Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

The favoured weapon of the Normanknight was the sword; indeed the putting on of the sword and its belt was symbolic of becoming a knight. The sword of the time was a slashing and cutting, rather than a thrusting, weapon. It had a blade of about 31 inches (80cm) in length, tapering slightly towards the tip and with a channel down the centre to save weight. In Anglo-Saxon society swords were, if it was possible, of even greater significance, handed down from generation to generation, symbolizing the honour of the warrior himself and of his clan. The blade was quite broad, up to two inches (5cm) across and it was a little longer than the type favoured by the Normans. The Viking sword was very similar to the Anglo-Saxon weapon but they also used a single-sided langseax, like the largest of the seax type of weapon.

See also: Anglo-Saxon; knight; Norman; seax; Viking

Related Reading:

• Norman Knight AD 950-1204
  (Warrior 1)
• Viking Hersir 793-1066 AD
  (Warrior 3)
• Anglo Saxon Thegn
  (Warrior 5)
• Saxon Viking Norman
  (Men-at-Arms 85)