Swords, Seaxes and Saxons

By Matthew Harffy

The Germanic tribes who settled in Britain from the 5th century onward, commonly known as the Anglo-Saxons, were a bellicose people. They put great stock in battle-prowess and dying in combat in the service of one's lord was the ideal death of a warrior. They were a people of tales and sagas told around hearth-fires in smoky halls. The story of Beowulf, a great warlord who later becomes a great king, harkens from sometime during this period. The eponymous character of the epic poem is typical of heroes of the time. He is brave, strong, honourable and his fame is known throughout the lands in which he travels. Warriors such as Beowulf measured their battle-fame and success in the quality of their weapons and armour. The Saxons are even named for their use of the single-edged knife or short sword called the seax.

High status warrior with pattern-welded sword

The period from the end of the Roman presence in Britain to the Norman Conquest is now known as the early medieval. However, it is more romantically, and much more commonly, known as the Dark Ages, and in many ways these centuries were dark. Literacy and education was very rare, so much of the history was not recorded in writing. As to remains for archaeologists to study, the Anglo-Saxons built their halls and houses of timber, leaving little in the way of visible marks on the landscape. The times were dark indeed for many who perished in the frequent bloody battles between the small kingdoms that divided Britain.

However, it was not all gloom and death. It was also a time of great craftsmen, who created some incredibly intricate work. Nowhere was this more apparent than when their love of war melded with their sense of the artistic in the creation of their sword blades and the ornate decorations that adorned their pommels and hilts. The Anglo-Saxons' skill in forging pattern welded blades was second to none. The discovery of the Bamburgh sword and the Staffordshire Hoard show the incredible workmanship that these craftsmen from the so-called Dark Ages were capable of.

Pattern welding

The best quality sword blades of the time were made using the forging technique that we now know as pattern welding.

Pattern welding involves forging together alternating twisted rods. These rods form complex patterns when forged into a blade. During the Anglo-Saxon period, sword manufacture reached a level where thin layers of steel were overlaid onto a soft iron core. This made the swords flexible with a springy strength that would prevent the blade bending or snapping in combat. The most sought after blades had pattern welding forged around an iron core.

Pattern-welded seax

Not only were these blades coveted due to their qualities, they were also things of beauty in their own right. One sword was described in Beowulf as "the woven snake-blade" and "marked with venom-stripes". It is likely that these descriptions came from the scop putting into words the fabulous, striped markings on the best pattern-welded blades.

Pattern-welded blade

Such blades would have been like the sports cars of their day, admired by many, owned by few. Both functional and beautiful, these incredible weapons were status symbols of kings, warlords and the richest of household warriors.

The Bamburgh Sword

One such fabulous pattern-welded sword is the Bamburgh Sword.

It was discovered at Bamburgh Castle in 1960 by Brian Hope-Taylor, who failed to identify it. It was only forty years later, following Dr Hope-Taylor's death, that a student found the blade in a suitcase that was going to be sent to landfill!

Luckily it was not destroyed, and subsequent studies of the blade showed it to be a unique seventh century sword made up of six separate strands of iron. No other sword has been found from the period with more than four rods in a pattern welded blade. It must have been fabulously valuable, perhaps even owned by a king.

It is now on display at Bamburgh Castle, along with a replica of what it would have looked like when it was new.

The Bamburgh Sword

The Staffordshire Hoard

The swords of noble warriors did not only have fine blades, their hilts were adorned with gold and garnet pommel caps, golden rings, and all manner of scroll work and runes. Nowhere can the quality of these items be seen more clearly or in greater quantity than in the huge number of pieces discovered in the Staffordshire Hoard.

Discovered by a metal detectorist in 2009 near Lichfield, it is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork found to date, with a total of 5.1 kg of gold, 1.4 kg of silver and around 3,500 pieces of garnet cloisonné jewellery.

The Staffordshire Hoard

The hoard was most likely deposited sometime in the 8th century, though the exact date or indeed why such riches were abandoned, can only be speculated upon. However, many of the items were stripped from fine weapons, attesting perhaps to the hoard being spoils of war, or maybe payment from a defeated force containing many wealthy warriors of high standing. The level of detail on the items is really astounding, and shows that weapons were clearly status symbols in their own right and not merely tools for dealing death.

Burials with weapons

Another way we can see the importance of weapons to the Anglo-Saxons is by the objects they buried with their dead. Before Christianity took a firm hold on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, men were often interred with swords, shields, spears and seaxes, not to mention other items that presumably they would have found useful in the afterlife.

Later in the Anglo-Saxon period the number of grave goods dwindled, perhaps due to pressure from the Christian church or maybe more prosaic reasons, such as inheritance and trade becoming more commonplace.

Anglo-Saxon swords

Estimating from the number of swords found in graves, only a small number of warriors owned a sword (most had to make do with a spear). However, the sword remained the symbol of the successful warrior. It was what all young men would aspire to own. Lords would gift swords to their most trusted warriors and blades were given names. They were the ultimate Dark Ages status symbol.

Nowadays, if someone wishes to show off at a dinner party they might mention what model of car they drive. If you met a Saxon warrior at a feast in a mead hall, he might boast of the quality of his sword’s blade and regale you with the tales of its exploits in battle.

Images:

Warrior: Copyright Stephen Weatherly, used with permission.

Staffordshire hoard: By David Rowan, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (Staffordshire hoard) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Anglo-Saxon Swords: By Internet Archive Book Images [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

All other photos, Copyright Matthew Harffy

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Matthew Harffy is the author of the Bernicia Chronicles, a series of novels set in seventh century Britain. The first of the series, The Serpent Sword, was published by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus on 1st June 2016. The sequel, The Cross and The Curse will be released on 1st August 2016. Book three, By Blood and Blade, is due for publication in January 2017.

The Serpent Sword is available on Amazon, Kobo, Google Play, and all good online bookstores.

The Cross and the Curse is available for pre-order on Amazon and all good online bookstores.

Website: www.matthewharffy.com
Twitter: MatthewHarffy
Facebook: MatthewHarffyAuthor

Anglo Saxons Treasures at Lichfield Cathedral

By Richard Denning

One of the perhaps lesser known cathedrals in England is the one at Lichfield. Nowadays Lichfield is an attractive but small city dwarfed by the nearby West Midlands conurbation of Birmingham-Coventry-Wolverhampton-Black Country. Yet in the early to mid Saxon period it was one of the more important cities.  Indeed it was the see of the Bishop of Mercia which at one time was a powerful kingdom that stretched from Wales to the North Sea. At the peak of its power under the 8th century King Offa, Lichfield was even briefly the seat of an Archbishop. Offa was so powerful that he was able to persuade the Pope to create an Archbishopric in Lichfield who would hold sway over the midlands. On Offa's death the position was annulled but Lichfield maintained its position as an important Cathedral for many centuries.

 

The Cathedral is dedicated to St Chad and St Mary. Although there had been missionary work going on in Mercia previously the kings of Mercia had been pagan. In 669 one of the first Christian kings of Mercia, Wulfere,  requested a bishop and Chad was sent to take up the post. He established his see at Lichfield possibly because land had been donated for the establishment of a monastery there and it was close to the Mercian capital at Tamworth. The modern structure is the third Cathedral to stand on this site. The first - Saxon - building was built around AD 700 and was built of wood. It survived almost 4 centuries before - in  1085 - it was replaced by a Norman cathedral made from stone. That second structure did not last that long being in turn replaced by the present cathedral from 1195 onwards.

 

 The front (west side) of the cathedral has a magnificent collection of statues that themselves are worthy of note. This facing was renovated in Victorian times and portrays an amazing array of Kings and Queens. These include the Norman and subsequent monarchs right across the front. What I love about this building is the Saxon era is not ignored. The archways over the side doors (not the central one) contain statues of the important kings of first Northumbria (who held sway over much of Mercia) and later Mercia. So we can see little effigies of Aethelfrith, Edwin, Oswald, Oswy, Penda, Wulfere and others. We also have statues of the churchmen who had an impact on the early and later Saxon Era - Pope Gregory, Augustine, Paulinius, Chad and so on.


 

 The octagonal shaped Chapter House, which was completed in 1249 is possibly the most beautiful part of the Cathedral. It houses a permanent  exhibition of the cathedral's greatest treasures: the Lichfield Gospels,  parts of the Staffordshire hoard and the Lichfield Angel.



The Lichfield or St Chad's Gospels. The Lichfield Gospel or bible is one of the oldest in Britain. It was created in the early 8th century and perhaps dates to around 730 - slightly younger than the Lindisfarne Gospels with which it shares similarities in style.  It consists of the gospels of Matthew and Mark and the start of Luke. It used to also contain the rest of Luke and John but at some stage in the 17th century that part was lost. This was probably during the Civil War period. It is still used in services twice a year - making it the oldest bible used in services in the UK. On the day I visited it was open to the story of the wise men. I can't read Latin but the curator pointed out to me the verse speaking of the gifts. The clarity of the letters is extraordinary. The Gospels also contain marginal notes in Old Welsh. These notes represent the oldest surviving Welsh Words anywhere. It is believed the bible was actually made in Wales and came to Lichfield early in its life.


  
The Lichfield Angel

 

In February 2003 work was being done on the nave of the Cathedral. As the builders worked they came across an eighth century sculpted panel of the Archangel Gabriel. It was thought  to be part of a stone chest, which contained the relics of St Chad.  Red pigment found on the angel was dated to the 8th century. It is now exhibited in the cathedral.

The Staffordshire Hoard
Hammerwhich in Staffordshire, where the Staffordshire Hoard was found, is just a few miles from Lichfield.  There in 2009 the greatest collection of metal and gold artefacts from the 7th or 8th centuries was found. Over 3500 objects comprise the findings - some of remarkable quality. The Hoard is housed in a number of locations. A small amount is kept at Lichfield.



 I can recommend a visit to Lichfield Cathedral . The actual building is surrounded by a very attractive Cathedral Close which houses several Tea shops. It is only  yards from the small but pleasant city centre which also hosts the Dr Johnstone Birthplace Museum and the Erasmus Darwin museum.

 

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Richard Denning is a historical fiction author whose main period of interest is the Early Anglo-Saxon Era. His Northern Crown series explores the late 6th and early 7th centuries through the eyes of a young Saxon lord.
Explore the darkest years of the dark ages with Cerdic.
www.richarddenning.co.uk
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