Living by the Sword: Weapons and Material Culture in France and Britain, 600-1600

240 Pages·2020·6.268 MB·English

by  Kristen Brooke Neuschel

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LIVING BY THE SWORD

LIVING BY
n
THE SWORD
WEAPONS AND
MATERIAL CULTURE
IN FRANCE AND
BRITAIN, 600–1600
Kristen B. Neuschel
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2020 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review,

this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any

form without permission in writing from the publisher. For

information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House,

512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our

website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 2020 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Neuschel, Kristen Brooke, 1951– author.

Title: Living by the sword : weapons and material culture

in France and Britain, 600–1600 / Kristen B. Neuschel.
Description: Ithaca, [New York] : Cornell University Press,
2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020003683 (print) | LCCN 2020003684
(ebook) | ISBN 9781501753336 (hardcover) |
ISBN 9781501752124 (paperback) | ISBN 9781501752131
(ebook) | ISBN 9781501752148 (pdf )
Subjects: LCSH: Swords—France—History. | Swords—Social
aspects—France—History. | Swords—Great Britain—
History. | Swords—Social aspects—Great Britain—History.
Classification: LCC U856.E85 N48 2020 (print) |
LCC U856.E85 (ebook) |DDC 306.2/709410902—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020003683
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020003684
Cover image: French coronation sword, also called
“Charlemagne’s sword.” © RMN-Grand Palais / Art
Resource, NY.
For Alan, Jesse, and Rachel

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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface and Acknowledgments xi
Note on Translations and Spelling xiii
Introduction: What Do Swords Mean? 1
1. Swords and Oral Culture in the Early
Middle Ages 24
2. Swords and Chivalric Culture in the
High Middle Ages 58
3. Swords, Clothing, and Armor in the
Late Middle Ages 91
4. Swords and Documents in the
Sixteenth Century 129
Conclusion 160
Abbreviations 167
Notes 169
Bibliography 191
Index 219

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Illustrations
I.1 Sixteenth-century swords 5
1.1 A blade incised with runes, tenth century 54
2.1 A personal seal displays sword and banner 66
2.2 Symbols of rule, ca. 1000 70
2.3 The naked blade on King John’s tomb 72
2.4 “Charlemagne’s” sword 75
3.1 New fashion for men 95
3.2 King Charles and his personal signs 99
3.3 Varieties of late medieval blades 106
3.4 Fighting on foot in a tournament 124
4.1 Hans Holbein’s The Ambassadors , detail 133
4.2 Two sixteenth-century swords 143
4.3 Swords in action at midcentury 149
Color Plates
1. The artistry of Sutton Hoo artifacts 29
2. The sword as scepter 68
3. A knight’s symbolic array 119
4. Hans Holbein’s The Ambassadors 130
ix