H.E. Davidson is one the best European/English historians of the early to mid 20th century, having written many great works including the now unavailable "Road to Hel", "Myths in Pagan Europe", numerous works on Norse mythology, and many works on Goddess-lore that never strays into the "fluffy bunny" utopianisms of Gimbutas or other fantasies. Here, Davidson puts her considerable skills as a compiler of numerous fields including Anglo-Saxon poetry, lore, archeology, history, and just about anything else she can think of to put together an excellent monograph on the most potent ancient weapon and symbol, the sword. Since there is no preview available, I will list the contents here:
List of swords in Museums in the British Isles
THE MAKING OF THE SWORD
1. Iron for the Blade
2. Eastern Sword-blades
3. Pattern-welded Blades
4. When and Where were they Made?
5. The Teutonic Sword
6. Inscribed Blades
7. The Construction of the Hilt
8. The Pommel
9. The Grip
10. The Guard
11. The Decoration of the Hilt
12. The Ring on the Hilt
13. Inscribed Hilts
14. Sword Attachments
15. The Scabbard
16. Scabbard Inscriptions
THE TELLING OF THE SWORD
1. Historical Records
2. Anglo-Saxon Wills
3. Some Sword Terms in Beowulf
4. The Sword Hrunting
5. The Sword from the Lake
6. Other Swords in Anglo-Saxon Poetry
7. Sword Riddles
8. The Sword-blade in Old Norse Literature
9. The Hilt in Old Norse Literature
10. The Scabbard in Old Norse Literature
THE USING OF THE SWORD
CONCLUSION
APPENDIX A. The Forging of a Pattern Welded Sword
APPENDIX B. The Shifford Sword, by RE OAKSHOTT
Anyone with an interest in ancient European sword-craft, warrior society lore and mythos, or Beowulf scholarship will find this an excellent resource. I hope this review has been helpful.