The Armour Archive

When I made my first sword belt, I used documentation from the description of a scabbard found in an English college library behind the stacks when they did some renovation.

As found, the scabbard had actually been rolled up and sewn into a leather ball. Its worn out bits made up the stuffing of a ball, in other words.

The article/book characterized it as the single best preserved example of an early medieval scabbard and belt.

The fundamental difference between this artifact and other diagrams of early medieval scabbards is that the "front" part of the belt as it extended away from the scabbard is attached with three "tongues" around the scabbard, not two as shown in most diagrams.

Trouble is, I cannot recall at all where I found this description! I've now gotten my new wood core ready to go, and I have my old belt, but I want to find the documentation before I go on.

Is anyone familiar with this article?

One of my favorites, between the lines it suggests that the reason we have this artifact is that a bunch of young students were playing ball in the library and they lost it behind the shelves, where it sat for 800 years.

how many libraries are there at the University at Oxford? If there is just one, then write the librarian.

But I am guessing that you have already done that.

the only real idea I have besides "Ask the archive".

f

My Osprey Norman Knight book shows three thongs coming off the front of the belt onto the scabbard, but doesn't offer any reference to original sources.

In making my original swallowtail sword belt, I discovered there's an excellent reason why some of them used three thongs around the scabbard: it is the most efficient use of the leather belt blank. When you cut the swallow tail tongues, the "cut away" part of the leather has three thongs on it!

I'm proceeding, and here is the status of the scabbard as of yesterday.

[url=http://delaflamme.org/site/files/closeup_0.jpg]<img src="http://delaflamme.org/site/files/IMG_1416-tm.jpg" height="100" width="140" border="0" hspace="5" vspace="5" alt="IMG_1416.JPG" title="IMG_1416.JPG" />
Here's the whole thing, showing the sword too.[/url] (It is an Angus Trim blade on custom furniture, by the way. Very sweet.)
[url=http://delaflamme.org/site/files/closeup_0.jpg]<img src="http://delaflamme.org/site/files/closeup-tm_0.jpg" height="100" width="133" border="0"" hspace="5" vspace="5" alt="closeup scabbard" title="closeup scabbard" />
Close up of the figure work on the scabbard face.[/url]
I found early 13th century references to figurative work like this on some scabbards in Italy.
Two golden shells in reference to the Queen's Order of Courtesy, the household badge in black and other bits purely for decoration. I've redyed the swallowtail belt that goes on it, and should be able to attach that tonight or tomorrow.