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This paper is a brief overview of how swords were physically made and societally treated in the Anglo-Saxon culture of the Medieval period. Beginning with the raw materials that swords were comprised of, this paper tracks the blade’s evolution as it transforms from a simple arrangement of iron to a complex symbol of family, fidelity, and strength.
Course: ENG 412, Medieval Literature (Dr. Aaron Housholder)https://pillars.taylor.edu/medieval-lit-spring2024/1005/thumbnail.jp

Price, Lydia

Lydia Price  
Dr. Aaron Housholder  
ENG 412: Medieval Literature  
March 10, 2024 
Medieval Swords: The Making and the Meaning  
The history of the sword is the history of humanity 
-Richard Francis Burton 
 From the quintessential image of Excalibur rising out of water in the hand of the Lady of 
the Lake to the complex symbolism of Hrunting, the sword Unferth offers to Beowulf, the sword 
was a medieval idea that was rich in cultural and relational significance. Intricate in both its 
physical and symbolic composition, the sword represented the ideals of chivalry that we have 
been exploring throughout our readings.  
 The process of sword making was very much an art, and the process of making a tool that 
attained such a lofty symbolic status started very close to the ground. As a matter of fact, it began 
in the ground. In the early medieval period, there was an increased usage of iron for tools and 
weapons, and much of the iron ore that was used in Europe before the twelfth century was mined 
very close to the surface (“Medieval Technology and American History - In-Depth Articles - the 
Medieval Roots of Colonial Iron Manufacturing Technology”). From there, the iron ore would be 
handled by blacksmiths, so called because they worked with a “black” metal— iron— rather 
than “white” metals like gold, silver, or tin (“Medieval Blacksmith”).  
 In the medieval period, it was typical for the iron ore to be used in two ways in a single 
sword. First, the sword would typically have a “core” of the softer iron, often made of long strips 
of iron that were welded together in a method called “twist welding” to give the sword flexibility 
(“Anatomy of Early Anglo-Saxon Swords”). Then, the “core” would be sandwiched between 
pieces of heartier steel to give the blade durability and a sharper edge (“Anatomy of Early Anglo-
Saxon Swords”). Once this proto-blade was completed, it would be put through a careful process 
of heat-treating, in which a blade was quickly “quenched” in a medium (usually oil or water) and 
then tempered by slowly reheating the blade at a low temperature (Clements). When a hot sword 
was quenched, it became very brittle, so the tempering was critical to ensure that a blade 
regained some flexibility because a softer sword was always better than a brittle one (Clements).  
 After heat-treatment, the last steps to complete a sword were polishing and hilting. A 
sword blade would be ground on a series of wheels to give it its final shape, and an apprentice 
would typically be the one to create an edge on the blade by filing it with smaller stones 
(Clements). Lastly, a hilt would be added. The hilt was prime real estate for decoration, so this 
task would often be handled by a different craftsman called a cutler, who would shape a handle 
from hard wood, horn, or bone (Clements). Only after this long process of devoted and artful 
smithing could the sword take on its transcendent cultural value.  
 Swords have become so ubiquitous in our modern concept of the Middle Ages because 
they were so integral to the cultures that used them. The sword was seen almost as a living 
artifact “with internal and external qualities that echo those of human beings” (Brunning 139). 
Swords were a key part of the warrior’s identity and were thought to have been as equally 
identifiable with a warrior as his own face (Brunning 139). However, swords also reached 
beyond the mere individual. An ancient sword was valued for its reputation, for the stories and 
experience it had accumulated throughout its life, and for the families and political alliances it 
often represented (Brunning 141). In fact, an ancient sword was preferred over a new sword as 
an old sword was seen as a faithful friend with experience to share, while a new sword was like a 
young, untried stranger (141).  
 The sword holds a complex tension in its simple blade; all at once it is a privileged and a 
universal symbol. On the one hand, very few people were able to interact with the weapon itself. 
The sword did not double as a common tool; it was a pure weapon, handled only by the 
privileged members of the estate of those who fight (Brunning 156). However, the ideal of the 
sword was well-known in stories told around the fire, in art, and in play. The image of the 
sword— the family and faithfulness it represented— were owned by all (Brunning 157). If 
Burton is right, and the history of the sword is truly the history of humanity, then the sword 
belongs to us still.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Works Cited  
“Anatomy of Early Anglo-Saxon Swords.” Thegns of Mercia, www.thegns.org/blog/sword-
guide. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024. 
 
Brunning, Sue. The Sword in Early Medieval Northern Europe: Experience, Identity, 
Representation. NED-New edition, Boydell & Brewer, 2019. JSTOR, 
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv136bw1r. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024. 
Clements, John. “How Were Swords Really Made?” Thearma.org, 2022. 
www.thearma.org/essays/How_Were_Swords_Made.htm. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024. 
 
“Medieval Blacksmith.” Www.medieval-Life-And-Times.info, www.medieval-life-and-
times.info/medieval-life/medieval-blacksmith.htm#. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024. 
 
“Medieval Technology and American History— In-Depth Articles— the Medieval Roots of 
Colonial Iron Manufacturing Technology.” Psu.edu, 2019, 
www.engr.psu.edu/mtah/articles/roots_colonial_iron_technology.htm. 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 


English

Medieval Swords: The Making and the Meaning

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