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How thick were Early Anglo-Saxon Swords?

8/7/2023

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Early Anglo-Saxon sword blades are increasingly recognised as magnificent works of historic smithcraft. Usually found in horrendous states of preservation, their artistry can be revealed through x-radiography and metallography, then brought to life by painstaking reconstruction by historic bladesmiths. Handling of such replicas in turn has led to commentary on the handling characteristics of these weapons, providing inferences about the early medieval battlefield. However while we can be confident about the length, width, approximate shape, and construction of such blades, critical data concerning thickness of blades is lacking, in turn casting doubt upon the weight, balance and handling of these weapons.  Precisely how thick - and therefore, heavy, were early Anglo-Saxon swords?
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Coronation

24/4/2023

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Special:    Anglo-Saxon Elements of the Coronation

PictureEdward the Confessor on the Bayeux Tapestry
The approaching coronation of King Charles III represents a chain of similar coronation or consecration rites of monarchs in Britain reaching back at least 1000 years. The precise origins of many of these rites have been lost to time. 
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Over all though, with the history of the English monarchy often presented as beginning with William the Conqueror's coronation on Christmas Day 1066 at Westminster Abbey, it's easy to imagine Britain's deeper history is not represented in the ceremony. In fact, although less obvious than later medieval elements, there are significant parts of the  coronation rite which reach back to, or attempt to reach out to (widest sense) Anglo-Saxon history. 
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The Garnet Code

19/4/2023

 
​​This article is part of a series about our increasing understanding of the meanings behind the designs of Anglo-Saxon art. For other chapters click here.

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​Secrets in the Stones: Decoding Anglo-Saxon Art. Part 4
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The Garnet Code

​Early Anglo-Saxon jewellery is renowned for its use of gold and garnet work. Until now, the significance of garnets as a material has not been thoroughly investigated. In this article, and a public lecture at Soulton Hall, Shropshire (delivered simultaneously with this article’s timed release) James D. Wenn draws together the geometry of the garnet crystal with the geometry within Anglo-Saxon art and architecture, signposting to the previous articles in this series. This is then coupled with later examples of this geometry, notably the Cosmati Pavement in Westminster Abbey, to link the philosophical meaning of this geometry to Plato’s book ‘Timaeus’, and both pre-Christian and Christian cosmology and theology.​



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Secrets in the Stones Series - Recap & Countdown

18/4/2023

 

It's almost time!   We will imminently be sharing the central discoveries of the 'Secrets in the Stones' research. ​

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​A talk at @soultonhall - a place central to this story - will be delivered by James D. Wenn to representatives of key institutions impacted by this research.

Coinciding, the central chapter of our series ‘Secrets in the Stones - Decoding Anglo-Saxon Art’ will be published here.    


In previous chapters;
  • We introduced the already growing consensus that migration-period art represents a visual language which we are only just beginning to decode (Introduction).

  • James presented and explored a hypothesis that jewelled scabbard-bosses from Sutton Hoo and the Staffordshire Hoard might relate to Ptolemy’s Harmonics, introducing the possibility that such ‘barbarian art’ might actually encode an understanding of Classical learning. (Chapter 1: From Egypt to East Anglia: design in the Sutton Hoo scabbard bosses)

  • Æd explored an apparent, but previously little-discussed theme running through Anglo-Saxon art: their obsession with lozenge and tilted-square shapes, from the enigmatic 8th century ‘lozenge brooch’ to coins and manuscripts. (Chapter 2: Follow the Lozenges)

  • In the most recent instalment Æd explored a representation of stately or sacred architecture in the Staffordshire Hoard, finding close correspondence to particular rare surviving examples of Anglo-Saxon stone architecture, and proposing that Hoard pommel cat 52 represented a vision of a lost early Anglo-Saxon shrine, baptistry or temple.(Chapter 3: Anglo Saxon Temple Discovered)

These chapters have been laying the foundations for what will be revealed soon, in:
  • Secrets in the Stones- Decoding Anglo-Saxon Art. Chapter 4: The Garnet Code.
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