The cutting edge
Chris Tripp on swords and status in the Iron Age and the Anglo-Saxon period
Published in October ’21
The Whitcombe warrior was buried with his sword
WAREHAM, 1927, and the construction of a new bridge over the Frome unearths an object not seen by human eyes for over a thousand years. It is a sword that had been gripped by an Anglo-Saxon hand and looked on by covetous Anglo-Saxon eyes, for a sword was the highest of status symbols. The sword is a weapon designed to be used only in battle, whereas a knife or club, spear or axe can be used for hunting or domestic work. This makes the sword a symbol of both martial power and violent potential and helps explain why British…
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