Miscellaneous Swords

Introduction:

What your are about to view and read doesn't really class as an essay or a gallery, almost a combination of the two. In this piece you'll see some of the newest material I've created, and also some of the oddities I have left over from previous projects, often things I rejected and ended up changing for the final item featured in an essay or gallery. If you think I should have kept something and not relegated it to this dumping ground, or if I'm presenting two variations for a new design and you like one better than the other, let me know! I don't have the last word in what works or not. As the user, if I've put something in here that resonates better than what I've put in the essay or gallery, you need to tell me! If you want me to make sure a certain version of a new design makes it into a forthcoming project I need to know! Send your feedback to the adress listed below.

Sincerely,

-Iain Norman

i_norm2001@yahoo.com

New and Unplaced Work:

The item below is an early Third Age sword of the Rohirrim. It was first item from the Third Age I had designed. I started work on it because I was very disappointed by the WETA version of Herugrim. Tolkien clearly describes it in The Lord of the Rings as having a sheath set with "green gems". Not only was this obvious description neglected but the color scheme was turned to red leather and bronze! Needless to say it seems like something of a blunder, Tolkien rarely gives such detail, to pass it up is rather naive, even pretentious. However other elements WETA used I quite liked, cast bronze guards, rounded tips, ect... One other problem I had was that the so-called 'Royal Swords' tended to be a bit short. Horse cultures historically have used long swords because they were horsemen. This type of sword allows a long reach, essential for horseback use. So I decided to try three things, backdating slightly the designs seen in the film trilogy, using something of the color scheme Tolkien provides, and creating a true long sword that was still cappable of one-handed use.

For the blade I used a form that is suited to the slashing attack possible from horseback. The most efficient stroke from a horse is an uppercut stroke which strikes the enemy on a perpendicular. This takes full advantage of the forward motion of the horse, the broad blade, and the length of the blade. Swords used on horseback tend not be pointed, a stab is almost impossible in a charge and a melee for a rider is deadly, the foe has enough time to cut the hamstrings of the horse or pull the rider down. Thus the most efficient blade form is a long sword with rounded tip and a diamond cross-section. Because swordplay in terms of parry-and-riposte is not likely to be used the balance of the sword can be focused on slashing and nothing else. Many ancient horse cultures considered their riders dead if they were removed from horseback, thus a sword would not even be designed for the eventuallity of fighting on foot if the intended user would be a rider. While the Rohirrim could and did fight on foot their first choice was always to be mounted, thus a weapon would probably be designed first and foremost for fighting from horse. The guard is solid bronze and silver, it adds quite a bit of weight to the weapon and focuses the balance in front of the guard. It is in the form of two horses, their manes are formed from silver and show what could be interpreted as crenellation. The eyes of the horses take the form of two emeralds of a deep green. The gems are of a fine quality and posess a good glow. The hilts consist of a hardwood layed over the tang and covered with bleached leather. The pommel is solid bronze and provides a counterweight to the massive guard. I did come up with two variations of this sword, the above descriptions apply generally to both.

The second is a revision I came up with for a true one-handed version. The blade length was shortened, as was the length of hilt, the pommel shape was changed slightly in the process of remove a chunk of the hilt. The tip also got a very minor shape change. The dimensions for this version is as follows, overlength equals 45.26 inches, blade length equals 33.14 inches, blade width equals 1.70 inches, the hilt length equals 6.25 inches, hilt width equals 1.13 inches, and the guard width equals 4.54 inches at the widest point. A full color study of this short version will be completed in the future. Below is a comparison of the two different versions scaled to their proper size in relation to each other.

Tell me which design you think works better.

This next design is one of the strangest I have ever concocted. It is a sword from the early to middle period of the First Age, forged by a Dwarf for an Elf, it has many oddities stemming from one culture trying to make an item with a completely different culture in mind as the recipient. It would have been crafted by a Dwarf from Belegost for an Elf of the Noldor from the March of Maedhros. The basic shapes come from a Dwarf trying to use the Noldor saber style blade and curved hilts in conjunction with a decidedly Dwarvish large metal guard, and a fullered, straight blade. The sword is suited to slashing but also has a sharp point. In essence the weapon is a machete (only the leading edge of the blade is sharp) attached to a saber handle. The blade is fullered to save weight. The guard is in the shape of the eagle, and shows Elvish curves as well as the some of the angular style of the Dwarves. The curved hilt focuses the blade for slashing and heightens the impact.

A full color study is being worked on for this design and will be uploaded as soon as possible. The text will also be expanded when the color plate is finished.

Alternate Designs of Finished Work:

This first piece is an alternate design of Ringil. Originally I had Ringil described as having a fuller, though I never drew a proper one on the sketch, later I decided against this because I had pegged fullers as being a Dwarven feature. However just out of interest in how it would look I did a fullered Ringil.

I never did a color plate of this design since I decided it simply didn't work for the time period Ringil would have been made in, chances are the Noldor made it, possibly before they even came to Middle-earth, so to have something that I had pretty much associated with Dwarves on an Elvish blade wouldn't have been keeping with my design guidelines. However there is the very slight chance the Dwarves could have made it, but I do not consider this likely as Fingolfin's people themselves had little contact with the Dwarves. But it is possible that Ringil could have been made by the Naugrim, but much of that should be up to the reader's own imagination as Tolkien does not give any history to the weapon. If you like this version let me know, I might do a color plate if there is an interest.

This next item is my original color study for Anguirel, it has a much more prominent red for the leather, and rubies instead of sapphires set in the guard.