Ewart Oakeshott (1916–2002)

A work of unbridled, antiquarian enthusiasm. Oakeshott writes like a man obsessed; witness his extensive cataloging of pommels. As a curious amateur who played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons in my youth, this book contained far more information that I could ever, ever want to know on the subject of pommels, cross guards, and other minutia, but I found the sheer determination of the author to “set the record straight” rather charming. It’s as if our grave misconceptions about the use of show more pole axes in 14th century France may mean the death of us all. I would have happily traded the exhaustive lists of blade shapes for more information about how the weapons were actually used, who used them, and what role they may have played in history, but all in all the Archaeology of Weapons is a fine geeky pleasure. show less

This short book, though clearly intended for children of an earlier generation, is a perfect introduction to armour for the non-specialist. It is clear, concise, and provides many relevant examples. Oakeshott supplements his text with his own illustrations, which delineate the details of the pieces in question. Full of historical myth-busting, this is recommended for anyone interested in military history before 1700.

This is an extended taxonomy of the surviving swords of the western European tradition during the Middle Ages. Not without its controversies, but a useful work, with many sketches and a wealth of detail. I get back to it now and again.
I own the Lutterworth Press, 1969 edition.

Very technical but in a fun sort of way. Ewart is one of the world's foremost experts on swords and brings across a lot of his knowledge entertainingly. It does have some dry bits. But the technical jargon is offset somewhat by the many annecdotes he includes. On the whole an informative and entertaining read.