A VITAL CLUE to how BRONZE AGE SWORDS were used? With

There are thousands of surviving Bronze Age swords, but we have very few clues about how swords were used in that period. Is there one vital clue right in front of our eyes? Sword by ‪@BronzeAgeSwords‬
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[@BronzeAgeSwords]

Thank you Matt i feel the love x

[@scholagladiatoria]

Hi mate, it would be great to have a catch up soon.

[@marcm.]

You deserve it, those are beautiful pieces. I even zoomed in into the video just look at them better

[@Man_Raised_By_Puffins]

Ill never get over how beautiful bronze weapons are, magical things

[@scholagladiatoria]

I agree!

[@davidbrennan660]

Specially when they have Bladesharp 3 on them… 🤪

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Until you find out what arsenicanal bronze is

[@MrCowabungaa]

​@@davidbrennan660Add Strength to that and you're golden! That or Fireblade for that odd weird target that you gotta cook rather than cut :P

[@lotoreo]

I bet they sound amazing too

[@petros311]

in Homers "Iliad", the bronze sword with mushroom pommel and leaf shape that have front balance its called Aor, from the word " Aeiro which means i raise" probably becouse you need to raise your hand to use it as oposed to the earlier long stabing swords Fasgano which take the word from "I Slain" which they were used for stabbing on the throat of the enemy as proved by the many iconografy depictions that survived. Homer decribed that the Aor strikes on Helmets were devastating, their protection were insufficient to those kind of blows, and Aor was the predominant type of sword in the Iliad.

[@semi-useful5178]

fascinating!

[@Chibi_changa]

Hi Matt Easton, folks here. More of a general thought, but have you considered doing a video on earlier two-handed swords? They really took off as steel and armour advanced post-1300, but I know there's carvings of dacians holding falxes in two hands, a viking account of someone fighting by gripping their sword with both hands, etc. Could be interesting to look at what swords were used this way before things like longswords and katanas, and what context it would be done in

[@GeoGyf]

The Dacian Falx (and the Thracian copies) as well as the Romphai were sickle-like but to the front, a slight curve to the front. That means that they are very effective/excellent choppers, offensive with big movements used in loose formations. There were multiple variants, both one-handed or two-handed. Sometimes the curve could be bigger (like a khopesh), this allows some better angles (against shields for example) at the cost of cutting power. The Falx/Rhomphaia were very devastating, the Romans had to reintroduce greaves, introduce bracers and more importantly add ridges to their helmets for added protection.

[@BaldeagleCGT]

Hi Matt, I work for the museum where the swords on display were filmed, the ‘riverwall’ we called it. Had a wonderful and fascinating couple of days in the store measuring these swords and spearheads etc to devise the mounting system we adopted for the display!

[@robo5013]

I would love to see more bronze age content. I would especially like to see more info on how bronze swords were manufactured.

[@markhatfield5621]

They are cast, in sand or in stone. Mine were made in England and reasonably priced. That's where the 'pulling the sword from a stone' stories probably came from and the molten bronze was the 'blood of the sun'. There are videos of making them.

[@GeoGyf]

Very expensive to make so most cultures used bronze-head maces or bronze-head axes with a D-shape blade. That meant that bronze swords were either used for officers or used by in a specific type of war by rich nations (for example the Greek city-states used primarily spears and sevondarily bronze swords in their phalanx formation. In that type of warfare, the mace while it has the anti-armor capability just doesnt have the reach to bypass this defensive formation (large heavy shields overlapping each other). Its a similar situation with the axe. Not to mention a hoplite using a mace/axe also cannot use those weapons to their 100% potential, in such close quarters there is not enough space for vertical arm movement.

[@robo5013]

@@markhatfield5621 Yes I know the basic way bronze items were, and are, made. But it is my understanding that they were also hammered once out of the form to draw the edges out and to harden them.

[@markhatfield5621]

@@robo5013 Yes. I don't believe that the modern reproductions have that done though.

[@lady_draguliana784]

I think you're so on track that there's an academic treatise just waiting to be written here!

[@chrisball3778]

They might have had different swords for military and civilian use. You'd almost certainly want a shield in combat, and they'd have developed a martial fighting style around using a sword and shield together. But they'd potentially be a pain to carry around in your day to day life. If you still wanted to carry a sword for self-defence or as a status symbol, you might want something with a flatter pommel so it'd be easier to carry at your side, and might use a different fighting style when using it. Slingers, archers and charioteers might also have wanted a more conveniently-shaped sidearm if they could afford them. It's also pretty clear they had cultural significance beyond their use as weapons, as they were often thrown into bodies of water in a ritualistic way and some sword-like objects have been found that wouldn't have been suitable for combat. If you wanted a sword as a trade gift or a ritual offering, you might not bother with a bulky wooden pommel.

[@geodkyt]

Citizen levies. Most folks would have one sword, *if they owned any* - swords are expensive and very single purpose. And, the *spear* seems to be far more common as a "civilian defense weapon", at least outside major cities. Spears help keep the threat (whether man or beast) at a distance, are a lot cheaper, and can be used as a walking stick.

[@danehalfdane3434]

I figure a pommel with a very severe "stop" for your hand would be better if your sword got caught stuck on the edge of a shield after a chop; it would give your hand better purchase/leverage as you try to wrench your sword back.

[@Skolotoi]

That's a good point. The bite on bronze blades must be much stickier

[@SirGruff]

My favourite Bronze Age sword is the makhaira at the National Archeological Museum in Athens. The handle merging with the blade looks so satisfying and I can almost feel how it swings just by looking at it.

[@milobuur9913]

That’s my favorite museum in the world. Which sword exactly do you mean? They have a lot of swords I remember

[@GeoGyf]

​@@milobuur9913Makhaira is a kopis-like sword (slightly curved slasher, like a big kukri), but usually means a larger kopis sword. The translation is "big knife".

[@SecundusInfernus]

This makes a lot of sense. Looking at Classical Greek art, we often see the Xiphos and Kopis (both blades with good cutting capabilities, the former being very similar to Bronze Age leaf-bladed swords in overall blade form) being used with powerful overhanded swings. I believe there are also images of swords being used to get around shields with thrusts, but I can’t think of specific examples at the moment.

[@GeoGyf]

This due to the Phalanx warfare (big shield overlapping with each other). The Phalanx was also used to push, the troops would do it on command (othismos tactic) so the enemy troops lose their balance. The Spartans were masters at this, even doing orderly feigned retreats then using othismos. The primary weapon was the spear and when the spear broke or the battle went into melee, they would use their swords (primarily xiphos). In this scenarios the swords were very useful as opposed to axes/maces., due to the extended reach & more angles to hurt the enemy (over the Shielf).

[@rumblechad]

I forget the author, but at least one Roman source says that Gauls would deliver massive brutal cuts that could chop a man in half. If i remember correctly, the context was actually meant to be somewhat disparaging of their technique but it could still be indicative of a Celtic preference for strong, full powered cuts even after the bronze age had ended.

[@loganfong2911]

From what I can tell, with these swords you can't end your opponent rightly.

[@lornemcneil]

Apply at appropriate points

[@MoonBerryShrimp]

"Pointy end goes into the other man" -Zorro

[@rbranham8062]

Not with THAT attitude

[@leopoldbloom4835]

The comment I was looking for.

[@lornemcneil]

@@loganfong2911 you can kill a man with a stick, where is Yr reasoning with Yr statement please

[@kazikek2674]

I immediately thought about tulwars when the bronze sword's pommel was shown.

[@JT_Soul]

Matt, if you are so inclined, please do a video on the sword of the Prince of Oss (a major Iron Age burial from the Netherlands). You'll find it if you search for "Vorstengraf Oss" or something along those lines. It is a very beautiful example of an Iron Age high status weapon, and I'd love to hear your take on it. I worked at this site when I was studying archaeology at Leiden University, and it is a truly fascinating place. Also, I know that you like bowie knives, and I would enjoy a video in which you discuss some modern models and which you would recommend for camping and bushcraft purposes. I live in Canada, so the wilderness requirements are sometimes enough to justify carrying a fairly serious large knife when camping and hiking (although something less extreme like a Mora or Fallkniven is still usually sufficient).

[@chrisr251]

I think that bronze swords probably used a system or systems of fighting that were very different than those used with iron and steel swords. The material is fundamentally different, and can't handle the same stresses. They also had thousands of years do develop fighting systems that were based on the use of swords made of bronze, and the sword patterns developed to take advantage of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of bronze. My guess would be that they did not use the blades for parrying, and probably tried to avoid blade on blade contact as much as possible, relying on shields for defense. And based on both the pommel shape and how bronze reacts to torque, I would also think that slashes and cuts were emphasized more than chopping. Mostly because bronze blades can bend when they hit something solid. Whereas using the edge for a drawing cut would avoid that possibility. Stabbing, especially on the bronze blades with a thickened midrib would also be viable, as you have a lot more material to counteract the possible torque. This is all completely my own opinion. However I have spent a good amount of time using bronze swords to see how they react to impacts and cutting, so it isn't just wild supposition.

[@marting1056]

the finds in the battlefield of Tollense show marks on the found blades that are identical to sword to sword contact in test fighting with recreated blades even edge to edge. if you are in a fight for life, you don´t care as much for edge damage, you try to survive

[@weaver1507]

@@marting1056 I think the original commenter's point was that and I'm just talking out my ass here cuz I don't know jack about sword fighting, Later sword fighting techniques with iron or steel parrying and what not was encouraged while with bronze it was like a last resort type thing.

[@dreamok732]

When I last looked at the bronze swords in the British museum there was one with clear cut marks notching the blade edge. Evidence that it had been used to parry another blade. I thought that could support the hypothesis that the fighters had been 'fencing' rather than 'hacking'.

[@PJDAltamirus0425]

Their is a counter point to stabbing. Both these sword don't much of a hand stop. Thrust to be very no committed and very liimited targets. If you thrust into reistent and your comes to a stop, with a double edged sword with no real guard and a smooth grip, there a high likihood of cutting your palm on your own blade.

[@chrisr251]

@marting1056 yes, and I am not saying that those kinds of contacts didn't occur. Especially when you are fighting. But I am speculating that that was not the ideal. Just as it was discouraged in places like India and parts of North Africa in more recent history. If you compare the microscopic pictures of the edges of historical bronze blades to those of recreations used to fight experimentally, there is very clear evidence that such contacts did happen. But what does happen frequently when you chop on bronze sword into another, like you do with a steel sword, is that the blade bends. Not just chips, or takes edge damage. But bends. Sometimes it can be returned to straight or almost straight. Sometimes it can't. The thing about bronze though, is that unlike iron and steel, it is pretty easy to recycle. So those blades that bent too severely would be melted down and used for other things. We don't have as much evidence as we could, simply because most of the broken or damaged weapons were recycled.

[@mnk9073]

Something tells me those swords are mostly used for draw cuts and stabbing as hammered bronze is very sharp but absolutely not a friend of chopping at all. Edit: It'd be fascinating to see how the Antenna-pommels figure into this idea.

[@andreweden9405]

The other one of your two bronze swords (NOT the mushroom pommeled one) with the stepped profile taper, reminds me of many Chinese sword blades of the same general period. You can see that abrupt decrease in width on bronze Chinese swords such as the Sword of Goujian. Although it seems to be much more pronounced in the European swords.

[@michaelborror4399]

Thrusting seems like a strong option at first, until you consider that the impaled enemy probably still has weapons in their hands after thinking about it, hence musashi emphasizing the importance of cutting.

[@crazypetec-130fe7]

Your discussion of cuts & thrusts got me wondering, how well do bronze blades stand up to such treatment? Has anyone experimented with a bronze blade against test subjects in contemporary armor? Of course we want to see what damage is done to the target, but we should also pay attention to how much damage is done to the weapon, especially with different attack techniques: thrusts, cuts, chops, etc.

[@maxdoblinger1749]

Now i want to know more about bronce age spears. I mean, ALL (ok just most of those) of those swords, as beautiful as they are where still (just) backup to weapons. Mostly to the spear.

[@ScottWoodruff-wh3ft]

I think that you will find that the bronze swords without pommel tabs still had large pommels. They were just attached to extensions of the grip slabs, instead of to a pommel tab integral to the tang.

[@markhatfield5621]

Didn't use up as much of the precious bronze that way.

[@yoavedelist6173]

Yes! Bronze age content!

[@jackrice2770]

One cannot argue with human anatomical physics. If the tool you're using will not accommodate a certain action because of the limitations of body mechanics, then obviously it wasn't used in that fashion. Combat is typically an enterprise that puts a premium on the best use of any particular weapon (or else you get killed, which is a strong disincentive!). So if the pommel's design limits a certain action, but makes a different action better, then it's hardly a stretch to assume that was the point of the design. I would suggest that variation in design may have been due to personal preference. We're not talking about a mil spec weapons manufacturing industry, nor are we in a time of government funded standing armies. So I would assume that when you were 'called up' for service, you brought your equipment out of the closet and it was -your- equipment, not government issue. So some guys liked cutting and chopping, some guys preferred the ability to thrust more efficiently, etc. Context.

[@rsavage-r2v]

I always assumed a total lack of hand protection meant you were standing off and thrusting with your shield far in front of you, so this totally changes my mental picture. Fascinating!

[@petrapetrakoliou8979]

There are also Bronze Age swords that are long and thin like rapiers, and are called rapiers by the way too.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Impossible. That would bend under its own weight almost like a power cord

[@petrapetrakoliou8979]

@@samsonsoturian6013 And yet there you have them. You might be surprised: in the beginning, bronze swords were of higher quality than iron ones until they very slowly mastered the tricky art of quenching. The main advantage of iron swords was the availability of the material.

[@paulbardunias5950]

An interesting piece of evidence on the use of these swords can be found on the agate found at the Griffin Warrior site in Pylos from around 1500BC. The hero of the piece is stabbing along a line that is not a straight thrust as you suggest using a type A sword with "horns", a crossguard that angles backwards towards the pommel. What appears to have gone unnoticed, even misrepresented in the official sketches I have seen, is that the warrior has looped an index finger over the guard. This is done to allow the type of straight thrust that the pommel would seem to disallow. What seems to allow this is that the grip itself is longer than one would expect. With these swords and later xiphoi there is an excellent notch to place the thumb on the blade, which is another way of extending for a stab. The grip needs to be long just to index the blade, because otherwise the crossguard hits your wrist and keeps you from aligning the blade. It is almost like a dual-purpose grip based on where you hold it. I would love to see you test a reproduction of these swords. In fact, it would be interesting to compare the lines of attack used commonly with spears with those used with these swords.

[@llama341]

“Culture” rather than function might be the reason for the pommel shape. In many tribal societies, swords were status implements.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yes culture is always important in everything. Interestingly, swords seem perhaps to have been less high status in the bronze age than the iron age - certainly there are huge numbers of them surviving, and a lot of them show extensive signs of damage from combat.

[@mnk9073]

If I remember correctly there are even stone "replicas" of some of the earlier sword designs made for those who couldn't afford the bronze versions. Ancient wallhangers if you want.

[@llama341]

@@scholagladiatoria Thank you! It would be interesting to see if the damage is consistent with the other sword types you mention.

[@tommeakin1732]

**Shuffles papers and shifts glasses** After much scholarly debate and sophisticated contemporary academic inquiry, we can say with informed certainty that the reason for such a shape is... **shuffles papers** "ceremonial". Thank you, thank you - there's no need to clap! Oh, please; you're too kind.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

During this period the women's graves are full of shiny jewelry, the men's graves are full of big tools/weapons

[@Ksennie]

Man, I really, REALY would love to see this theory tested out using a figure-8, or dipylon " Boeotian" shield to see how they work together as a combined armament

[@TonyM540]

At different periods in Irish history different sword types were used, I would be interested in your take on the Irish Scian.

[@comradebork]

7:19 Very satisfying sound.

[@jvin248]

Bronze Age leaf blades are essentially double sided axes or machetes from the mass distribution, with a backup spear tip. Probably fought mostly cloth wearing not full armored enemies.

[@RaggaDruida]

I can't wait for more bronze age sword content! I will admit that the Mycenaean Type G are among my favourite, and there is just something about bronze in the reflections and everything that is just amazing!

[@petrapetrakoliou8979]

Pity the metallurgist didn't make a bronze hilt: that is the other major category of Bronze Age sword and there we know exactly how the hilt looked like, and it is much more round than the wooden hilts reproduced there.

[@marting1056]

the bronce age in britain spans 1700 years, why should there not be a variety in sword hilts? look at all the variety from the roman time to the Napoleonic era....

[@jessebechtold2973]

One thing that can’t be overlooked would be the effect of the material qualities of bronze itself on any fencing system developed to use bronze weapons.

[@tomjayel6390]

Makes good sense. Studied kashima in my younger days/ so not just an 'i think', a little practicality also. Pommel does suggest angled thrusts with shield work as a 'core use'. The bronze material suggests cutting would be prioritised over clashing/slashing. The deep belly of the leaf (offering a curved edge) suggests cutting rather than chopping to me too. The engagement of back and core in cutting (not slashing!) couples with experience of curved blades. I agree the way the sword is intended to be held tells how it is intended to be used. Thanks for a thoughtful and thought provoking piece.

[@JuaneDosesII-wj6dd]

Any feature that 1. Protects the hand, 2 keeps the sword in hand 3 support and provide leverage 4 keeps the hand from sliding forward 5. Keeps it balanced 6. Indexing and feeling in hand I’m no swordsman but I swing machetes in the bush with the best of them. And conditions of use, muddy bloody , chaotic, feeling in hand and handling is key!!!! It’s like furniture for my fist.

[@dougsinthailand7176]

I wouldn’t expect the very earliest swords to be extremely sophisticated in design.

[@frostblasts]

I also think of ergonomics reason. Being forward heavy blades, swings could impart strain on the wrist and forearm, having it locked using the pommel means most of the tension would be imparted on the back muscles and upper arm.

[@henrystapp9662]

The Ginunting type short sword used in the Pekiti-Tirsia Kali art has a _very_ large pommel, and is also used for cutting movements with wrist locked, and thrusts from odd angles.

[@RedHandedGod]

I want a Burridge piece in my collection pretty badly. Exquisite work. Excited to see more videos on bronze swords, for sure.

[@TmitriZukowski]

I think it might be interesting to see if pommel type correlates at all to blade profile. It seems to me of the bronze swords I have seen in pics from museums that they very much suggest form follows function. So in bronze it is much more pronounced either/or cut vs stab, and much less some of both.

[@philipzahn491]

If the swords with the smaller pommels were with straight movements used on horseback, while the Indian tulwars were also used on horseback, maybe that is because riding in the bronze age wasn`t that sophisticated, since they had no saddle or stirups yet?

[@Loki_Firegod]

Haven't watched the video yet, so sorry if this comment makes little sense (and also because I might have to comment again later). Anyway, had to get it out of the way. Several years ago, when I was studying archaeology, we had a course on typology and how to identify artifacts by type. We had a bunch of iron axes and knives, but mostly bronze axes, spears and swords. One of mine was a bronze sword which was in very nice condition - it had some edge damage (pretty much the same as you'd see on an iron blade) that we deduced from the patina was propably original. But more excitingly, it had some residue that my professor said was most likely blood. So, I can't really tell you much about how they were used, but I can say with very high certainty THAT they were used and that at least one person in Bronze Age Europe had edge-to-edge contact with another weapon and edge contact with some body containing blood - I like to think it was from a battle, but who knows, it was about 3200 years old if I remember correctly. Beautiful blade too, very light and nimble - if we'd fitted a new handle and slightly touched up the blade, it'd been ready to go again. Very small handle though, I could barely get my hand in and I don't have large hands.

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

I have several pounds of pennies (copper) which I would love to turn into a couple of bronze implements. Unfortunately there is no forge in my little town which could do this. I am planning to move to a larger centre and perhaps then I can find a craftsman. Culd you sometime do a bit on the making of bronze swords complete with ratios of copper to tin. My understanding there is more tin in swords than in bronze ornaments, etc. Anyway, thanks for another great discussion. Cheers!

[@comradebork]

Since 1982 pennies are almost all zinc (en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)).

[@stephena1196]

A friend of mine has a bronze sword which he made c.20 years ago, on a Bronze Age style sword making holiday. It was somewhere in Britain, but I've forgotten where.

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

@@stephena1196 Oh, that's cool. I am in Canada and nothing happens in my town. But the city I plan to move to might just have that kind of workshop. I bet your friend feels great satisfaction about having built the sword. Thanks for the reply. Cheers!

[@comradebork]

@@kaoskronostyche9939 Since 1982, pennies have been almost all zinc.

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

@@comradebork In Canada? How do you know my pennies are not all older? Why do you assume I know nothing. Thank you ...

[@dzhanker]

One possibility is that the round pommel one might have been the "military" variant, and the one without a "civilian" variant with "military" being slightly more optimized for fighting in shield formations but the "civilian" for ease of wearing in every day life and for single (or small group) combat where neither side is likely to have shields. We see such variations all throughout the history and often it comes down to individual preference which one (or maybe both for different occasions) the particular individual would prefer.

[@corrugatedcavalier5266]

I haven't read the study but I know that Robert Brooks and his club were part of a study trying to recreate Bronze Age sword technique and came up with some interesting points. I think what you say here is at least plausible, just difficult to prove anything. Always fun to try, though!

[@fredscholpp5838]

I like your logical approach to figuring out how the blades were used. But also appreciate the rich bronze sword porn ;) Such a marvelous collection of beautiful repros!!

[@charlietizzardokevlahan3130]

You should look at 'Bronze Age Swordsmanship: New Insights from Experiments and Wear Analysis'. They did combat experiements on teplica beonze age swords, and diacuss the development and role of binding to control your opponent

[@Templarium]

There are primarily thrusting swords like the Mycenaean swords that have pommels like that. Personally I think it was for ease of weapon extraction from the scabbard and from enemies. I also read that "cavalry" in the bronze age was non-existant other than chariots because the horses were just too small at the time.

[@QuentinStephens]

More bronze age stuff please! With regards to shields, I was given to understand that a popular type of shield was a figure 8 shield. Would that help both spear and sword usage? Given that there were no stirrups, perhaps you might discuss cavalry use with Jason Kingsley and Zac Evans? I find this all fascinating; more, please!

[@oltharantoniopulvirenti5910]

More Bronze Age content, amazing!

[@jamielondon6436]

Having just watched your video analysing spear fighting in movies, including the Hector vs. Achilleus battle in Troy, I'd really like to see a deeper dive into that, i. e. all the weapons and armour used therein, how realistic it is, etc. I seem to recall reading that cavallery was quite rare in the Bronze Age, because horses had not yet been bred to be big enough by then (hence the prevalence of chariots). That would be another interesting aspect, both regarding the point raised in this video and the movie, which features extensive cavallery scenes, if memory serves.

[@unocoltrane2804]

It shouldn't be surprising to me that so much though went into weapon design during the bronze age, but somehow it is when I think of armies being trained to use such a wide array of weapons back then.

[@braddbradd5671]

Chopping similar to the talwar plus stabbing

[@arc0006]

Matt, please do a video on the Khanda. I think tip cuts or strikes where the end corners hit first would be particularly deadly. Maybe even effective against some mail armours?

[@stoicshield]

Personally, I think it might be a mix of two things: Fighting style, yes. The argument with 'solid' wrist and chopping around a shield, but not a lot of straight stabbing makes a lot of sense to me. But what I find is often missing from these discussions is human preference. With a 'square' type of pommel, you can fight in the same kind of style like with a disk, but the person using it might think it looks much better. It's something with medieval swords as well. Especially considering swords with the 'square' at the end of the grip, but with extensions to add a pommel sounds to me like they wanted to individualize their swords. Not to mention some might not have liked one type of pommel but preferred how the square felt in their hand or vise versa. I personally much prefer a pear-shaped pommel over a wheel type and would choose a sword with a pear pommel over a wheel pommel, especially if the rest of the sword is the same.

[@graveyard1979]

Dan Howard's Bronze Age Military Equipment brought me here (aside of the channel subscription). For serious, it's a great introductory book for researching the period.

[@philvanderlaan5942]

This is kind of the wrong place or topic to ask a question . But since I don’t know where to ask , so I have two questions. 1 where is the appropriate place to ask general questions. 2 I was watching Rashamon ( Akira Kurosawa, Tashiro Mifune 1950 ) and the bandit appears to have a ‘ European’ looking sword , is this a Japanese sword or is it foreign, not necessarily European?

[@scholagladiatoria]

It's a Chinese jian.

[@philvanderlaan5942]

@@scholagladiatoria thank you!

[@Cormalek]

Idea based on just messing about with some non-pommelled ones: hold one like a giant chefs knife, pinching with thumb and pointing finger. Rest the antennae of pommel inside the small of your hand.

[@Phattydumpz]

I love being an outlier for a specific subject, but I'm still a nerd so I watch anyway. This shit makes no sense to me personally but I love the attention to detail that you always bring. One of my dreams is to one day slay someone with a sword. Fictionally of course. But we can do it historically together too. That might be more fun actually.

[@yupebet]

The secret is obvious you detach pommel from the sword you use it as a grenade. It's Bronze age Super weapon :3

[@Nazdreg1]

I would look for rondel daggers too as possible comparison. They also have a similar pommel. Very different blade, but so does the tulwar.

[@BeKindToBirds]

Fantastic work as always Matt, thank you

[@micumatrix]

What I miss in this video is the difference between bronze and iron/steel regarding density/weight and rigidity. This could explain much better how they were used. Some people think they bend more easily. Such things would reduce automatically length, increase width etc. = way they were used. Start with this basic informations, so we are able to imagine holding and swinging it.

[@rumblechad]

I wouls very much like to see more bronze age content, lots of cool things that could be talked about with the british bronze age or nordic bronze age. I also saw a team of Greek researchers reconstructed Mycenean armor and tested its mobility.

[@quentinsaville2950]

A steel Tulwar appears to have more reach, even curved, than a straight Bronze sword with the 'T' pommel you displayed. This may require the Straight Line extension grip capable pommel to get as much reach as possible out of what is effectively a Short, or shorter anyway, sword. A quick Google search [which I by no means consider makes me expert!] shows that Bronze age swords where apparently not usually much longer than 80 CMs. Ones under 60 CMs, are apparently considered short swords or daggers. I'm assuming that is Blade length not Overall Length By the way.

[@dougsinthailand7176]

Thought provoking! I hope nobody is bothered by my multiple posts. Here’s a question though. How common were swords in the Bronze Age compared to more recent periods? We do know that in early times, it look a huge investment in labor and material to make something like a sword, particularly in the Bronze Age. This sword belonged to the highest possible ranking individual in a society. His primary concern was, I think, primarily self-preservation. Although duels between competing warlords were common, I think we’re overlooking the use of a sword to enforce order, in which case the sword would be used, normally, against someone who doesn’t have a sword, in which case the design may not tell us anything about its use. Finally, a sword is still a backup weapon; the shield is primarily used with a spear, and the sword would be reserved for one on one duels or for personal protection, like an officers pistol.

[@rialobran]

I used to fight with a sprung steel replica Bronze Age sword, I would agree with your analysis

[@gadlicht4627]

This would be cool to do some experimental archeology tests with I wonder how well they hold up against each other and other things from time period

[@patrickwilliams3108]

These are very reasonable guesses. Indeed, pommel size and shape can dictate how you must use the weapon.

[@josesoria2072]

I think Matt's hypothesis makes sense, although I've always thought it was a bit tiring to do when swinging a sword like that, maybe it's my current perception of the use of a blade.

[@eda715]

That pommel could be utilized for 2-handed thrusting for more power to maybe push through armor.

[@telcharthegreatsmithofthef7585]

Please have a look at the Hallstatt bronze swords - mindelheim and gündlingen type, they're beautiful :) Especially the mindelheim type quite clearly seems to be a cavalry sword, and it has quite a unique shape - but with a big hat pommel. At any rate, love bronze swords, more videos on them please! :D

[@oliverhahn2384]

I wonder if you could. of you haven't already, do a video on possible uses of bronze swords based on how bronze, as a material, would hold up/not hold up in combat. Maybe even a larger topic than bronze swords alone. We know that different types of swords were meant to be used differently, based on hilt grip, pommels, finger rings, weight, and many more factors. Material itself certainly plays a role (katana comparisons come to mind). How did earlier types of swords compare to what later fighters could do with more modern swords (beyond, yeah, it broke, chipped, or bent).

[@johnking6252]

Great food for thought video ! Thx. Oh and I never realized how rather beautiful a bronze sword could be 👍

[@felipeborrero9858]

I wonder if perhaps thrusting wasn't used as much with bronze swords and shields due to tip and blade deformation if you thrust into a shield since bronze isn't as tough and as such a pommel designed for cutting was preferable.

[@markstyles1246]

Is it possible you have the mushroom pommel for combat with shields, or more formation combat, unit-level stuff. And the more flexible, smaller pommel for single-combat, "dueling"? I suppose you could look at the quality and quantity of swords with each type of pommel within a region. You could reasonably expect swords with the mushroom to be more plentiful but also cheaper.

[@squatch2461]

Please consider doing a video on the Xiphos. It's not bronze age, but has always been a favorite of mine. Thanks for this video, of course. 🍻

[@larsbkurin1740]

You didn't address the difference in blades I think you are absolutely right and it would be interesting to see how temporal and geographical differences in find sites. I can imagine that the first sword's advantage is open landscape while the second sword is a weapon that is ancestral to the raiper and limited by the material bronze.

[@old2470]

For the mushroom pommel I see it as a skull smasher if the distance is right and you want a prisoner not a dead person. Interesting the pommel toward guard is not flat from what I see - it is ergonomic. On the other hand the sword without a mushroom pommel has the blade of a “beater”. It looks like a stabbing from the horse and less of a slasher. In your museum example there is no wood and the pommel is like a T. Why is the wood flared on that sword? Take the flair out and align the T with your wrist and you got the perfect downward stabbing blade. The material and geometry - that spine where usually is the fuller - gives me a hint of perfect use of structure and material. The leaf one is made for slashing by adding more material for dual purpose: structural integrity and losing material through sharpening on those inches the blade cuts. The additional mass to make it tip heavy is the result of the two. Form follows function. Always.

[@insanogeddon]

Branding and Fashion are likely upstream of use in any common 'mass produced' product.

[@abptlm123]

Hi Matt, I assumed this video was about the recent discovery of the bronze age Sword with pharaoh’s mark found in Egypt, still shimmering 3,000 years later. The blade is chipped, from use, I suppose, and looks like it may have been recast, even multiple times. It would be great to find out what your trained eye can spot. Maybe even giving hints about technique from the chips in the blade? I'd love to hear whatever you have to say about it. Cheers, Andrew.

[@hoegild1]

A bronze age sword used on horseback..?! Did they have horses strong enough to be used by cavalry in the bronze age..? I was under the impression, that they only used chariots, because the horses was to small and nimble to be able to carry a man (in combat)..?

[@MrPhantomEd]

Cavalry horses were, essentially, large ponies until, roughly, the late middle ages and an adult can ride them even now. Look at the imagery of, say, Alexander the Great, Bucephalus was quite a small creature.

[@peterwolf4230]

Bronze age is up until 1200B.C. Then Alexander was born is 356BC. The bronze age cultures used chariots. Alexander used cavalry. It's over 800 years apart. Alexander can't be used as a reference for bronze age cavalry.

[@williamarthur4801]

I'd love to see more on ancient swords and weapons in general, just not Roman, it's been done to death.

[@cottonedge]

Probably worth looking at archaeological remains and injuries. The bodies will be a good record for how the weapon that killed them was used.

[@Kanner111]

Clearly bronze-age content is a potent space for speculation. =) It does seem to make absolutely perfect sense that the leaf-blade 'heavy cutting' variant has the large pommel for maximum assistance with impact and/or angled thrusting, I mean, for any other stage of the battle you've got an actual spear you should be using for thrusting at non-point-blank opponents. And then the less blade heavy weapon with the bronze-age attempt at a narrowed sharp reinforced tip (quite an extraordinary amount of reinforcement on display in both swords, to be honest) is set up so you absolutely can swordfight properly instead of just being a superior axe/club with an edge-alignment skill issue. Also is the Tulwar the primary weapon for said India cavalry? Or are they actually carrying a lance or a gun or something and only drawing their extra-curvy sabres again at point-blank range where rapidly throwing defensive cuts that can potentially also interrupt and injure the enemy seem to be the preferred IRL combat style over precision thrusts to the body?

[@jackdelvo2702]

I would think the broad leaf blade with the large pommel would be for fighting on foot with a large shield while the longer thin blade with a small pummel would be used from chariot or horse back with a smaller shield more of an officer/chieftain weapon possibly used in conjunction with the bow.

[@strategicbushcraft6391]

This is a great topic. YI wonder if you could look at some of the bronze age civilizations that had a written language, like the Minoans, China, Japan and Egypt.

[@patrickshannon4854]

Correct me if I’m mistaken, but Im thinking that a person used to the feel & handling of an iron or steel blade would find bronze blades to be heavy & less lively in comparison.

[@byroncudworth6918]

Did you see the Bronze sword uncovered recently in Germany?! What a specimen!

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the video ⚔️

[@ravenrise320]

A lot of Bronze Age swords had pommels as Matt described and illustrated. But. Some of their blades were rather circumspect when it came to cutting. This means that some COULD probably cut quite well. But, they might not hold up to a lot of it over a prolonged period on a battlefield. This would've been especially true of many of the very earliest examples. They often had two-piece tangs and handle fittings, not to mention blade shapes and thicknesses, that made them rather delicate and probably better suited to thrusting than cutting. Bronze would never as strong as iron for weapon construction. But. For a brief time in human history it was THE best metal for weapon construction. Far better than stone or copper. Both of which were still being used right alongside bronze in weapon construction At least into the early to middle Bronze Age.

[@kingdavidapple]

My understanding is that fighting on horseback was greatly enhanced by the use of stirrups, which did not appear until well into the Iron Age. If that is so, then the other near-disc pommel might be used in a chariot (or Celtic waggon). How might that inform its use?

[@richardbale3278]

Mr Burridge is a master artisan. I only wish that I could afford one of his masterworks.

[@user-kl5zd2oe3e]

I have big hands. A gladius ball pommel locks me into a hammer grip, which I kinda hate. I like a more lively grip. Aesthetically, I love gladii, but I hate that ball pommel!

[@tomsensible3999]

It looks like a nice, comfy disk. Maybe it's for allowing the other hand to push down. Like the rondels have?

[@bakters]

Why would you need a round pommel in order to use full body cuts or angled thrusts? It's not necessary for that purpose. We can do those with no pommel at all. But they bothered to put it in there and make long range thrusts and "cast blows" almost impossible. Why? I think it was necessary, and analogically to why there is a cylindrical "guard" on all sorts of swords which prevents the hand from slipping onto the blade during thrusts, the pommel had to have a similar role. That is, it prevented the hand from slipping off the grip when trying to *retract* the blade. I mean, I think they were primarily thrusting swords and the pommels were supposed to make the recovery easier. Easier to retain the sword when missing, sweaty tired hands and all, and especially crucial after a successful hit, or stuck in a shield, or something like that.

[@charlesbruggmann7909]

How does the durability of bronze compare with iron or steel?

[@scholagladiatoria]

There is a lot of variation in bronze depending on the composition of the alloy, and of course steels come in a very wide variety of types. Iron, pure iron that is, varies less. It's difficult therefore to make a concise and accurate comparison, but iron and bronze swords are not greatly different in mechanical properties. Steel swords are a whole different ballpark.