Lost in a box with administrative documents lies a contract between the city of Basel and a monk of the minor order in 1469. The document is written on paper in two versions. The counterpart (the signed copy) is given to the monk and is cut in saw-tooth profile. The latter is not preserved in the archive. Only the original would then fit the pattern with the drawings, so that there can be little chances in faking such a document. This “official” document is evasive when it comes to describing what is expected in return for the money. For fifty rinscher guldin, half of which is due in cash, the monk will serve the town by “breaking the canons in half” and “giving council to the best of his knowledge” during half a year.
The real
marvel found in the archive is actually another sheet of paper kept with the
contract, where the monk’s different skills are listed. We do not know the
origin of this additional document. It might be cut off or copied from a
promotional letter of the monk himself sent to the city council, referred to in
the contract as the rödel.
It lists the different skills which the monk can offer. It includes:
How to bring harm to the ennemies in the city or in the field
Where to best set up a camp
How to protect the city (walls) and supply for damaged parts
How to best use caltrops (devices with spikes laid on the
ground to harm ennemies)
How to best use striking weapons and banners
How to show the truth to the important people about military
matters in the city and on the walls
Of course, he adds that he could do more upon request. He also details in the end that he could produce an artifact made to preserve life against shooters. Such documents are rare, but show how magical skills are intertwined with martial culture at the end of the Middle Ages.
The #MartCult research team went to visit the temporary exhibition Faszination Schwert swords at the Landesmuseum Württemberg. This ambitious exhibition (3500 objects on 1000m2) takes place in the Altes Schloss, the re-built princely residence of the dukes of Baden-Württemberg. The aim of the exhibition is to display sword culture in Europe from 17th c. BC up until the Future, from the Bronze Age to the fictive world of Star Wars. The exhibition relies on the important collections of the Landesmuseum of antique and Celtic swords on the one hand, the remains of the once highly praised armoury of the counts (later dukes) of Württemberg. A small number of medieval pieces complement these two focuses of the presentation. Nonetheless the curators of the exhibition managed to please even medievalists and to provoke relevant reflections, which go beyond classical historical periodisation. Moreover, the exhibition’s discourses and installations are well structured and displayed in innovative ways through the different spaces, with a convincing scenography. It includes interactive installations, as well as audio-visual material, without casting shadow on the impressive number of significant objects.
The first space concentrates on sword manufacture and includes a video of an archaeological experiment for casting a bronze sword. It also sports didactic displays about sword components and tools used for its production. Among the different displays, my favourite was the one about the ulfberht swords with a map showing their origins and the distribution of both “originals” and counterfeits with increasingly varied names.
The second space is about typology, with a clever installation allowing to understand the main sword types appearing through history with representative examples in individual cases, associated with iconographical representations. It includes the now must-have installation allowing the visitor to grab a sword replica (and guess at its weight) and a video about Historical European Martial Arts practitioners demonstrating late Medieval art of fighting (featuring the Gladiatores).
The third
space is about the warriors and their swords. In the centre, one of the
masterpieces of the exhibition is on display, the sword of duke Eberhard im
Bart, with its beautifully decorated scabbard (achieved in 1495). The room also
includes the oldest known representation of sword fighters or dancers (Hochdorf,
6th c. BC). Next to the display about chivalric orders, you can take
your picture while being knighted by your friends – in the way the English
Queen has been doing for more than six decades.
The fourth
space is about devotional practices, sporting among others the enigmatic bronze
and iron age river finds. Interesting pieces with inscriptions and other
engravings allude to battle magic, and, of course, Christian rites. A challenging
installation about Christian saints whose attributes are swords tested our expertise.
An
interlude between spaces firmly reminds the visitors that swords inflict often
deadly damage on the human body. Split skulls, representations of wounds, as
well as voice-overs reading descriptions of the consequence of sword use from
various sources underline this truth often forgotten when dealing with
“fascinating” swords. It leads the visitor to the next space about
the propagandistic uses of the sword. It presents, among other things, items
representing the confessional propaganda of the Thirty Years war, the U.N. ‘s use
of the image of the broken sword, Bismarck as unifier of Germany, and the impressive
use of the figure of smith Wieland of the Nibelungen song by national socialist
propaganda.
The last two spaces deal with swords and heroes. First through historical narratives and legendary figures, then through movies and gaming cultures, and lastly through different modern activities re-enacting swordplay. A room allows you to step into a recent Czech game and to embody the hero through a device capturing your sword fighting movements while translating it on screen. The large screen in the middle displays fighting scenes from well known movies in front of different cases that display the swords of these movies (or their copies) and posters, including, of course, Star Wars’ iconic light sabre. A large case then displays several sword replicas used for modern sword fighting, including re-enactment, stage fencing and Historical European Martial Arts, supported by interviews and images allowing to learn different perspectives from practitioners. It ends with the allegedly most famous of all famous swords: Excalibur – who will pull it out of the stone and be the once and future king?
I have
seen, or collaborated with many large international exhibitions about swords
since 2011. This exhibition manages to reach a very high level with innovative
and interactive spaces, encompassing a very broad and complete history of the
multi-faceted sword cultures. Our research project about martial culture returns
enlightened by the exhibition, with thought-provoking ideas for our own
exhibition project in 2021-2022.
Daniel Jaquet
Acknowledgement:
We thank Dr. Matthias Ohm, one of the curators of the exhibition, for having spent time for us and guided us through the exhibition. Interested readers could turn to the special issue 14 of the journal AiD (Archäologie in Deutschland), which plays the role of the accompanying exhibition catalogue, with 12 scientific contributions and several images from the exhibition itself.