As promised: Ottoman Sultan/ Viking sword

Jim McDougall · 11th January 2017, 10:37 PM

As well noted by Ian, this topic is pretty dangerous, especially with a description presented in eloquent text peppered with impressive though vague references to historic figures and empires.
I can recall one query asking, "what kind of swords did the Byzantines use?".

Naturally trying to describe the spectrum of swords here would look like Stones volume! as that empire lasted well over a millennia and covered more of the then known world than describable without itemizing each region and time frame.

Even the description of 'Varangians' is profoundly vague as it was a term describing Vikings used by Greeks and Eastern Slavs covering several centuries and regionally diverse to include Rus and others as well.

I would definitely be wary of swords with descriptions using these kinds of terms. Speaking of that, one of these interesting hilts once appeared in a prominent auction paired with a Sudanese blade. It was apparently quite convincing as it sold I believe, perhaps primarily for the impressive blade.

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11th January 2017, 10:37 PM	#13
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,191	As well noted by Ian, this topic is pretty dangerous, especially with a description presented in eloquent text peppered with impressive though vague references to historic figures and empires. I can recall one query asking, "what kind of swords did the Byzantines use?". Naturally trying to describe the spectrum of swords here would look like Stones volume! as that empire lasted well over a millennia and covered more of the then known world than describable without itemizing each region and time frame. Even the description of 'Varangians' is profoundly vague as it was a term describing Vikings used by Greeks and Eastern Slavs covering several centuries and regionally diverse to include Rus and others as well. I would definitely be wary of swords with descriptions using these kinds of terms. Speaking of that, one of these interesting hilts once appeared in a prominent auction paired with a Sudanese blade. It was apparently quite convincing as it sold I believe, perhaps primarily for the impressive blade.