Early Medieval Sword Guards from Bulgaria

ARCHaEOLOGIa BULGaRICa XV, 2 (2011), 73-86

Deyan RABOVYANOV
Subjects of this study are a specific type of sword guards found on the territory of Northern Bulgaria. A characteristic feature of these items is that at the bottom there is a metal plate which outflanks the lower part of the blade. Although there are three types of sword guards out of the four known to date, differentiated by the shape, a common tendency in all these three particular types could be traced. The chronology of the objects, based on archaeological evidence, falls into the period of the First Bulgarian kingdom (681-1018) and the beginning of the Byzantine domination (1018-1185) but not later than the 11th century. The comparison of these sword guards with the ones found in Eastern and Western Europe ( 1966, 18-60; 1997, 60-79; Jones et al. 2002; Nicolle 1999a; 1999b; Oakeshott 1994; 2000; Petersen 1919; Vinski 1977; Marek 2005) did not show similarities between them. This fact requires adducing other parallels which could establish the origin and the appearance of these sword guards in Bulgaria. The first to turn to these artefacts was Valeri Yotov, who suggested a date in the 10th century, thereby attributing a Byzantine origin to them ( 2004, 4045; 2009). However, the available information about these sword guards does not seem to support his hypothesis. The earliest object to appear in the scholarly literature is the bronze sword guard discovered in 1948 during the excavations of St. Vaklinov in Pliska. It was found northeast from the Little palace among the ruins of an edifice that had a public purpose and dated to 10th 11th c., thanks to the coins retrieved therein ( 1955, 190-194). The sword guard was defined as a part of a bronze cross-piece for a sword, consisting of two halves, cast separately, and embracing the iron part of the sword. The author identified the find as being a part of a typical medieval sword, which was widespread among the Slavs. The identification is based on a photo obtained from Niederle ( 1955, 208). From the detailed photo (fig. 1), we can assume that the sword guard was designed for a sword with a blade 6.5 cm wide, with the sleeve under the quillons being 2 cm long. The quillons were relatively short, but well defined with rounded ends. The cylindrical bush that was meant to embrace the sword hilt is 1.6 cm high and 3.2 cm wide. In the base, there is a relief ring which is the only decoration of the sword. The sword from the village of Galovo was discovered by chance by tractor drivers from the Ostrovo dike which were passing by the village (fig. 2). Nikolov is quite brief in mentioning that the same sword guard was found in Pliska ( 1962, 36). The sword is 89 cm long and has a rounded point, without a fuller. Of the hilt, there is a metal tang preserved with two openings for the rivets. This object has been studied in details by V. Yotov ( 2004, 40) who concludes that there are no immediate or closer parallels for it. He considers, however, that the sword of the Niederles monograph (fig. 26), as well as another one found in erni brod, Slovakia (fig. 9) and identified as being Byzantine are similar to this one.

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Fig. 3. Sword guard from northeastern Bulgaria (after 2004, XXIX/429).

Fig. 1. Sword guard found in 1948 in Pliska (after 1955, 207, . 24).

Fig. 2. Sword from Galovo village, district Vratza (after 2004, XXIX/421).

Fig. 4. Sword guard found in 2005 in Pliska (after 2009, 256, . 2).

Fig. 6. Sword from grave 85 in AradacMeka (after Kiss 1987, 196, Abb. 2).

Fig. 7. Sword from Tekija (after Jankovi 1983, 63, Pl. IV/1).

Fig. 5. Sword from warriors grave from the Agora of Corinth (after Weinberg 1974, 519, fig. 4).

Fig. 8. Sword from Andalusia (after Garca 2001, 185, fig. 2).

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A characteristic feature of the sword guard found in Galovo is the distinct separation of the basic parts with profiled canals and the relatively long quillons which end in relief protuberances set at an angle to the blade. Most probably they had not only a decorative function, but they must have served as holders on which the enemys swordblade would have been held up. A similar shape has another sword guard from northeastern Bulgaria which is part of a private collection (fig. 3). It is bronze cast and is 12.3 cm long. V. Yotov compares it with the one found in 1948 in Pliska, as well as with the one in Galovo and another one in the Louvre dating from the 9th 10th centuries ( 2004, 45). The sword guard is differentiated by its detailed morphology (fig. 3), as well as by its both sides, in between the bushing of the hilt and the sleeve which embraces the blade there is a relief triangle pointing to the blade. The one preserved quillon ends in a small ball separated by a relief ring. The last of the objects discussed in my work (fig. 4) was found in 2005 during archaeological excavations of the wooden fortress in Pliska. It was found together with 24 other objects of iron, copper, bronze, bone and glass in a layer of ash in a pit plated with bricks in pit . According to P. Georgiev, who explored the site, the pit dates from the middle of 11th c., suggesting that the objects were equipment hidden there during the Pecheneg invasions in the 1030s 1040s ( 2008, 354). Unfortunately, in both articles the sword guard is shown not to scale, thereby hindering its further description. Distinctive features of this guard are the relatively long sleeve that embraces the blade and also the proportionate bushing for the swords handle. The short, concave quillons, which are joined by the concave arcs with relief swelling, present a special characteristic of this sword guard (fig. 4). The question of the origin and the chronology of the four sword guards is in fact connected with the problem of the early medieval swords development in the Eastern Mediterranean, which ties into the broader question of influence coming from the Byzantine empire. In the 1960s Hoffmeyer pointed out that the lack of specific artefacts for research makes it impossible to single out one particular kind of sword that is Byzantine. The problem is complicated by the fact that the Roman heritage intermingled with the traditions of different peoples in or outside the borders of the Empire, which inevitably influenced the art of war (Hoffmeyer 1966, 13, 94-97). Besides, warfare is an area strongly susceptible to fashions coming from the outside. The eclectic character of the two major military forces in the region Byzantium and the Arab caliphate, combined with the common Roman inheritance is making the characteristic features of the Roman swords easily recognizable in the early medieval arms of the Mediterranean region. These are the straight two-edged blades and the small D-shaped protective sword guard that has more confining than protective function (Bishop / Coulston 1993, 53-54, 69-74, 111112, 126-135, 162-165; James 2004, 140-142, 145-151; Rapin 2001; Miks 2007). Bearing this in mind, Hoffmeyer introduces the term Latin type of sword to distinguish the barbarian sword used by the warriors in Europe (Hoffmeyer 1961, 43-44). Besides, the straight double-edged swords with rounded point and a wide blade were almost binding to the warriors from the Islamic and the Byzantine regions as late as the 10th century (Nicolle 1991, 302-303; 1999b). A sword found in the grave of a warrior in the Corinthian agora dates to the 7th century (Weinberg 1974, 517-521) (fig. 5), as does the one in grave 85 in the

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Fig. 9. Sword from erni brod (after Kiss 1987, 199, Abb. 5).

Fig. 10. Sword from Garabonc (after Szke et al. 1992, 504, Taf. 20).

Fig. 11. Sword from Kunagota (after Kiss 1987, 200, Abb. 6).

Fig. 12. Sword guard from Serce Liman shipwreck (after Nicolle 2002a, 163, fig. 28).

necropolis of Aradac-Meka (Kiss 1987, 203-204) (fig. 6), a sword of either a Sasanian or Early-Islamic origin found in Oman (Nicolle 1991, 302-303, 312, 318; 2002a, 162-163) and part of the swords in the graves in the Tzebeldinskaya plain ( / 1982, 130). The swords kept in Topkap saray which were unconditionally attributed to sacred Islamic personalities (Alexander 2001, 196199; Nicolle 1991, 302-303, 312, 318; 2002a, 162-163) should be revisited, since such identification requires further proofs. The sword from Galovo (fig. 2), as well as another one with an identical blade, attributed to the Omayad caliphate in Spain (fig. 8) (Garca 2001, 183, 187), the swords from Garabonc in Hungary (fig. 10) (Szke et al. 1992, 504) and in erni brod in Slovakia (Kiss 1987, 204-205) are all dated to the 8th 9th centuries. The swords from Tekija (fig. 7) (Jankovi 1983, 58), Kunagota (fig. 11) (Kiss 1987, 205-206), Sfintu George (Kiss 1987, 206-207) in the region of the middle Danube river are dated to the 10th century. Same is the dating of another sword from the excavations in Nishapur (Nicolle 1991, 302-303, 318; 2002, 162-163). Considerable number but unfortunately more stylized are the images from the

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territories in the cultural influence of Byzantium and the Islamic world (Alexander 2001, 193-196; Nicolle 1991, 303, 320-323; 1999b). There is one interesting observation made by Oakeshott, one of the eminent scholars on ancient weapons, who suggests that if the blade changed in order to satisfy the improvement of the defensive armour, the variations in the shape of the protective sword guard and the pommel were there to satisfy the changes in the fashion and the taste (Oakeshott 1951, 49). To this I would add as a factor the preferred fighting technique. The sword guards in which the sleeve embraces the base of the blade have their specific shape that cannot be seen among the early Byzantine and Roman swords. This shape owes to the use of ricasso fighting technique, or the so called Italian grip which is the placement of the index finger of the hand which is holding the sword in front of the protective sword guard, covering the side of the grip (fig. 27). This style ensures better control over the sword and a variety of blows (Haskins 1952, 258-261; Nicolle 1991, 305-306; 2002a, 158). We assume that this fighting technique was developed in India but its first depictions can be seen on Sasanian silver vessels (fig. 27). Most probably, the technique used in Sasanian Iran was easily adopted by the Arabs in the areas of their invasions (Haskins 1952, 258-261; Hoffmeyer 1961, 67; Nicolle 1979, 179). What is important is the fact that most of the instances of the ricasso technique after the 8th century have to do with Islamic art (Nicolle 1979, 179; 1991, 320-323). In Byzantine or Byzantium-inspired art such examples are less in number which is also an indicative fact, having in mind the taboos in depicting a human in the Islamic doctrine. The Arabs affection to the use of the ricasso has been generally acknowledged in Europe (Haskins 1952, 258-261; Hoffmeyer 1961, 51, 67; Nicolle 1991, 305-306; 2002a, 158). This factor was to blame for the large popularity and spread of the sleeve sword guard, embracing the blade. This peculiar design was an innovation, owing its existence to the application of this particular fighting technique. Although there are a few similar items found on the territory of the Numidian kingdom, dating from the Antiquity (Nicolle 2002a, 160-161, fig. 8), as well as in some Apsilian graves from the 4th 7th centuries in Caucasus ( / 1982, 121, 130), they were typical for the Middle ages. The first one comprises the earliest examples. The most popular one is undoubtedly the bronze sword guard from the Arab pilgrim station al-Rabadah (fig. 16) found alongside other archaeological artefacts from the 8th 9th c. during archaeological excavations. Nowadays it is kept at the archaeological department of the King Saud university (Nicolle 1991, 305-306; 2002a, 164-165). Aside from the shortened proportions and the relief edge at the end of the sleeve which embraces the blade and the hilt of the sword, the sword guard is identical to the second one from the group found in Pliska, in 2005 (fig. 4). To the same group we should attribute another sword guard, almost identical in shape and decoration, bronze cast from the Chersonese (fig. 17). It was found in 1905 by K. K. KostsiushkoValyuzhinich during excavations of the acropolis in the southwestern part of the city. This one was dated by B. Rybakov to the 10th century. This statement, together with its Byzantine origin, was accepted by V. Yotov without further argumentation ( 2009). To a different group should be attributed the sword guard found in 1948 in Pliska (fig. 1), as well as two other richly decorated objects which on stylistic grounds were attributed to this group as well. The earlier of these (fig. 18), according to its shape and dimensions which are identical to the Pliska sword was dated

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Fig. 13. Persian bronze matrices for moulds of sword guards and pommels and parts of scabbard from 12th 13th c., Metropolitan museum, New York (after Nicolle 2002a, 163, fig. 29a-c).

Fig. 14. Seljuk or Persian bronze matrices for moulds of sword guards and pommels from 12th 13th c., Rifaat Sheikh al Ard Collection, Geneva (after Nicolle 2002a, 165, fig. 30).

Fig. 15. Mameluke or Maghreb sword from 12th 14th c., Askeri museum, Istanbul (after Nicolle 2002a, 165, fig. 35).

to the 9th 10th century, originating from Fatimid Egypt. It is of bronze, entirely preserved with its hilt, and decorated with plant motives and Surah 112 from the Koran. It is mentioned as being a part of the Louvre collection (Nicolle 1991, fig. 5) and eventually as a part of the collection of D. Storm-Ryce (Nicolle 2002a, 178179, fig. 114). The other sword guard (fig. 19) is silver plated and decorated with niello, distinguished by its short, relief quillons. It is in the collection of Rifaat Sheikh al Ard in Genve, said to be of Seljuk origin from the 12th 13th century (Nicolle 2002a, 164-165, fig. 31). A different group should be attributed to the Galovo sword (fig. 2) and the sword guard found in northeastern Bulgaria (fig. 3), as well as a single-edged sword from the Belgrade Military museum, inventory number 16 103 (fig. 20). It is originating from Stara Pazova-Surduk, from the 8th 9th century ( 2006, 115). In spite of the corrosion and the photographys bad quality, we can identify the common features the relatively large quillons of the sword guard and short sleeve, embracing the base of the blade. The peculiar shape of these sword guards directed the scholars attention to earlier times, which is the reason why we have different theories about their origin and chronology. With no comparanda but the example from Niederle, St. Vaklinov attributed the sword guard found by him in 1948 to the Slavs ( 1955, 205). Considering the early medieval swords with a straight double-edged blade and a cast bronze sword guard found in Carpathian region, A. Kiss compared them to the sword guard found by Vaklinov. As a working hypothesis he assumes that these weapons are of Byzantine origin, showing the typological development for a period of 200-300 years (Kiss 1987, 193-203). V. Yotov develops Kisss thesis further, unifying all the items with cast bronze sword guards, regardless of its shape, in one group. In his comparisons he considers the Bulgarian examples, the swords from Kunagota and erni Brod described

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Fig. 16. Sword guard from alRabadah (after Nicolle 2009, 23).

Fig. 17. Sword guard from Chersonese (after 2009, 255, . 1).

Fig. 19. Seljuk swordgard from 12th 13th c., Rifaat Sheikh al Ard Collection, Geneva (after Nicolle 2002a, 165, fig. 31).

Fig. 18. Egyptian sword guard and pommel from 9th 10th c. with Surah 112 from the Koran (after Nicolle 2002a, 179, fig. 114).

Fig. 20. Sword from Stara Pazova-Surduk in the Military museum, Belgrade (after 2006, 115).

by Kiss, the sword from Garabonc in Hungary, the bronze sword guards from al-Rabadah, Chersonese and the Fatimid one with Surah 112. Without clearly differentiating between them, he identified them as Byzantine dating from 9th and mainly from 10th century ( 2004, 42, 45; 2009). D. Nicolle, who is apparently unfamiliar with the examples from Bulgaria, the middle Danube and the Crimean, is of the opinion that the cast bronze sword guards, the ones with the embracing sleeve, as well as those with the D-shaped bushing for the hilt are of Islamic origin. The suggestion that they were adopted by Byzantium and that his hypothesis could be altered by future finds (Nicolle 1991, 305-306) points to some uncertainty in his conclusions. In my opinion, the available information could be interpreted in the sense that the spread of the embracing-blade sword guards should be linked to the Arab military tradition rather than the Byzantine. First, we have to consider that early medieval items we are familiar with, dating from the dark ages (7th century), lack certain characteristics, such as a sleeve around the blade and a bushing for the hilt. Despite being cast in bronze, they are more likely to make use of the Roman

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Fig. 21. Sword from Martins Cave, Gibraltar (after Nicolle 2002a, fig. 2a-c).

Fig. 22. Sword from Martins Cave, Gibraltar (after Nicolle 2002a, fig. 3a-c).

Fig. 23. Sword from Bajt Masal tomb, Oman (after Nicolle 2002a, 165, fig. 35).

Fig. 24. Relief of Goliath from Armenian church at Akhtamar (after Nicolle 2009, 169, fig. 182).

Fig. 25. Numidian sword from grave at al-Suma, 2nd 1st c. BC (after Nicolle 2002a, 161, fig. 8).

Fig. 26. Drawing of a sword with scabbard from Jarognevice (after 1956, 375, . 113).

Fig. 27. Sasanian silver plate (after Marschak 1986, fig. 5).

Fig. 28. Sword guards from Pergamum and Salamis (after Kazanski / Sodini 1987, 74, fig. 3).

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Fig. 29. St. George from Protothrone church near Chalki, island of Naxos (after Chatzidakis 1989, fig. 20).

Fig. 30. Steatite icon of St. Demetrius from Oruzheinaya palata, Moscow (after 1966, . 151).

type of a small sword guard. An example of this are the sword guard from the Corinthian agora (fig. 5) (Weinberg 1974, 517-521), the one from grave 85 from Aradac-Meka (fig. 6) (Kiss 1987, 203-204), as well as the ones found near Pergamum and Salamis in Cyprus (fig. 28) (Weinberg 1974, 517-521; Kazanski / Sodini 1987, 74, fig. 3). The technique of bronze casting was common to all Islamic sword guards (Nicolle 1991, 306). This was also a result of adoption and the further development of the Roman metallurgic traditions in the rich and technologically receptive Arab caliphate (Craddock 1979, 75). The same technique was applied to another type of sword guards from the same period, genetically close to the ones I consider here. As a whole, it is a more developed form of the typical D-shaped Roman sword guards. However, these were not made of bone or antler; they are bronze cast with a swelled bushing, embracing the lower part of the hilt. These features are not present in the Roman swords. Such are the protective guards of the swords found in graves in Garabonc (fig. 10) (Szke et al. 1992, 504) and in erni brod (fig. 9) (Kiss 1987, 204-205) dating from the 9th century, as well as that from Kunagotha (fig. 11) dated by coins to the 10th century. (Kiss 1987, 205-206). As originating from 10th 11th c. is dated the lavishly decorated bronze sword guard found in the shipwreck at Serce Liman (fig. 12) (Bass / van Doorninck 1978; Nicolle 1991, 306, 318; 2002a, 162163). From the 12th c. is a Persian or Seljuk bronze matrix for sword guards from the collection of Rifaat Sheikh al Ard in Geneva (fig. 14) (Nicolle 2002a, 164165) and a Persian one from the 12th 14th c. which is kept in the Metropolitan museum of art in New York (fig. 13) (Nickel 1991, 126; Nicolle 2002a, 162-163). From the same period is a sword kept in the Askeri museum in Istanbul (fig. 15) (Nicolle 2002a, 164165), which is either of Mameluke or Maghreb origin. So far, the spread of this particular sword guards should be attributed mainly to the Islamic world. Non Islamic are the swords in Kunagotha, erni Brod and Garabonc but the latter is an imitational make using a local technique (Szke et al. 1992, 504). Further indications of this are provided by numerous iconographic images from different sources, from Persia to Andalusia (Alexander 2001, 194, fig. 1; Nicolle 1991, figs. 19, 22, 28, 46b, 48a-f, 55; 2002a, figs. 64a-b, 69, 72, 96, 100, 104). Further support to my claim is the data found in the available iconography. As it was already mentioned, such sword guards are rather Islamic than Byzantine, despite the fact that the human images

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are tabooed in Islamic art. There are three Byzantine specimens that have come down to us, which are having a sleeve but the sword guard itself has classical straight quillons, thereby distinguishing them from the first two groups of sword guards. These are as follows: St. George from the Protothrone church on the island of Naxos (fig. 29) from the end of 11th century.; the miniature image of the Massacre of the innocents from the Studite Psalter (1066) and a steatite icon of St. Demetrius in Oruzheinaya palata in Moscow whose dating was revised to the 14th century (Kalavrezou-Maxeiner 1985, 198-200) (fig. 30). We should note that all the three objects are relatively late compared to the items mentioned above. There is a relief that has been pointed out as a proof for the use of this specific guard shape in Byzantium from the 10th century, in the Akhtamar church (fig. 24). However, this relief is in fact an example of Armenian art. As well as this, the negative personages such as Goliath are the traditional representations of the collective enemy which for the period are the Arabs. It should also be noted that the depicted warrior is a typical illustration of the Central Asian influence in armour, which justified the specialists opinion that the image depicts a warrior from the Byzantine-Arab border of Eastern Anatolia (Nicolle 2002b, 231). Important proof to such identification is the preserving of the specific sword guard shape even later in the Islamic countries. Such examples are the two swords found in Martins Cave in Gibraltar, with a separate sleeve applied to the base of the blade (fig. 21-22). The arms are identified as originating from Andalusia or Morocco from the 12th century. (Nicolle 2002a, 199). The upper chronological margin is represented by a broken double-edged sword with an iron hilt originating from the graves of Bait Massal in Oman from the 17th 18th century (Nicolle 2002a, 164-165). Considering the quick spread of the military fashion, the emergence of the sword guards in the Byzantine Empire is hardly surprising. However, the uneven number of such examples should be attributed not only to the scarcity of the arms and armour in Byzantium or to the abundance of metal in the far-flung territory of the early Islamic lands, as Nicolle claims (Nicolle 1991, 299-301). The spread of these objects should be attributed not only to the fashion, but also to the circulation of its material bearers the bronze sword guards moulded in the Islamic lands probably first reached the lands south of the Danube as parts of the swords. Indicative is the fact that both artefacts found in Pliska were found alongside other Arabic or Near Eastern objects. The one found in 1948 was with two bronze archer-rings1 ( 1955, . 25/6, 7), and the other one found in 2005 was with a bronze mould for coin-shaped objects ( 2008). In view of this, I think that the objects found in Pliska are of Arabic origin. Earlier (8th 9th century) is the one found in 2005 (fig. 4). The fact that it is related to the guards from al-Rabadah and Chersonese is obvious. The guard found in 1948 by St. Vaklinov (fig. 1) should most probably be dated later, but a more precise date than 10th 11th c. could not be given with certainty. If we judge from the background of the find, we may assume that it could not be later than the 1030s 1040s. The item presents a more developed shape but unfortunately lacks decoration that would have given more precise information. Especially important is the fact that both objects originate from archaeological excavations of strata dated from the early 11th century. ( 1955, 190-194; 2008, 354). These, however, cannot be attributed to this period, since they must have gone out of use by that time. The period when this guard was in use cannot be pinpointed.

1 I would like to express my

gratitude to the colleague Yanko Dimitrov, one of the Pliskas most long-standing researchers, who drew my attention to this detail.

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The Galovo sword (fig. 2) and the sword guard from the northeastern Bulgaria (fig. 3) remain unparalleled. Here, both theories about the Byzantine and Islamic origin seem likely. Contributing to the Byzantine theory are the three monuments of Byzantine art mentioned above (fig. 29-30). The shape of the blade, on the other hand, was equally popular in both worlds. The find of the sword in the Ostrovo dike could give some grounds for a date in the Pagan period (8th 9th century). Considering the circumstances under which it was found, we are unfortunately unable to explain the fact of the presence of such an expensive artefact there. The sword guard from northeastern Bulgaria that is similar in shape to the Galovo guard (fig. 3) is decorated with a relief triangle in the middle of the body. This puts it closer to the Islamic sword guards (fig. 13, 16-17, 19, 21-22), where the feature is a remarkably conservative element. The presence of four such sword guards attested in a relatively limited territory is not an accident. It could be explained by their barbarian archaeological background, presupposing the presence of a larger number of military objects, on one hand, or by the extensive archaeological investigation of the Early Medieval period in Bulgaria, on the other. The possible ways of arrival of the sword guards in Bulgaria are numerous. One is that they were spoils of war from the times of the military campaigns in Thrace, an area in which the Byzantine empire moved population from Anatolia or a population that had escaped from the Caliphate ( 2004). Military units from the Anatolian region were quite often involved in campaigns against the Bulgarians and the renegades coming from Byzantium, some of which were of Arabic origin, had always been welcome by the Bulgarian rulers. Although the rulers were known to have had tendency to put restrictions on the trade with arms and armour, we should consider this a probability. Generally, arms and armour are artefacts of a great portability and durability which complicates their research. That is why all the conclusions on the four sword guards have a preliminary character, at least until we find another material to compare them with.
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(. 5, 6, 28), , , - . , , . , . . , , . (. 24) - . - , , . , , , (. 29, 30). . . 2005 . - (VIII-IX .), 1948 . X-XI . . , . . , . , . . Deyan Rabovyanov, PhD National Archaeological Institute with Museum Veliko Tarnovo Branch 29, Ivan Vazov Str. BG-5000 Veliko Tarnovo rabovyanov@gmail.com