IMC 2018: Sessions

Session 1643: Sharp Thinking, I: Early Medieval Swords Laid to Rest

Thursday 5 July 2018, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:	Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden
Organiser:	Annemarieke Willemsen, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden
Moderator/Chairs:	Nelleke IJssennagger, Faculteit der Letteren, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen / Archaeological & Medieval Collections, Frisian Museum, Leeuwarden Annemarieke Willemsen, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden
Paper 1643-a	Right by My Side: The Placement of Swords in Anglo-Saxon Graves (Language: English) Sue Brunning, British Museum, London Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Art History - Decorative Arts, Daily Life, Military History
Paper 1643-b	'As if a snake runs from the point and up to the hilt': The Ring-Sword from the 'Royal Grave' at Krefeld-Gellep Reconstructed (Language: English) Ulrich Lehmann, Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL) - Archäologie für Westfalen, Münster Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Art History - Decorative Arts, Daily Life, Military History
Paper 1643-c	In the Right Place: The Placement of Carolingian Swords in Rivers (Language: English) Dušan Maczek, Faculteit Archeologie, Universiteit Leiden Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Art History - Decorative Arts, Daily Life, Military History
Abstract	Early medieval swords were not only highly effective weapons, but also precious and very personal possessions. This is clear, not only in their manufacture, decoration, and use, but in the way they were discarded as well. Placed in graves with the deceased or sacrificed in water, we see a continuation of their role in life after they had been laid to rest. New research indicates that a sword was given a specific place in burial or a specific site for deposition, and their decoration may betray specific references. In all three cases, swords are remarkable actors in the world of ideas of the time.