Couronian Sword?

Lee · 8th April 2017, 03:17 PM

So, off I went searching for 'Couronian sword' and I found a picture of this very hilt featured on the Hurstwic site; following that clue and having to rely on Google's cache of an old SFI thread from 2008, there is someone looking for information on this sword. I am assuming that Arthur Thomson from Riga, Latvia is the author of the paper above and he was looking for more information on the sword being considered here. He remarked 'To my mind it seems that it can be of Eastern Baltic origin and can be dated approximately to 11.-12. centuries. I am writing an article about Couronian swords and any info could be useful!'

Further searching yielded another paper from 2012 -
Artūrs Tomsons: Symbolism of medieval swords from the territory of Latvia during the 11th–13th centuries available here!

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 8th April 2017, 05:00 PM

Salaams Lee, I commend this webpage to Forum https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/am...tr/ib_4_2.html and have copied in the ancient artwork as below ~ The bulk of webpage content is at reference and is essential reading.
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Reventlov · 10th April 2017, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee

So, off I went searching for 'Couronian sword' and I found a picture of this very hilt featured on the Hurstwic site...

How fortuitous!

I agree that the crossguard seems a little out of place, and completely dissimilar to every example of Curonian swords I have seen so far.

Tomsons seems to be the authority on this subject, and has a few other relevant articles, but not in English as far as I know. Vytautas Kazakevicius has also done some work on this, and compiled a list of 64 examples in museums in "On one type of Baltic sword of the Viking period".

Lee · 16th April 2017, 09:12 PM

Many thanks Reventlov, you have opened a crack in my ignorance of Baltic sword forms and much information is now pouring through!

I have found the following academic writings to be especially pertinent, to have an English summary or be in English and also available on the internet with a little searching:

Kazakevičius, Vytautas, IX-XIII a. baltų kalavijai, Vilnius: Lietuvos Istorijos Institutas, 1996. [English summary from p.125-143.]

Kazakevičius, Vytautas, "On One Type of Baltic Sword of the Viking Period," Archaeologica Baltica 2, Vilnius, p. 117-132 (1997). [English language]

Tomsons, Artūrs, "Kuršu (T1 tipa) zobeny rokturu ornaments 11. - 13. gs.," Pētījumi Kuršu senatnē. Rakstu krājums. Latvijas Nacionālā Vēstures muzeja raksti, No. 14, Arheoloģija, p. 85-104. [Pages 103-104 are an English summary and captions to illustrations.]
https://www.academia.edu/4119215/Tom...an_Swords_2008

Tomsons, Artūrs, "Symbolism of Medieval Swords from the Territory of Latvia During the 11th - 13th Centuries," Folia Archaeologica 29 (2012), p. 145 - 160. [English language]

8th April 2017, 03:17 PM	#1
Lee EAAF Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 940	The Internet can be amazing... So, off I went searching for 'Couronian sword' and I found a picture of this very hilt featured on the Hurstwic site; following that clue and having to rely on Google's cache of an old SFI thread from 2008, there is someone looking for information on this sword. I am assuming that Arthur Thomson from Riga, Latvia is the author of the paper above and he was looking for more information on the sword being considered here. He remarked 'To my mind it seems that it can be of Eastern Baltic origin and can be dated approximately to 11.-12. centuries. I am writing an article about Couronian swords and any info could be useful!' Further searching yielded another paper from 2012 - Artūrs Tomsons: Symbolism of medieval swords from the territory of Latvia during the 11th–13th centuries available here!

8th April 2017, 05:00 PM	#2
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Salaams Lee, I commend this webpage to Forum https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/am...tr/ib_4_2.html and have copied in the ancient artwork as below ~ The bulk of webpage content is at reference and is essential reading. Ibrahiim al Balooshi. Attached Images

16th April 2017, 09:12 PM	#4
Lee EAAF Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 940	Literature Citations Many thanks Reventlov, you have opened a crack in my ignorance of Baltic sword forms and much information is now pouring through! I have found the following academic writings to be especially pertinent, to have an English summary or be in English and also available on the internet with a little searching: Kazakevičius, Vytautas, IX-XIII a. baltų kalavijai, Vilnius: Lietuvos Istorijos Institutas, 1996. [English summary from p.125-143.] Kazakevičius, Vytautas, "On One Type of Baltic Sword of the Viking Period," Archaeologica Baltica 2, Vilnius, p. 117-132 (1997). [English language] Tomsons, Artūrs, "Kuršu (T1 tipa) zobeny rokturu ornaments 11. - 13. gs.," Pētījumi Kuršu senatnē. Rakstu krājums. Latvijas Nacionālā Vēstures muzeja raksti, No. 14, Arheoloģija, p. 85-104. [Pages 103-104 are an English summary and captions to illustrations.] https://www.academia.edu/4119215/Tom...an_Swords_2008 Tomsons, Artūrs, "Symbolism of Medieval Swords from the Territory of Latvia During the 11th - 13th Centuries," Folia Archaeologica 29 (2012), p. 145 - 160. [English language]