FIG. 16.
THE CUTTING EDGE OF THE
BLADE BEGINS AN INCH OR
TWO BELOW THE BUTT.
Types C and D are at first sight very much alike, but a close examination of the critical part will explain the difference. We have seen how in passing from Type A to Type B the horizontal radii diminish until they equal the vertical; in Type C the vertical has increased until it exceeds the horizontal, and an oval butt has developed. The curves in this case seem to be nearly if not exactly those of an ellipse. The flanges on the tang are still present, but tend to disappear before reaching the point at which the butt passes into the blade. The blades of this type sometimes retain their parallel sides, but more often the breadth expands, usually about halfway between the butt and the point. The lines of parallel grooving are tending to disappear; they have been reduced as a rule to a single line on either side, and although these are sometimes found in the same position as in Type B, dividing the blade vertically into three equal strips, it is more often the case that these lines have been moved nearer to the edge, which in some cases they approach as close as fifty millimetres. The blades in this type are relatively flat and thin, but the thickness diminishes considerably outside the parallel lines. These lines, in fact, are only indications of the place where the diminished thickness begins abruptly. In other cases the section is spindle-shaped.
Type D, as has been noted, closely resembles Type C, but the curves of the oval, which were fairly true in Type C, have been much flattened. In other respects it differs little from the more developed examples of Type C. The spindle-shaped section appears to be more common.
FIG. 17.
SPINDLE-SHAPED SECTION
WITH MODIFIED EDGE.
In Type E the convexity of the butt has almost disappeared; the tang and the butt blend more thoroughly, which makes the junction a larger hollow curve than in the previous types. The sides of the butt are almost if not quite straight, and the only trace of the original convexity is to be found in the lower part of the butt, which terminates in a beak or nose. The flanges of the tang are tending to disappear, and in many cases are nothing but an irregular thickening of the parts nearest to the outside. This type, as we shall see, is widely distributed, and has developed many local variants, which can readily be recognised but not easily described. The blade in this type, especially in the west, usually displays the characteristic widening two thirds of the way down the blade, which has given rise to the term leaf-shaped sword. The lines parallel to the edge are always relatively near to it, in most cases very near, and the blades are usually flatter and narrower, though the spindle-shaped section still occurs.
Type F is that described by Déchelette as Proto-Hallstatt, and in many respects resembles Type G. The sides of the butt are straight or slightly concave, and the head of the tang expands into a T-shaped form. The flange has entirely disappeared and the rivet-holes in the centre of the tang are frequently, though not invariably replaced by a long slot. The conspicuous feature of this type and of Type G, though it may occasionally be absent from Type F, is that the cutting edge of the blade does not begin for an inch or two below the butt. The illustrations will explain this better than any words can do, but the point to note is that this portion, between the butt and the true edge of the blade, has a blunt edge, and gives the impression that something has been tied round it. It may be that at this spot leather bands have been attached, like the sword-knots of the modern swords and the leather loops of policemen’s batons; by holding this leather loop the weapon is less likely to be snatched from the hand or lost.
Type G is the well-known Hallstatt type. In this the lines of the butt have become definitely concave, the tang is thinner and always without flanges, and terminates in a semi-hexagonal finial; the rivets, which are usually found attached to the tang, are much smaller. The blade is rather narrower than in most of the preceding types, but the widest part is characteristically two-thirds of the way down the blade. The parallel groove is close to the edge, and the edge ceases before reaching the butt, as in the case of Type F. The section is spindle-shaped, with a decided modification at the edge.