Sword beads were popular in western Europe from the late 300s to the late 500s. Their meaning remains unclear. In this video, a functional purpose as suggested by archaeologist Elias Flatscher is presented, kindly assisted by Sebastian Wesche, a skilled craftsman and devoted re-enactor of the Merovingian period. To support my work, join my patrons at www.patreon.com/Dimicator . Subscribe to my newsletter on my website dimicator.com/ or go here: exciting-pioneer-6049.ck.page/a8f72e8432

"Wat dis? Dunno, must be ritual!" - archaeologist 101 :D

The sword bead also seems like the sort of 'I have a problem but I don't want to go get my sword re-made' solution that makes perfect sense for people to come up with in the interim between the problem appearing and smiths adapting their weapon designs to the problem.

At about 7:30, the way you have tied the sword knot around the scabbard and used the bead to secure knot from coming loose easily, can be handy to keep a sword from falling out the scabbard accidentally and prevents quick draw of the sword eg. by somebody stalking you. This can be very important when you are traveling and eg. sleeping on the saddle or sleeping at camp with your sword close by. The fact that the era of its popularity coincides with the great migrations and endless skirmishes and ambushes should not be seen as accidental.

First time hearing about these, very interesting

Nice to see it being more than just a lanyard with tassel as we had more recently

I think you're right. Especially once your hand gets sweaty or covered with various bodily fluids. It aided with retention but later hilts would have wider pommels.

I think taking a look at the evolution of scabbards of the era as well would be very worthwhile. We might be looking at the sword, when the purpose is with the scabbard.

Great to see your still posting, I also never heard of sword beads. Thanks for sharing.

I always thought they were 'peace knots'. When fastened, they prevent it from the sword from being drawn.

As I noted in a couple of replies to comments, if you look at police training films from the 1950s-60s on the use of the police truncheon equipped with a lanyard, the officers were trained NOT to put their wrists through the lanyard strap, because an assailant who succeeded in grabbing the truncheon would also trap their hand. Instead, they were trained to use the lanyard exactly as you used the sword bead -- put the pinkie finger into the end of the cord, then wrap the rest around the *outside* of the hand to "lock" the truncheon in the fist. It made it more secure, but the officer could free his hand instantly if required. The sword bead makes this process faster and the grip even stronger by giving a solid object at the end of the cord for the fingers to lock onto. Simple and brilliant. Of course, the archaeologists are ALSO correct that the beads have a ritual, religious or talismanic function. After all, most warriors would have considered it extremely unlucky to drop their sword in the middle of a fight...

That is really interesting. The explanation that I am familliar with is that the beads were part of 'peace strings'. These made a noise when the sword was unsecured. This expanation does not exclude the idea of a practical function.

7:18 kitty spotted!

Same concept as a knife lanyard, especially when doing heavy chopping; it prevents the knife from easily flying out of your grip as you swing or if it gets stuck in something. I imagine it would be good in battle if your hand gets sweaty/bloody or if a blade gets lightly stuck in a shield. Though it could also become a hindrance if the sword gets stuck and you can't let go of the hilt quick enough. In that case it might be possible for the enemy to pull you off balance or just get enough time to strike you while you are fiddling with getting out of it.

Interesting.... I suspect that they fell out of the archeological record before they fell out of use. The obvious downside to them is potentially tangling with clothing or belt/scabbard when trying to draw quickly, likely the major danger would be the large bead, which would be the first to go, and a simple lanyard would not remain archeologically. With better scabbards and pommels the need for the bead would lessen, while as the wealth of the average combatant increases the presence of backup weapons would lessen the advantage of a lanyard, making any possible tangling, with clothing or a broken/trapped weapon increasingly concerning. On a personal note, I have seen things like them used to effectively replace pommels on civilian tools so they may be holdovers from earlier times.

Interesting stuff!

Awesome video! I really like simple things that serve a functional purpose and add a bit of nice aesthetic flair and this fits very well to me. I will have to include sword beads into my fantasy concepts. Thank you for sharing! Cheers.

I wonder if the rings in ring-hilt migration era swords might not have been meant for attaching such a bead?

That´s a cool gadget :) Might include this into my fantasy concept, will try it out in training :D

Viking wii strap

I wonder if this could be connected to the ring hilts found on some swords. Could it be an attachment point for the cord, or perhaps a decorative representation of the same charm? Or perhaps they are totally unelated.

That was excellent experimental archaeology, thank you!

i love simple yet effective things like these.

This is very illuminating! Bravo, Roland!

interesting, never even heard of sword beads. I wonder if other similar beads have been found but not associated with swords.

Loving your content thanks for doing this video on sword bead.

If the description in the saga you've read is correct, then maybe these beads were used for lanyards, so the sword could hang down on the wrist while the warrior is throwing his thrown weapon (spear, javelin, angon, francisca or something alike) before charging into melee. If I understand correctly, thrown weapons became less popular among the Franks in the 7th century, so this correlates with the decline of use of these beads. Another idea, mentioned in some other comments, is that these beads were used to secure the sword in the scabbard and provide the so-called peace-knot (also known as peace-band or peace-tie), so the sword couldn't be drawn istantly in a peaceful place like a city. These knots were probably required by customes and/or by the law. Maybe in the later period only nobles were allowed to own swords or to carry swords in cities and so peace-knots became unnecessary? These ideas obviously do not mean that your idea is wrong. These beads could be used for different purposes in different places and times or even simultaneously.

So great to see you again and glad you are well. From the left handed fighter. Di.Mythios

Roland, you are always full of new and innovative ideas!

It is for retention of the weapon in one hand. You can see similar examples in Chinese swords even in the late 19 century

That can help peoples in reenactment movment when they use gloves in fight. We all know that in such fights sword grip behave a little bit more unsafe than in bare hand.

I heard that Samurai would have their katanas tied up in what is called a ‘peace knot’. I reckon this was used at formal meetings where there might be bad blood between people and keep them from drawing their swords.

You keep saying "sword knot," but I keep hearing "swordnaut," like, "ah yes, the explorer of the blade."

its no surprise that anthropologists would assume that any artifact that they don't immediately understand its function is a "talisman" or "ritual device". /smh

Interesting. Thank you.

Fascinating video... but am I the only one distracted by the cat at 7:18 :D

LOOK AT ALL THOSE BUCKLERS man's got buckles for days

Thinking about your hypothesis, the episode of the assassination of Alboino comes to mind. Paolo Diacono says that Rosmunda tied the sword to the bed, this snare could have been used.

Wondered if such a supplementary grip was/could be used with axes and tomahawks, or if indeed they originated from them in the first place (retention & retraction if stuck, or after a thrust after getting behind the shield, or additional leverage in manipulating shields). They are similar to _jesses_ in falconry used to retain/tether the bird, perhaps there was some mythic semiotic overlay there with the blades at some point.

I am not familiar with beads, bead history, bead lore, etc. I spent most of my life imagining very small beads when beads were discussed, but as in this example, and there are other places, beads are quite large, and a single bead is often what is described/displayed. This bead is very large, and I imagine it to be something that could be held as a tool. Is it part of bead history that these beads were used as "hard objects" (like a pestle and mortar) to smash materials for diy/foodprep/manufacturing? I can imagine a bead could be useful when mashing fibers free from plants, stretching leather or other fabrics, pushing a needle through a tough fabric/leather piece (like a thimble) ,,, and I can imagine that having the bead tied to a chord or a string of smaller beads would make it much easier to keep a grip on the large bead while under pressure. But,, I don't know about this field of history at all, and until recently I just dismissed beads as fashion whenever they were discussed. In a way, though, I now see them as the "pocket knife of hard objects" ,, in an environment where diy manufacture using mostly natural materials was a regular/daily task.

Are there anything like rondel plates in those finds? Because the first thing I would do is try switching the bead to a small, protective metal plate for the back of the hand and see if it's still usable.

Perhaps the practical use of sword knots was rendered less so by the advent of armor for the hand?

Woah. I actually design knives like this. That's amazing

Netter Kanal.

Woah your still alive

The Secondary use of the strap for retention, would be situationally optional. At sea for example, but not at all times, just like the thumb-break on a pistol holster. It is interesting that it was still well-known in 13th Century Iceland, but Iceland was typically the last Scandinavian culture to drop a tradition, still is so, as historians should be glad for.

Interesting, never heard of them

If I'm honest I cant remember where I heard it, but I distinctly recall a theory of norse swordstraps being for quick switching, where you could hang it off your wrist and flick it into hand easily, so to use a spear with sword drawn

Would this explain ring hilt swords? i.e. the cord attached to the ring on the pommel .

I have recently purchased a Gustav Style Messer from Landsknecht emporium and am wondering if a sword bead would be appropriate for this style of long knife. What is the bead made of? Any feedback would be appreciated 🗡️

They also double as a fidget toy.

Never underestimate the power of changing fashions.

So it functions like an early version of the more modern sord knots from the 19th and 20th century. A bit different but broadly the same use?

Did you try seeing if the bead made it easier to find the cord when you want to keep your eyes on your opponent and fasten the cord?

Wouldn't it be possible that in the event of being killed the sword would be retained in hand to ensure entry into Valhalla ? A possible bonus to the practical use you described?

Can you loop it in a way that enables 2handed use? Should alter the practical use if possible.

The bead would make the sword slightly slower to draw in a crisis. It would probably be useful in a duel where you have time to prepare, but it would just get in the way if you were waylaid and had to draw your sword quickly and fight. Similarly, there would be more to go wrong if you go into battle with a spear, throw the spear and then draw your sword. Maybe the sword bead was a symbol of being willing to fight a duel for your honour or reputation,

Thank you for this research - I have been making reproductions and documenting them as best I can. This really helps me explain potential uses

Polo players use a similar loop to hang on to their mallet thingies. Theirs have no beads, they just loop around the little finger. Maybe C7th swordsmen used this technique?

As such or like so. Joking said as "like suck". No, not a typo, just something my dad thought was funny.

Do you have any information of the bead along with being on horseback, where you could prep your grip before riding into combat? Also, are there any other weapons that have this bead association? I would think that it is actually preferable in horse combat where you could let go of the weapon if caught up by an obstruction, rather that being unable to drop the weapon in a bind

⚔

...but I can see how that sword will hurt you flinging around if you let go of the handle...

I just used duck tape lolol

bist du eigentlich wieder in haitabu?

Wouldn't a simple loop perform the same function? Like a sword knot?

Feeding the algorithm

It’s obviously to prevent common thievery. For example a little quick teenage kid in a busy trading centre couldn’t just grab your sword and run. Also, if you have to run through the woods or climb, it wouldn’t fall out. This opinion is coming from a tradesman. Honestly, the fact it’s called a “mystery”. Is pretty funny.

Spot the cat

whoever thought the name ellias fletcher was funny. and laughed let me know where best friends

Why don't you use wooden swords for sparring?