Circa 600 ad Middle Ages Sword Blade, Re-Hilted Around 1000 Years Ago At The Time of the Norman Invasion in 1066

It is very rare indeed to fine an original sword from the pre Norman period, but this one is exceptional, in that it is very likely mounted with an inlaid blade of the 5th to 8th century, possibly a Norse or Frankish ancestor of its Norman conquest period owner, therefore its blade was already between 300 to 500 years old, when it was hilted around 900 to 1000 years ago during the Norman Conquest. Thus the blade could be between 1300 to 1500 years old.

It was the earliest Norman knights that went on the earliest crusades to liberate Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Such as Richard the Lionheart King Richard the 1st.

The blade is shorter than when first used, with the end probably damaged and lost in combat. It is inlaid with inserts of copper, bronze and silver, in a circular bullet shaped patterns, one with 3 metal concentric circles. The pommel appears to be once further inlaid with silver. All the indications are that this amazing sword could very likely have been used by a very high ranking nobleman in the Norman Invasion 1066 period, and it most likely it had already been used by a highborn warrior or noble for almost 5 centuries prior to its re-hitting during the time of the invasion of Britain.

This piece simply a remarkable artefact from the previous two millennia.

It is a joy to own it even just for a very brief and it is still a wonderful original knight’s sword from the days of the Norman invasion, and prior to that, from the period known to historians as the ‘dark ages‘
It is an iron two-edged sword with broad two-edged lentoid-section blade, slightly tapering square-section crossguard. flat tang, D-shaped pommel, likely with inlaid silver, vertical bar to each face; the blade has traces of copper inlay to one face, to the other two applied discs: the upper copper-alloy with punched rosette detailing, the lower abraded to its present state of three concentric rings (apparently copper, bronze and silver). 850 grams, 61cm (24"). Fair condition, typical for its great age; lower blade now absent; edges notched and partly absent, all potentially due to combat.
See Oakeshott, E., Records of the Medieval Sword, Woodbridge, 1991, items X.4, X.5, and see p.21, item 8, for the blade.
The blade does not bear a fuller and is a plain lentoid-section which it is why it could well indicate a date of manufacture in the 5th-8th century, the Dark Ages in northern Europe; the crossguard and the pommel are the re-hilted later additions, more typical of the later 10th century, i.e. Petersen's Type X (Oakeshott, p.25). The Normans were an ethnic group that arose from contact between Norse Viking settlers of a region in France, named Normandy after them, and indigenous Franks and Gallo-Romans. The settlements in France followed a series of raids on the French coast mainly from Denmark — although some came from Norway and Iceland as well — and gained political legitimacy when the Viking leader Rollo agreed to swear fealty to King Charles III of West Francia following the Siege of Chartres in 911 AD. The intermingling of Norse settlers and native Franks and Gallo-Romans in Normandy produced an ethnic and cultural "Norman" identity in the first half of the 10th century, an identity which continued to evolve over the centuries. The new Norman rulers were culturally and ethnically distinct from the old French aristocracy, most of whom traced their lineage to the Franks of the Carolingian dynasty from the days of Charlemagne in the 9th century. Most Norman knights remained poor and land-hungry, and by the time of the expedition and invasion of England in 1066, Normandy had been exporting fighting horsemen for more than a generation. Many Normans of Italy, France and England eventually served as avid Crusaders soldiers under the Italo-Norman prince Bohemund I of Antioch and the Anglo-Norman king Richard the Lion-Heart, one of the more famous and illustrious Kings of England.The Story of the Norman Conquest
The majority of the scenes which together tell the story of the Norman Conquest match in many instances with medieval written accounts even if there are, as one might expect with a purely visual narrative, some omissions such as the Anglo-Saxons’ battle with Norway’s Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge three weeks prior to Hastings. Again because it is a visual account, with only a few Latin words as pointers, many scenes are open to several interpretations. The tapestry starts with a scene set in 1064 CE where the English king Edward the Confessor (r. 1042-1066 CE) says farewell to Harold Godwinson, his brother-in-law and the Earl of Wessex, who is to travel to Normandy on an unknown mission. Norman writers would record the mission’s purpose as a pledge of Saxon loyalty to William, Duke of Normandy, while an English chronicle suggests it was merely a visit to secure the release of Saxon prisoners. On 14 October 1066, William’s forces clashed with an English army near Hastings. Within a century of these events taking place, over a dozen writers had described the battle and its aftermath. Some of these accounts are lengthy, but they contradict each other and do not allow us to reconstruct the battle with any certainty.

English perspectives on the Battle of Hastings are found in the Old English annals known as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. In one version, perhaps copied in the 1070s, it was claimed that William built a ‘castel’ at Hastings before Harold arrived. Harold then gathered a large army but William attacked before Harold could organise his troops. There were heavy casualties on both sides: among the dead were King Harold himself and his brothers, Leofwine and Gyrth.There are also differing accounts of one of the most iconic yet debated parts of the battle: the death of Harold. Was he killed by an arrow to the eye, as claimed by Amatus of Monte Cassino, writing in the 11th century? Was he hacked to bits, as recounted by Bishop Guy of Amiens (died 1075)? Or was he shot with arrows and then put to the sword, as described by the 12th-century chronicler, Henry of Huntingdon? Hastings is one of the most famous battles in English history. Modern historians continue to debate its impact. The Norman Conquest brought many social, economic, political and cultural changes, but some people living in 11th-century England did not even consider this battle to be the most important event of 1066.

A monk writing at Christ Church, Canterbury, recorded just two events for that year in a chronicle kept at the cathedral: ‘Here King Edward died. In this year, Christ Church burned.’ Another scribe then added the words, ‘Here came William’. This is a good reminder that that the Battle of Hastings did not affect everyone in the same way, even if it became part of English folklore. This fabulous most ancient sword could be simply framed under glass for display. Almost every weapon that has survived today from this era is now in a fully russetted condition, as is this one, because only the swords of kings, that have been preserved in national or Royal collections are today still in a good state and condition. We will include for the new owner a complimentary wooden display stand, but this amazing ancient artefact of antiquity would also look spectacular mounted within a bespoke case frame, or, on a fine cabinet maker constructed display panel.

Code: 23230