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The Book of the Sword — Richard Francis, Sir Burton

The Book of the Sword

Richard Francis, Sir Burton

  • History
  • Book language: English
  • 506 pages

The Book of the Sword is a historical study of the sword, its origins, forms, manufacture, and cultural role. Published in 1884 by explorer and scholar Sir Richard Francis Burton, it surveys weapons across many civilizations. It is worth listening to for its erudition and rich detail, while reflecting the assumptions of its era.

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Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.

Contents

  1. THE BOOK OF THE SWORD
  2. FOREWORD.
  3. INTRODUCTION.
  4. LIST OF AUTHORITIES.
  5. CONTENTS.
  6. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
  7. CHAPTER I. PREAMBLE: ON THE ORIGIN OF WEAPONS.
  8. CHAPTER II. MAN’S FIRST WEAPONS—THE STONE AND THE STICK. THE EARLIEST AGES OF WEAPONS. THE AGES OF WOOD, OF BONE, AND OF
  9. CHAPTER III. THE WEAPONS OF THE AGE OF WOOD: THE BOOMERANG AND THE SWORD OF WOOD; OF STONE, AND OF WOOD AND STONE COMBIN
  10. CHAPTER IV. THE PROTO-CHALCITIC OR COPPER AGE OF WEAPONS.
  11. CHAPTER V. THE SECOND CHALCITIC AGE OF ALLOYS[242]—BRONZE, BRASS, ETC.: THE AXE AND THE SWORD.
  12. CHAPTER VI. THE PROTO-SIDERIC OR EARLY IRON AGE OF WEAPONS.
  13. CHAPTER VII. THE SWORD: WHAT IS IT?
  14. CHAPTER VIII. THE SWORD IN ANCIENT EGYPT AND IN MODERN AFRICA.
  15. CHAPTER IX. THE SWORD IN KHITA-LAND, PALESTINE AND CANAAN; PHŒNICIA AND CARTHAGE; JEWRY, CYPRUS, TROY, AND ETRURIA.
  16. CHAPTER X. THE SWORD IN BABYLONIA, ASSYRIA AND PERSIA, AND ANCIENT INDIA.
  17. CHAPTER XI. THE SWORD IN ANCIENT GREECE: HOMER; HESIOD AND HERODOTUS: MYCENÆ.
  18. CHAPTER XII. THE SWORD IN ANCIENT ROME; THE LEGION AND THE GLADIATOR.
  19. CHAPTER XIII. THE SWORD AMONGST THE BARBARIANS (EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE).
  20. CONCLUSION.
  21. INDEX.
  22. FOOTNOTES:
  23. THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE

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