.) The second volume contains a comprehensive catalog linking the classification scheme to examples in museum collections and publications and includes numerous photographs of swords which frequently omit the far (working) end of the blade.
Jakobsson, Mikael, Krigarideologi och vikingatida svärdstypologi (Stockholm: Stockholm Studies in Archaeology 11: Stockholms universitet (1992). (Swedish with English Summary). The distributions of hundreds of Viking Age swords with known findplaces are analyzed by overall hilt design principle and plotted by Petersen type in a series of maps of Europe.
Jones, Lee A., "The Serpent in the Sword: Pattern-welding in Early Medieval Swords," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 14 (1997), p. 7 - 11. Available in its entirety on-line in both HTML and PDF format. A brief review of the pattern-welding technique from its supposed origin in the piled construction of Celtic swords through its zenith as seen in Migration Period and its decline through the Viking Age until it is represented only by iron inlaid inscriptions.
Kalus, Ludvik, "Donations pieuses d'épées médiévales à l'Arsenal d'Alexandrie," Revue des Études Islamiques (1982), p. 1 - 174. (French) (Reprinted by Libraire Orientaliste Paul Geuthner S.A.; 12, rue Vavin, 75006 Paris, France in 1990; ISBN 2-7053-0636-6.) The author organizes the Alexandria (Egypt) Arsenal inscribed swords known at the time from the literature and the large number remaining in the Military Museum in Istanbul (Turkey) by the nature of their inscriptions. Cross-referenced indices are provided as are line drawings of many of the original (European) markings on the blades and photographs of the inscriptions of those in the museum in Istanbul.
Lang, Janet and Ager, Barry, "Swords of the Anglo-Saxon and Viking Periods in the British Museum: a Radiographic Study," in Hawkes, Sonia Chadwick, ed., Weapons and Warfare in Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1989), p. 85 - 122. Results of a comprehensive radiographic study of the swords in the British Museum with a particular emphasis on pattern-welded blade construction and on blades with iron inlaid inscriptions. Comparisons of the distribution in time and over area of various pattern-welded sword types and non-patterned swords are presented. Highly recommended and probably the most important contribution to the subject of pattern-welding in the last decade, this article presents compelling evidence that pattern-welding was principally undertaken for decorative purposes and that these swords were made in multiple localities.
Leppäaho, Jorma, Späteisenzeitliche Waffen aus Finnland: Schwertinschriften und Waffenverzierungen des 9. - 12. Jahrhunderts (Helsinki: Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistyksen Aikakauskirja Finska Fornminnesföreningens Tidskrift, 1961) (German). An exhaustive study of swords bearing iron inlays as well as non-ferrous inlays found in Finland and principally dating from the 9th through 12th Centuries with numerous detailed photographs and diagrams. A few non-inscribed blades and spearheads with exceptional pattern-welding are also illustrated. Decorated sword hilts, spear head sockets and axe blades are also illustrated. Many of the items documented in this work are from the collection of The National Museum of Finland.
Lorange, A. L., Den Yngre Jernalders Sværd (Bergen: John Griegs Bogtrykkeri, 1889) (Norwegian with French summary). Of the text I can make little comment other than that it includes a discussion of iron inlaid names including INGLERII and ULFBERHT and also appears to address technical details such as carbon contents. The illustrations are of exceptional quality and include eight large lithographs showing details of blades, inscriptions and hilt ornamentation. Photographs, limited by static lighting and analytical tonal balance frequently fail to disclose many subtle details which can be easily discerned directly by the eye when the vantage point can be shifted. These lithographs capture the spirit of the pattern-welded surfaces of excavated blades (Most of Plate 6, JPEG, 133 kb, opens in new window) in a way that only a very skilled artist may depict and I am unaware of any work which has surpassed these since. Back when (late in the last decade) the mantra in the English language literature was that pattern-welded blades never had iron inlaid inscriptions, this volume lay in libraries, cited, but clearly not seen. Plate 5 even today threatens the current thinking that British style blades that are pattern-welded will have no iron inlaid inscriptions in its depiction of a Petersen type L (Wheeler type 5) with both features (Detail of Plate 5, JPEG, 36 kb, opens in new window).
Mann, James, "A European Sword of the Late XIVth Century with an Arabic Inscription," Eretz-Israel 7 (1963), p 76 - 79. A sword presently in the Royal Armories, formerly in the collection of Mr. W. O. Oldman, is described along with further comments on the provenance of many of the Alexandria arsenal inscribed swords. Also of interest is a photograph of one of the wall trophy displays in which many of these swords were included at the end of the 19th Century in the church of St. Irene in Istanbul.
Marek, Lech, Early Medieval Swords from Central and Eastern Europe (Wroclaw: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wroclawskiego, 2005) (English) A rare, accessible and helpful insight into the medieval sword and its variations in Eastern Europe, with correlations to finds in wider Europe.
Maryon, Herbert, "Pattern-welding and Damascening of Sword-blades: Part I - Pattern-Welding," Studies in Conservation 5 (1960), p. 25 - 37. This brief review article by the originator of the term "pattern-welding" accurately details all the salient points of the construction of pattern-welded blades and of how all the patterns observed result as a function of the depth of grinding into a twisted rod structure. The article also includes a brief description of pattern-welding as encountered in the Malay kris. "...Part 2: The Damascene Process" appeared in the same volume of this journal as pages 52 - 60 and deals with Eastern wootz Damascene steels.
Menghin, Wilfried, Das Schwert im Frühen Mittelalter (Stuttgart: Konrad Theiß Verlag, 1983) (German). A chronological and typological study of long swords from Germanic graves of the 5th through 7th Centuries. A brief description of the evolution of these swords is followed by details of sword construction as well as much detail about associated mountings, including scabbards and sword belts, with many maps showing the distribution of find-places. This is followed by a long section giving details of the contents of many graves illustrated by line drawings and photographs.
Melville, Neil, "The Incised Effigial Stone at Foveran, Aberdeenshire," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 15 (1998), p. 11 - 17. Effigial stones from early 15th Century Scotland which depict swords are illustrated and correlated with the evolution of the two handed sword in Scotland.
Moilanen, Mikko, Marks of Fire, Value and Faith: Swords with Ferrous Inlays in Finland during the Late Iron Age (ca. 700-1200 AD) (Turku: Archaeologia Medii Aevi Finlandiae XXI, 2015). The book on Viking Age swords that I always dreamed of, prepared as a doctoral thesis from an author who entered academia from a background in bladesmithing. This work provides a comprehensive insight into the nature of these swords and how they were made as well as into their distribution and evolution. The main focus is on those swords recovered in Finland and there is no better location for study as weapons burials persisted there a few centuries longer than in the parts of Scandinavia that Christianized earlier. This allowed the author extensive access to pattern-welded blades through such as those inlaid with +Ulfberth+ and into all of the variants and contemporaries of +Innominedoimini+. While you should want the printed version of this book if you have any persisting interest in the subject, it gets even better as the University has provided the full text as a pdf for free download.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, The Archaeology of Weapons (New York: Barnes & Noble, revised edition, 1994) [Originally published 1960]. This book has become a classic in its field and was Mr. Oakshott's first book-length work on ancient weapons, ranging from the Bronze Age through the close of the Medieval Period. Written in its author's inimitable style with chatty anecdotes occasionally interspersed with well chosen background and facts, the book can be quite entertaining as well as informative. The revisions in the 1994 edition include a few remarks in a separate section and several new plates. Mr. Oakeshott has revised some of his opinions since the body of the text, which remains unaltered, was written.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "Further Notes on a River-Find of 15th Century Swords, " Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 1 (1984), p. 7 - 12. The second of four phases in the evolution of Mr. Oakeshott's interpretation of the origin and significance of a group of eighty swords recovered from the Dordogne River near a battlefield of the Hundred Years War.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "The Grip of the Medieval Sword and a Battle near Tagliacozzo," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 11 (1994), p. 6 - 13. Nine medieval swords retaining period grips are discussed in context with how the grips came to survive.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart and Peirce, Ian, "Hiltipreht! Name or Invocation," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 12 (1995), p. 6 - 11. Five Viking Age swords associated with an inscription of Hiltipreht are discussed in conjunction with whether the inscription represents a proper name or an invocation translating to battle ready. Mr. Oakeshott and Mr. Peirce are currently collaborating on Swords of the Viking Age, forthcoming from Boydell and Brewer (no release date yet set).
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, Records of the Medieval Sword (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1991). This work grew out of the collected papers and photographs of Mr. Oakeshott and was intended as a finale, being sort of an "opening of the file cabinet" to the world. Rather than illustrating historical themes with swords, as he had done in the past, in this larger format (27.5 by 21.5 cm.) work, numerous swords are divided into groups according to the latest revision of Mr. Oakeshott's classification scheme and presented, most often one to a page, with photographs, sketches, written descriptions, comparisons and anecdotes, as appropriate to the sword concerned. Now reissued in paperback.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "Reflections upon some Medieval Swords from the Thames," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 2 (1985), p. 7 - 14. An illustrated review of medieval swords found along the River Thames with speculations upon how these swords came to be in that river.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "The Sempach Family of Swords," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 4 (1987), p. 7 - 15. Being a consideration of swords of a style (within the author's type XVII) associated with a decisive battle near the village of Sempach in which the Swiss were victorious over the Austrians in 1386. Other medieval swords with similar blade markings are also considered.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "Serpent of Blood," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 8 (1991), p. 5 - 11. References to Viking swords in the sagas and descriptions and illustrations of swords from the late Migration Period through the Viking Age and into the Norman Period are presented. (The hilt of sword 3, first published in this article, is silver, rather than gilt bronze).
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, Sword in Hand (Minneapolis: Arms & Armor, Inc., 2000) This book is a compilation of a series of articles which updates the author's previous works on Migration Period to late medieval swords. The text has been corrected and updated in several places from the time of magazine publication and careful attention has been paid to reproduction of the illustrations. Lay it on top of the same author's Records of the Medieval Sword and you have a fairly comphrenhesive survey of the subject with a great catalogue of examples. Citations for the original articles: "Medieval Swords," Gun Report (September 1985, p. 18 - 22; October 1985, p. 18 - 23; December 1985, p. 18 - 23; January, 1986, p.18 - 23; February 1986, p. 14 - 19; March 1986, p. 14 - 20; April 1986, p. 16 - 23; June 1986, p. 22 - 32; August 1986, p. 44 - 53; October 1986, p. 52 - 62, 66; January 1987, p. 24 - 32; April 1987, p.46 - 53; January 1988, p. 22 - 29).
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, The Sword in the Age of Chivalry, Revised Edition (London, Arms and Armour Press, 1981). This book was first published in 1964 and yet a third edition has appeared since the one cited. While a brief overview of the swords of the Migration Period and of the Viking Age is made, this work concentrates on the period from 1050 to 1550 with many additional swords illustrated.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart and Peirce, Ian, Swords of the Viking Age (Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer, Ltd., 2002). A 'prequel' of sorts to Records of the Medieval Sword with a wide diversity of styles of Viking swords presented in a similar, but expanded, catalog format. Measurements are included for most of the about sixty examples illustrated and described in detail by Peirce. Oakeshott introduces the basics on these swords and their place in Viking Age society. Limited material on classification, hence evolution, and blade construction, to include pattern-welding, is also included.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart and Peirce, Ian, "The Sword of Can Grande della Scala," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 17 (2000), p. 6 - 11. A princely medieval sword and its mountings recovered in 1921 from the tomb of Can Grande della Scala (died 1329) and now in the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona is presented.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "The Sword of the Comté de Dreux: Non-Christian Symbolism and the Medieval European Sword," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 20 (2003), p. 22 - 28. Oakeshott argues for the provenance in the title and also that this splendidly decorated group was preserved in the Alexandria Arsenal for an interval.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "Swords, Warlords and Fish," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 13 (1996), p. 7 - 11. A discussion of the "Fastolf" sword in the Norwich Castle Museum and swords with similar marks.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "The Swords of Castillon, " Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 10 (1993), p. 7 - 16. Mr. Oakeshott presents more information about the large group of swords recovered from the Dordogne River near the Fifteenth Century battlefield and concludes that they were, in fact, most likely battlefield spoils collected by the victorious French.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "The Templars and The Church," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 15 (1998), p. 7 - 10. Medieval swords with marks suggesting an association with Templars, including a previously unpublished example with an Alexandria arsenal dedicatory inscription, are discussed in the historic context of the Templars.
Oakeshott, R. Ewart, "Two Identified Swords," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 18 (2001), p. 7 - 9. A type XII sword recovered from the filled-in moat of the Chateau de Brion sur Ource commands most of the discussion with brief mention also made of another of type XIV having an early example of down-turned quillons.
Oliver, David, "Some European Knightly Swords from the Arsenal of Alexandria," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 16 (1999), p. 13 - 24. The history and nature of the Alexandria Arsenal inscribed group of swords is briefly reviewed and a number of these swords and their inscriptions are described and illustrated, with particular emphasis having been placed on examples which either were on the market over the past several decades and or which have not previously been published or widely illustrated.
Peirce, Ian, "Arms, Armour and Warfare in the Eleventh Century," in Anglo-Norman Studies: X. Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1987 p. 237 - 257. Three medieval swords (X.10, X.12 and Xa.3 in Oakeshott's Records) are illustrated and described along with other arms and armour of the period with an emphasis on the Normans and the Battle of Hastings (1066).
Peirce, Ian, "The Development of the Medieval Sword, c. 850 - 1300," in Harper-Bill, C and Harvey, Ruth, eds., Ideals and Practice of Medieval Knighthood: Papers from the Third Strawberry Hill Conference (1988), p. 139 - 158. An illustrated transcript from a lecture, the development of cutting swords within the stated period is illustrated with some of the best surviving examples in public and private collections and with contemporary manuscript illustrations.
Peirce, Ian, "The Knight, His Arms and Armour c. 1150 - 1250," in Chibnall, Marjorie, ed., Anglo-Norman Studies: XV. Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1992 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1993), p. 251 - 274. This paper examines European armor and arms in the context of contemporary drawings and sculpture as well as including a few illustrations of swords and helmets.
Peirce, Ian, "The Knight, his Arms and Armour in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries," in Harper-Bill, C and Harvey, Ruth, eds., Ideals and Practice of Medieval Knighthood: Papers from the First and Second Strawberry Hill Conferences , p. 152 - 164. An illustrated transcript from a lecture, this paper examines European armor and arms in the context of contemporary sculpture and includes a few illustrations of swords.
Petersen, Jan, De Norske Vikingesverd (Kristiana: Jacob Dybwad, 1919) (Norwegian). Partially available on-line. This work provides an illustrated classification scheme for Viking Age swords, axes and spears. The sword classification is based upon hilt style and includes an extensive discussion of features and surviving examples, and remains the most frequently used typological classification today. The book includes three color plates illustrating sword hilts with copper, silver and gold inlays. Plate 1, (34 kb jpeg), Plate 2, (23 kb jpeg), Plate 3 (27 kb jpeg)
Pothmann, Alfred, ed., Das Zeremonialschwert der Essener Domschatzkammer (Münster: Aschendorff Verlag, 1995) (German) A comprehensive series of illustrated essays on the late Viking Age sword in the Treasury of the Cathedral in Essen, Germany from the aspects of both art and technology. Golden, jeweled trim overlies a plain sword with a tea-cosy pommel of Petersen type X which has a blade with iron inlaid geometric designs. Individual chapters are also written by Erich Schumacher, Christian Thoma, Herbert Westphal, Alfred Geibig, Manfred Sachse, Hiltrud Westermann-Angerhausen and Michael Müller-Wille.
Short, William R., Viking Weapons and Combat Techniques (Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2009). A survey of the full panoply of Viking Age arms and armour with considerations of how same were employed and a discussion of the arms and armour in the broader context of Viking culture. Detailed review.
Thomas, Clive, "A Distinctive Group of Swords from the Arsenal of Alexandria," Park Lane Arms Fair Catalogue 20 (2003), p. 29 - 44. The subset of European swords once accessioned into the Alexandria (Egypt) Arsenal corresponding to Oakeshott's type 15 (broad forte, central ridge on each blade face, edges fairly straightly tapering to an acute point) and inscribed with dates in the second decade of the fifteenth century are considered in detail with many illustrations.
Thompson, Logan, "The Sword Treasure Trove," Man at Arms 19-4 (July-August, 1997), p. 37 - 39, 42 - 45. More on the "Castillon" group of Fifteenth Century swords from the Dordogne River in France.
Tylecote, R.F. and Gilmour, B.J.J., B.A.R.British Series 155: The Metallography of Early Ferrous Edge Tools and Edged Weapons (Oxford: B.A.R., 1986). Metallographic studies including analyses of numerous pattern-welded sword blades including cross-sectional diagrams of various piled constructions.
Watkin, J. R., "A Late Anglo-Saxon Sword from Gilling West, N. Yorkshire," Medieval Archaeology 30 (1986). (I have seen this only as an offprint, sold in the museum's store, which omits the page numbers from the 8 pages.) A description of this sword and analyses conducted upon it is accompanied by line drawings and a photograph. The description of the pattern-welded blade is credited to B. J. Gilmore.
Willems, J. H. and Ypey, Jaap, "Ein Angelsächsisches Schwert aus der Maas bei Wessen, Provinz Limburg (Niederlande)," Archäologisches Korrespondenblatt 15 (1985), p. 103 - 113. (German) Description, drawings and photographs of a Viking Age sword with a silver and niello decorated hilt and an iron blade with inlays found in the Netherlands, including a brief chemical analysis of the silver alloy decoration by Pieter B. Hallebeek.
Williams, Alan, The Knight and the Blast Furnace: A History of the Metallurgy of Armour in the Middle Ages & the Early Modern Period (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2002) True to the title, the majority of this detailed 954 page work is dedicated to armour, though a very brief section on swords is included.
Williams, Alan R., "Methods of Manufacture of Swords in Medieval Europe: Illustrated by the Metallography of Some Examples," Gladius 13 (1977), p. 75 - 101. In this paper Williams presents metallographic research into the methods of forging and heat treating of sword blades in the period 1000 - 1500, beginning with an +ULFBERHT+ inscribed blade fragment. While the +ULFBERHT+ fragment was of piled construction, five of the seven remaining specimens were discovered to have been formed from a single bar with the blades later case-carburised.
Williams, Alan, The Sword and the Crucible: A History of the Metallurgy of Eropean Swords up to the 16th Century (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2012) A history of the European sword told in the context of metallurgy, with an introductory chapter to help the non-metallurgist understand the following details from Celtic through Roman times into and through the Dark Ages into the beginnings of the mass production of steel.
Ypey, Jaap, "Einige wikingerzeitliche Schwerter aus den Niederlanden," Offa 41 (1984), p. 213 - 225. (German). A article presenting several previously unreported Viking Age swords found in the Netherlands in the context of a review including other swords previously reported from Dutch find-places. Includes dimensions, drawings and a map of find-place locations.
Ypey, Jaap, "Frühmittelalterliche Waffen mit Damast," in Damaszenerstahl: Vorträge der 1. Fachtagung über "Damaszenerstahl - Stahlgewinnung und Stahlverarbeitung in der vorindustriellen Zeit" (Fachausschussbericht 9.008) (Düsseldorf: Verein Deutscher Eisenhüttenleute, 1983) (German), p. 5 - 31. Extensively illustrated treatise on pattern-welded swords and the nature of the pattern-welding process.