Leaf-shaped Swords

A number of leaf-shaped bronze swords have been found in Ireland. They may be roughly divided into two types, those with notches just below the blade and above the handle, and those that are plain. The latter are the earlier, and belong to the late Bronze Age; the former correspond to the Continental swords of the Hallstatt period. The leaf-shaped type was the typical Bronze-Age sword of western and northern Europe. It was developed from the dagger, and, like it, was a thrusting rather than a cutting weapon. The handle is cast in one piece with the blade, and has rivet-holes, and in some cases a slit for the attachment of the hilt, which was no doubt formed of bone or horn plates. The pommel was probably globular, and formed of lead or some heavy material. A bronze sword of this type was found in a house on the Akropolis at MycenÆ by Schliemann, and it can be dated at about 1200 b.c.[25] The discovery of this sword may be explained either as the result of a raid, or as showing that invaders from the north had reached Greece as early as this date. A leaf-shaped sword has been noticed on one of the clay tablets dated as late Minoan II, and in one of the stone slabs from over the fifth shaft grave at MycenÆ, which represents a figure in a chariot attacking a man on foot, the latter is armed with a leaf-shaped sword.[26] In any case it gives us a date for the period when these swords were in common use in western Europe. The type with notches below the blade has a tendency to become straighter at the sides, and to lose its leaf-shaped form. The use of the notches is not apparent, but it has been thought that the scabbards at that time were made of wood and were liable to shrink from exposure to weather, and that this may have prevented the sword from being thrust home, so that the edge was cut off by the notches slightly below the handle to avoid cutting the hand. The handle end of this latter type very frequently assumes a form like a fish’s tail. These swords develop into the iron swords of the Hallstatt period, of which so far only one Irish example has been found. A bronze sword of the notched type formed part of the Dowris hoard, and is figured in the “British Museum Bronze-Age Guide,” plate ii. Two remarkably fine specimens of this type were found in 1912 with a socketed spear-head at Tempo, County Fermanagh.

No moulds for casting leaf-shaped swords of either type have been found in Ireland; and it is therefore probable that at the time they were in use sand-casting had replaced casting from stone moulds. The scabbards of the leaf-shaped swords were made of wood or leather, protected by a ferule or chape of bronze, which was fastened to it by rivets; the point of the weapon does not seem to have reached the end of the sheath. There are several examples of bronze chapes in the Royal Irish Academy’s collection, and they display a considerable variety of design. Some are long and tubular in shape (fig. 66), while others are of the winged or boat-shaped type which is found on the Continent (fig. 67). Others again are of a small and simple type. The rivet-holes for the attachment of the sheaths can be seen in nearly all the Irish specimens. The casting of these objects shows a good deal of skill, as the metal is very thin. The winged variety are probably the latest, as they have been found with iron swords of Hallstatt type on the Continent.

Shields

Two circular shields or bucklers of bronze have been found in Ireland. There is only one in the National Collection, the fine shield discovered at Lough Gur, County Limerick. There is, however, a small shield of bronze ornamented with large bosses in the British Museum which was found at Athenry, County Galway.[27] These bronze shields have never been found in the British Islands with any objects which would give any definite clue to their date; but they are generally referred to the late Bronze Age. They belong to a common type, being decorated with numerous bands of small bosses separated by concentric circles. They appear to have been hammered out.

There are two other shields of great interest in the National Collection. One is the remarkable alder-wood shield found 10 feet deep in a bog in 1863 at Annadale, County Leitrim. This shield is oval in shape, and has a central boss and seven raised ribs. It will be noticed that the ribs show an indentation at one side; but too much emphasis must not be placed on this, as the shield shrank a good deal after its removal from the bog, and the alteration may be due to this. This shield has a handle at the back. It is interesting to note that ‘sciath,’ one of the Irish words for ‘shield,’ denotes ‘alder.’ The next is the leather shield found in 1908 at Clonbrin, County Longford, and presented to the Royal Irish Academy’s collection by Colonel W. H. King-Harman. This truly remarkable shield, the only one of its kind in Europe, is made of a solid piece of leather nearly ¼ of an inch thick, and measures 20½ inches in length by 19½ inches across. It has an oblong centre boss pressed out of the leather and covered with an ornamental cap of fine leather laced on to it. The boss is encircled by three ribs, the inner one being gapped, and the two others having a curious re-entrant angle. The shield has twenty-four small round bosses on it which resemble those on the bronze shields. There is a leather handle which was laced on to the back. This shield appears to be complete as it stands, as there is no sign of any wooden supports at the back, nor is it easy to see how such supports could have been attached to it. According to Polybius round shields of bulls’ hide were used by the Roman equites in the early days of Roman history.

The round shield of the late Bronze Age was succeeded by the oval shield which may be taken as partly transitional to the oblong shield of Southern Europe and also of the late Celtic type found in Britain. The date, therefore, of this Irish leather shield is probably to be placed in the Early Iron period.