_The Sword._--Swords were essentially cavalry weapons among the Anglo-Saxons, and were not carried by any person beneath the rank of thane. The earliest of those found in England have no quillons or cross-pieces, but merely pommel, grip, and blade. The latter was long, straight, rounded at the point, and double-edged, 30 inches long and 2 inches wide at the hilt; the grip was of wood and with but little swell. The total length is generally about three feet. Irish swords of the same period are about six inches shorter; both kinds were provided with wooden scabbards. Undoubtedly this sword was fashioned from classical models. During the later Saxon occupation a cross-piece was added to the weapon; it became more acutely pointed, and the pommel occasionally showed signs of ornamentation. No. 2 of Fig. 64 is a sword found in Cambridgeshire, and shows the quillons in an incipient form, while the addition of a knob to the pommel relieves the monotony seen in No. 1. No. 3, from the same find, has the cross-piece enlarged, while the other swords show various stages of development. The two swords, Nos. 5 and 6, are from MSS. of the eighth century. A rare example of the sword of this period is preserved in the Wallace Collection, and is shown in Fig. 65. It has a flat, crown-shaped pommel, with five small lobes and short, straight quillons rounded at the ends, the grip being missing. The blade is grooved, measures 30¼ inches in length, and shows traces of an inscription or ornament. The sword preserved in the British Museum, which was obtained from the bed of the River Witham, is very similar to this and is probably contemporary, while another weapon has recently been found in the Thames with the hilt upwards which is almost identical with that found in the Witham. The blades of all three examples are about thirty inches in length. The grip of the swords appears to have been made of pine-wood, judging from a few remains which have been found. It is more than probable that the wood was covered with leather, bone, or horn. That the sword-hilts were at times of a costly character and richly ornamented we may infer from the Wallace sword, which has traces of silver work upon the quillons; the British Museum sword, which has the pommel and quillons inlaid with gold and copper in a lozenge pattern; and from numerous references in the MSS. to weapons with hilts of gold or silver, inlaid work, setting of precious stones, &c., the illuminations invariably showing the hilts and mountings of a yellow colour, thus implying gold, or gold plating. The sheaths were invariably of wood covered with leather, with ornamental designs painted or stamped upon them, and mountings of bronze or more costly metal. The sword is less often found in Saxon graves than the spear, as might be expected, seeing that its use was confined to the upper classes. [Illustration: FIG. 64.--Saxon swords of various dates.]