There are often great difficulties in the way of reasonably approximating the date and nationality of both weapons and armour, owing to causes which will be touched upon later in these pages; but these apparent inconsistencies must needs be grappled with as far as possible, and herein lies the work of the archæologist. In the case of sword specimens, it very often happens that blades and hilts belong to widely different periods, and even nationalities, and cases of this kind often give rise to much doubt and perplexity; indeed, unless there is evidence that a blade and hilt are contemporaneous, it is always well to consider that they may not be so; for blades were passed down from father to son, and often re-hilted more than once. Hilts also were often re-bladed. The great question of smiths’ marks could only be adequately dealt with in a volume devoted entirely to that subject. This will be seen from the complexity arising from the piracy of marks--such, for instance, as that of the running wolf of Passau, or Scottish blades with the many variations of “Ferrara” impressed upon them. These marks came to be regarded merely as “standards,” and were often used without any intention to defraud--in the sense, in fact, of the name “Wallsend” being applied to express a certain quality in coals. A book dealing comprehensively with this branch of the subject has yet to be written. While gratefully acknowledging much information and infinite assistance from other writers, I have found many manifest errors, which have been both inherited and perpetuated, handed down, so to speak, through long generations of book-making. I have taken as little as possible from books, especially over the period where actual specimens are available, but have endeavoured, by carefully studying many important collections, both at home and abroad, to compare, as far as possible, the types and fashions prevailing at the different periods dealt with, which, however, greatly interweave, especially among European nations, where easy facilities for interchange existed.