To attempt
to tackle the development and use of weapons from the Neolithic period
to the eleventh century in a single volume is, to say the least, ambitious.
To do so in fewer than two hundred pages is even more so. Yet this is
precisely what Thompson attempts to do in his work. This book is uncommon
given that, while similar works focus on a particular period or people,
he has chosen to focus on a particular place; he examines the weapons
used by the various inhabitants of Britain. In so doing he spans not
only lengthy periods of time, but also several different cultures. This
gives us not so much a sense of the linear development of arms and armour
in Britain as a flavour of the shifting trends of weaponry as one cultural
influence gradually gave way to another. Considering the amount of ground
he covers in a comparatively small space the text, this book (with a modicum
of caution) could be a useful introductory survey of the arms and armour
of this stretch of time.
Starting as
far back as one reasonably can, he starts by briefly examining the development
of flint knives, axes, and projectiles points. He then moving swiftly
on to copper, bronze, and subsequently iron weapons used by the various “Celtic”
peoples of Britain, running through the various types of early iron swords
from Britain as classified by Piggott. Thompson next takes the unusual
detour of examining the arms and armour of the Romans from the period during
which Britannia was the empire’s most far-flung province. This move
should be applauded, as it acknowledges that Rome was more than just a
period of foreign occupation.
After this,
he touches upon the swords of the Germanic peoples of the Migration period,
discussing not only the significant features of these weapons, but also
on the technique of pattern welding for which they are most well-known.
A breakdown of the various parts of a sword is also found here. He then
examines the various weapons of the Franks, including the spear (angon),
the iconic throwing axe (francisca), and the Frankish manifestation
of the seax. Using these objects as evidence of cultural patterns,
Thompson maintains that, although not native to Britain, powerful people
across the Channel had some influence if only because some of their weapons
have been found on British soil.
The remaining
half of the book is more thematic than chronological. Thompson discusses
particular weapons of particular peoples (Viking spears, Anglo-Saxon
swords, shields, and so on), often citing exemplary specimens of each
to reference particular features. In the chapter on Viking weapons he
reproduces the Petersen/Oakeshott sword typologies from I to IX, but
adds his own commentary and proposed revisions. There is then a brief
chapter on armour and the rise of cavalry, particularly amongst the Normans.
The final chapter, an account of the Battle of Hastings, seems a bit
out of place. While it is sensible, given the book’s cut-off date
of 1066, to discuss Norman arms and armour and compare them to those
used by the opposing Anglo-Saxons, a historical blow-by-blow of the battle
itself seems unnecessary for a book that otherwise focuses on the weapons
themselves.
As for the
abovementioned caution, there are a few points that will raise alarm
bells for arms and armour scholars and enthusiasts. In such instances
as his referring to pieces of Roman artillery as “guns”,
Thompson’s vocabulary is occasionally lax. Of particular interest
is his conclusion, confirmed from “practical weapon handling”,
that many of the swords of the Germanic and Viking peoples were clumsy
and difficult to manoeuvre. I frequently find this to be a perilous argument,
as it does not factor in the training of the individual compared to the
sword’s original owner, nor the preferences in sword design of
said original owner. It is but one example of a handful of statements
that walk the fine line between enthusiastic narrative and speculation.
Perhaps most
unusual is his use of quotations. Although I do not desire to turn this
review into a critique of style, it merits mentioning since I have never
encountered anything quite like it. Thompson sometimes uses quotes that
state the same information as the previous sentence which he had just
paraphrased, making the quotation seem redundant. In other cases, he
will drop into a quotation mid-sentence without any introduction as to
who wrote it or when (although thankfully they are all cited in the back),
or even that the piece is a quotation; if the reader happened to miss
the quotation marks, it would be easy to miss where his words end and
his source’s begin. It seems odd that, rather than using quotation
to enhance and corroborate his arguments, Thompson seems content to let
them tell us many of the good bits.
The inside
cover states that Thompson’s research has “shed new light
on the materials used, the processes of manufacture, the development
of the weapons and their effectiveness in battle.” This appears
to be an over-ambitious claim. While the book is a passable introduction
to early arms and armour in Britain—a sampler plate to entice a
determined reader to look further into the subject—there do not
seem be any groundbreaking new revelations that substantially alter the
way we look at these weapons. It is clear that Thompson has conducted
exhaustive research for this work: visiting collections all over Britain,
examining up-close some of the iconic weapons from this period, and reading
all previous authoritative works on the subject. What has resulted is
a text that it perfectly suitable for a reasonably advanced enthusiast
who is looking to get slightly more technical on the subject of ancient
arms and armour. This reader will be rewarded with comprehensive descriptions
and measurements of some of the best surviving specimens of early weapons,
combined with a decent historical contextualization. The work’s
potential appeal lies in its focus exclusively on Britain over such a
long period of time. For this reason alone, it occupies a useful niche
amongst those texts that serve to attract and encourage budding enthusiasts.