swords, we may guess that in most cases the grip was passed over the tang of the blade as in the sword grips of later times. A few, however, have the rivet holes by which grip plates were attached, and of these we give an illustration of a reconstructed specimen (Fig. 22). The grips were probably fashioned of wood, bone, horn or ivory; if of wood, they were doubtless covered with leather, though not bound with wire, as at a later date. The foundation wood of the grip, from close examination of the few remains that have been found, appears to have been pine-wood, as do some of the remnants of the foundation wood of the scabbards. On the top of the grip was placed the pommel, the tang of the blade passing through it and being riveted over at the apex.
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Fig. 22.
Reconstructed sword with horn grip in position
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Fig. 23. Sword, VIIIth or IXth century
London Museum
There has been much controversy as to the origin of the shape of the pommel with the five or three lobed ornament. It has been suggested, with some degree of likelihood, that at the time when the flat oval pommel was in fashion, not of the type just illustrated, but about a century and a half anterior to the appearance of the lobed ornament, as, for instance, on such a pommel as shown on the sword hilt (Fig. 23), a mœl dating from the IXth or even VIIIth century, the fighting man used to bind a relic or charm to counteract misfortunes or strengthen his arm, and from this habit the lobed pommel was evolved. Its gradual development might be traced in the manner suggested (Fig. 24) until its latest form is seen in the early years of the XIIIth century (Fig. 25).
This theory, brought forward by a very eminent authority, is strengthened by a careful examination of some of the actual lobated pommels here illustrated and described. In nearly every case the cord by which the relic was originally tied to the flat disk pommel is indicated, and in individual weapons it is represented by its counterpart in metal, either gold or silver. Certain museums of Northern Europe, notably that of Copenhagen, are extremely rich in these so-called Viking swords, though it may be accepted that the
