Abstract
Dr Alan Williams is a well-known and respected metallurgist who in the past several decades has published many valuable studies of the metals, particularly iron and steel, used in the production of arms and armour. He is perhaps best known for his monumental and pivotal work The Knight and the Blast Furnace (Brill, 2003). The Sword and the Crucible is a physically smaller work, but still manages to delight the reader with its wealth of fascinating information about how metals were first developed, and how they were applied to the manufacture of armour and weapons especially, as the name of the book suggests, of swords. This book is clearly written with the informed reader in mind, but does not assume a prior understanding of the history, development, and application of iron and steel. Terms used in chemistry and metallurgy are expertly explained without in any way patronizing the non-specialist, while the extensive notes and excellent bibliography enable the reader to take aspects of the study further.
The appearance of iron and then steel is contextualized by first looking at the development of the metals which preceded them: copper and tin but also lead, silver and gold, and the alloying of copper and tin to produce bronze. The desirable characteristics of any good sword blade are also defined – hardness, to enable a good edge to be made and kept, and toughness, for durability. Dr Williams then examines the early processes by which iron was smelted and the first production of steel, before setting out the vital clues as to the forging and hardening processes by which a particular blade had been produced, revealed through the evidence contained in its microcrystalline structure.
The vital benefit offered by steel over iron, that it could be heat-treated, or tempered, to produce hard yet durable blades, is discussed in detail in relation to metal produced not only in Europe but also in other lands. The different processes for the production of ‘bloomery’ and ‘crucible’ steels are explained, and how they are encountered in pieces which were made in India, China, Japan, and the Middle East.
The earliest iron swords known in Europe were those made by the Celts around the seventh century BC, and analysis of these shows how iron and steel were ‘piled’ to give the final blade the required strength and hardness. The study continues with an examination of pattern welding, which seems to have appeared in the late Roman period. The reader is then given a fascinating interpretation of the revival which emerged in Europe at the end of the ‘Dark Ages’ of the understanding of a number of aspects of science, and which had for centuries almost been lost. Through a growing appreciation of learning, universities were founded throughout Europe and these helped stimulate the practical and active rediscovery of many processes. Alchemy and chemistry were among the disciplines being revived, and another was the manufacture and use of iron. Some technologies had survived from antiquity, and Dr Williams summarizes these in a series of valuable and concise sections. They include glass working (especially glass-blowing to make vessels useful for scientific experiments), the production of Greek Fire (a highly inflammable liquid that could not be extinguished by water), distillation, the manufacture of sulphuric and nitric acid, and the production of saltpetre and from it the development of gunpowder. The mysteries of successful metals production and metalworking are also discussed, especially as they related to iron.
A large and famous group of Viking swords, bearing the inlaid inscription ULFBERHT, are then discussed at length and in considerable detail. Examples of this type in many European and Scandinavian collections were tested and the images made during their metallographic analysis are shown and commented upon to show the construction and heat treatment of each blade. The development of the blast furnace in the later fourteenth century, which marked a crucial step in the production of steel, is examined. Forcing air though the molten iron and the creation of increasingly larger furnaces allowed the iron to be smelted at higher temperatures, resulting in more effective removal of impurities which had hitherto weakened earlier metals, allowing the production of more refined and improved steel.
Fascinating insights are also given into the increased use in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries of wrought iron for the manufacture of artillery pieces, as well as the ability, through improved steel making after about 1400, for the production of swords made of homogeneous steel. Centres of steel production, including those in Italy and Westphalia, are also investigated. Styria in particular is highlighted, since there the production of large quantities of superior quality bloomery steel enabled it to be exported throughout Europe and to Britain and led to the effective mass production of steel for the manufacture of swords and armour.
At the end of the period with which this book is most concerned sword blades and armour were becoming increasingly decorated with etched, gilded, and blued decoration. Dr Williams discusses how these techniques certainly produced visually impressive decoration on fine pieces, but also how the performance of the steel itself could be adversely affected, especially through the use of fire-gilding and heat-blueing processes.
The final large section of the book is a summary of medieval European swords dating from after the year 1000. The results of the examination of numerous examples are discussed and an overall picture given of the techniques which have enabled Dr Williams to build up such a definitive understanding of the metallurgy of iron and steel swords over this extended chronology.
It could be said that this remarkable work rather undersells itself. While calling itself a history of the metallurgy of European swords up to the sixteenth century it is in fact much more than this. Beyond a vital reference work on sword manufacture, it gives the reader insight into numerous other activities relating to the development of a number of different metals and their application over a very long period. As such it is to be thoroughly recommended to anyone interested in the development of metals as they were applied to arms and armour up to the end of the Middle Ages.
Only two factors work against this book, neither of which are the fault or responsibility of its author. The first is one of production quality. The publishers have chosen to print this book on off-white paper which is sufficiently opaque to allow not only the type on the other side of the page to show through, but also the type on the page facing as well. Production quality also adversely affects the quality of the images, despite the fact that these are a vital aspect of this study. The book contains many photographs of the finely detailed micro-crystalline structure of iron and steel, as well as many others, notably of excavated swords. Yet all are printed in black and white, many of the illustrations are small and lack adequate sharpness of definition, while in the case of many of the swords the images are reproduced almost as silhouettes, lacking depth or detail. It is particularly difficult, especially for a non-specialist, to derive much useful information from images which appear lacking in clarity. The second criticism is one of price. For a compact volume illustrated only in black and white, its cover price of €150.00 (around £120.00) seems very high, and must surely adversely affect sales of what is an extremely valuable and wonderfully comprehensive study.