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 Mycenae 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 Mycenae, 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.
[25] Naue, "Die Vorroemischen Schwerter," pp. 12 and 20.
[26] See Burrowes, "Discoveries in Crete," p. 183.
[Illustration: Fig. 65.--Leaf-shaped bronze swords, found with a
spear-head at Tempo, Co. 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 66.--Bronze chapes.]
[Illustration: Fig. 67.--Winged chapes.]
SHIELDS
[Illustration: Fig. 68.--Bronze shield, found at Lough Gur,
Co. Limerick.]
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.
[27] "British Museum Bronze-Age Guide," p. 30.
[Illustration: Fig. 69.--Alder-wood shield, found in Co. Leitrim.]
[Illustration: Fig. 70.--Front and back of leather shield, found at
Clonbrin, Co. Longford.]
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 1/4
of an inch thick, and measures 20-1/2 inches in length by 19-1/2
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.