The Sword in the Age of Chivalry Paperback – Illustrated, 29 Oct. 1998

As a person who has studied historic swords for decades I own a library of specialist reference books. This book fills an important gap relating to dating swords from the Medieval period. A time when design changed little, and values can be wide ranging depending on age.

Very informative.

I think I have all of Ewart Oakeshott books, and find them an invaluable source of information on Knights, Weaponry, Armour and how the knight lived, girded himself for battle and their function in the Medieval feudal system. This book is no expect ion, but rather the rule to quality works.It's full of just about everything you would want to know about the swords, their use, and construction. There are hundreds of sketches to help you understand his discussions, lots of black and white plate photos. The book is broken down to groups - Swords 1050-1350, Group 2 1350-1550, then breaks down into Pommel-Forms, Cross-Guards, Grips and Scabbards.A wonderful references for the writer, sword collector and some the passing enthusiast.

Indispensable as a guide to type and describe medieval swords, and contains a huge range of illustrations and pictures illustrating the types in medieval art and surviving examples.However, I find Oakeshott sheds little light on the design and use of his types, "why" they were created that way. Perhaps that would have involved too much speculation.