Hello, 

Thank you for all the repies.

I’m especially interested to know if there are any signs of pattern welded blades in Spain and North Africa dated from the 3rd to the 6th Century AD.

The „thankyou letter” from the Ostrogoths king Theodoric written to the king of the vandals (about 523) is acclaimed to be the earliest written source mentioning pattern welded blades. I started a while ago to question this assumption. So I decided to analyse this assumption from a historical and chronological view.

In following link you will find the 1533 published Latin version:

(http://books.google.ch/books?id=hn0b5CGCdYEC&pg=PT113&dq=Magni+Aurelii+Cassiodori+Variarum+Libri+fpathas&hl=de&sa=X&ei=anGOUMutKMqShgfi_YCQBw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA)

I think that the interpretation and translation of this text was perhaps influenced by the discovery of and research on pattern welded blades. At least in German there are various translations with different results. This old Latin text leaves quite a range of interpretation. It is interesting to see how the interpretations and translations change with the level of knowledge about swords and the «material» they are made of.

When I list the characteristics of the described blades without taking into account the historical, chronological geographical context, I would assume that the text could be describing « true Damascus blades » (crucible steel). I think that the text allows also this alternative interpretation.

The following characteristics in the Text (depending on interpretation) would be typical for „true Damascus blades“:

- Exceptional hardness of the blades
- Blades being able to cut armour
- The iron they are made of is more valuable than the gold on them
- The blades are decorated with gold (Gold inlays?)
- Pattern looks like curly small worms (English Version from 1886 sounds more like inlay technique: “channels carved which are filled with beautiful enamel of various colours”)
- etc.

I have attempted to list which arguments and indications speak for or against the assumption that the letter is talking about pattern welded blades and list any alternative possibilities.

One of the points that lead me to question this assumption is the fact that I haven’t found anything to indicate that there were any pattern welded blades in Spain or North Africa from 3rd to 6th Centuries AD.

Where would the vandals have obtained pattern welded swords in a time when they had travelled from Spain and been subsequently based in North Africa for the hundred years prior to giving the east goth King a gift of a pattern welded blades?

Logical questions that arise from the previous thought are as follows:

- Where would these pattern welded blades originate?
- Were they produced in North Africa?
- Were they booty?
- Could they be „old“ blades from previous generations that they had taken with them on their travels?
- Did they acquire them on their travels, trading?
- etc.

If you consider that the North part of the Ostrogoths Kingdom is nearer to regions where pattern welded blades have been found and/or made than the kingdom of the Vandals in North Africa, the following questions arise: 

- If we assume that the Ostrogoths already knew pattern welded blades, why would their King praise these blades “from North Africa” as much and in such detail for their apparently exceptional features?
- If we assume that the Ostrogth King received a gift of crucible steel blades, he would certainly  be very excited about their “special” features.

Another interesting point is that there are Arabic sources from the first half of the 6th Century which mention patterned blades made from crucible steel. See the following quote from Mattias Karlsson’s “IRON AND STEEL TECHNOLOGY IN HISPANO-ARABIC AND EARLY CASTILIAN WRITTEN SOURCES”:

“Furthermore, Arabs knowledge of and used watered steel blades already in pre Islamic times, as inicated in a poem by Imru al-Qays (ca 540 AD), where he descriebes the watering of a certain sword as "appearing to be like tracks of ants". His contemprary Aws b. Hajar declared, that "a blade of that kind is like a pond with wavy streaks caused by the wind (al-Hassan and Hill 1986, 255).”

If we assume that the King of Vandals sent Crucible steel blades to the Ostrogths King the following questions arise again:

- Where would these crucible steel blades originate? (for example Yemen)
- Were they produced in North Africa?
- Were they booty from their pirate expeditions?
- Did they acquire them in some other way?
- Are there any known trade routes from the 5th Century to the 6th Century that could lead us to believe that the vandals could have got crucible steel blades for example from Yemen via Alexandria?

As far as I know there have been no crucible steel blades found in North Africa and Spain originating from the period in question.

Unfortunately it’s not easy for me to write in English exactly what I’d like to explain. I would really appreciate your opinion on my take on this subject.

Thank you

Regards

Richard Rechsteiner

Dorfstrasse 11
CH-9300 Wittenbach
Switzerland