I was actually prepared to take a negative view of this book, but Oakeshott's relaxed but enthusiastic and well-informed book won me over. This subject is obviously the love of his intellectual life, and he has compiled a wonderful study of the development of swords, often being able to match those in art to surviving bits, and the rest of weaponry by the by. He discusses techniques of use with good sense and practical experiments. Also, he is one of the few authors to mention that the Vikings were adept at riding and fighting, by his choice of quotes, and explaining the term Riddaraskap.