AV 70, 2019: Tomaž NABERGOJ

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK

ARHEOLOŠKI VESTNIK 70, 2019

Tomaž NABERGOJ

Late medieval and early post-medieval single-edged swords (messers) and combat knives (bauernwehren) from the River Ljubljanica

Abstract

The contribution discusses the late medieval and early post-medieval single-edged weapons recovered from the River Ljubljanica, central Slovenia, and held in the collections of the National Museum of Slovenia. The assemblage comprises eight swords known from literary sources as messers and 49 combat knives known as bauernwehren or hauswehren. It is a diverse group of weapons typical of central Europe and very common in the 15th and 16th centuries, though very few survive in Slovenian museum collections apart from those from the Ljubljanica. They were used either as weapons or as tools – in combat, for personal protection while travelling or during hunting (as hunting knives), for everyday use and as part of the personal attire mainly of the lower ranks. Their distribution along the Ljubljanica with concentrations in the sections at Podpeč, Blatna Brezovica and Rakova Jelša corresponds with the distribution of other types and groups of objects including weapons from the late medieval and early post-medieval periods. It is related to the use of space, i.e. to the traffic along the Ljubljanica and the adjacent land, primarily to the posited locations of landing sites on the river or of river crossings.

Keywords: Slovenia, River Ljubljanica, late medieval period, early post-medieval period, weapons, tools, single-edged swords, combat knives

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