Fig. 289.—Bronze. 75 centimètres long; Pommels of bronze and bone. From Hallstadt Diggings.
In time the word framea was apparently applied to wholly different weapons. Thus Augustinus makes it an equivalent of spatha or rhomphaia; and Johannes de Janua (‘Glossary’) explains it as ‘glaive aigu d’une part, et d’autre espée.’
Iron, according to Tacitus,[987] was known to the Germans, but was not common. His statement is supported by ‘finds’ in the old tumuli and stone rings, known as Riesenmauer, Hünnenringe,[988] Teufelsgraben, Burgwälle, and others. The myths of giants, dwarfs, and serpents suggest an Eastern origin for the metal. Bronze blades, on the other hand, are common. A typical specimen from the Elbe valley in the Klemm collection is thus described by Jähns.[989] The whole weapon is 23·25 centimètres long, the blade being 18·5, with a maximum breadth of 1·625. The shape is conical, tapering to the point; a high and rounded mid-rib is subtended on either side by a deepened line which runs to the end. Between shoulders and blade the front view shows on either side a crescent-shaped notch. The grip is narrower at the middle, where there is a long oval slit for making fast the handle; and there are two rivet holes on either side of the shoulders, whence the mid-rib springs. It shows no pommel, the place being taken by a shallow crutch.
Iron Swords are rare: even in the second century b.c., when the Romans had given up the softer metal, the Gauls and Germans preserved it. This is especially noticed when Germanicus marched against Arminius, b.c. 15;[990] and as late as the days of Tacitus, Germany could not work the raw metal.[991] Remains of iron Spathæ have mostly been found in very bad condition; the material also is poor and badly made. The Held or champion used two kinds of blades; and the mètre-long two-edged German Sword is not to be distinguished from that of the Kelts. The Spatha was especially affected by three tribes: the Suardones (Sworders?), the Saxones (Daggermen)[992] and the Cherusci; in process of time it reached the Goths,[993] and at last wafan (weapon) applied only to the Sword. The blade (blat, blan, in Mid. Germ. valz), with its two edges (ecke, egge), was often leaf-shaped, as if copied directly from the bronze Sword. Others were smaller in the middle than at heft or point, for facility of unsheathing. The tang reached the pommel end, and the grip or hilt[994] was lined with wood (birch or beech), bone, and other material, covered with leather, fishskin, and cloth. There was no cross-bar, but the crescent extending over the shoulders, and serving to contain the rivets, was sometimes supplied with a guard-plate (die Leiste).[995] The weapon had a solid scabbard, often of iron, even when the blade was bronze, and was hung by riems or leathern straps to the warrior’s left.
Fig. 290.—The Spatha of Schleswig.
Fig. 291.—Short Keltic Sword. 40 centimètres long. Iron blade, bronze grip. From Hallstadt. (Vienna Cabinet of Antiquities.)
The other German blade was single-edged and curved: it was a semi-Spatha, half the size of the Spatha, and it hung to the warrior’s right side. This weapon was probably the Sahs,[996] Seax, Sax, the favourite of the Saxons; also called Breitsachs and Knief (knife), and at later times, scramasaxus, Scramasax.[997] A large iron knife, with a yataghan curve, it was used either as a dirk or a missile. Some of these throw-Swords had a hook by way of pommel for better securing the hilt. The Schwertstab (Sword-staff) or Prachtaxt is described and figured by Jähns[998] as a kind of dolch[999] or dagger, attached to a long hollow metal haft, like that of a Persian war-axe. It is a rare article, and its rarity leads him to believe it was symbolic of the Saxnot (Sword-god) Zio, Tui, or Tuisco. Dr. Evans[1000] considers the weapon ‘a kind of halberd or battle-axe;’ others, a commander’s staff or bâton of honour; but the article is too widely used to be so explained. A fine specimen of the Schwertstab with handle and blade of bronze, was found at Årup in Scania, and an analogous form is shown in a Chinese blade.
History, even written by their enemies, shows that the Ancient Germans were an eminently military and martial people. The bridal present consisted of a caparisoned horse, a shield, a spear, and a Sword. At their festivals, youths danced naked before the Sword-god, amidst drawn blades and couched spears. Their lives were spent in hunting and warfare. Despite their barbarism, a thorough topographical knowledge of their bogs and bushes, mountains and forests, enabled them to inflict more than one crushing defeat upon the civilised Romans.