11-04-2015, 05:10 PM
The scabbards could have seen - apart from the metal fittings applied after - different methods of sheathing.
Most would have been completely sheathed with leather, but bark, bast or fibre from birch or cherrywood are also known to have been used,
with or without leather under it.
Scabbards with no sheathingat all on the wood are also known.
Behmer's examples for metal sheaths are just additions of thin gold or silver foil (often applied onto the leather!) to make the swords look more precious like the gold foil on the so called 'Goldgriffspathen' (perhaps only done for burial customs).
This thin metal would reflect underlying carving like thin leather, when applied wet to shrink to slim fit, would do.
Most would have been completely sheathed with leather, but bark, bast or fibre from birch or cherrywood are also known to have been used,
with or without leather under it.
Scabbards with no sheathingat all on the wood are also known.
Behmer's examples for metal sheaths are just additions of thin gold or silver foil (often applied onto the leather!) to make the swords look more precious like the gold foil on the so called 'Goldgriffspathen' (perhaps only done for burial customs).
This thin metal would reflect underlying carving like thin leather, when applied wet to shrink to slim fit, would do.
Andreas Gagelmann
Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany
