Almost the entire history of European arms and armour is represented in Glasgow Museums’ collection. It includes swords from the ancient world, the armour of medieval knights, both early and modern firearms, and perhaps the most important assembly of Scottish weapons in public hands.

"The Real Fighting Stuff" is the first publication to survey the whole of this collection. Written in a lively and accessible style, this lavishly illustrated book is equally suitable for arms enthusiasts, those new to the subject and older children. It explores individual treasures in detail, and brings history to life by looking at the people who made and used 'the real fighting stuff'.
ISBN-10: 0902752820
ISBN-13: 978-0902752825

So far as I am aware there has never been a publication in which armours of this kind, so well represented at Churburg, have been treated primarily as the works of art that they undoubtedly are. Therefore, this book, which does just that, represents a milestone in the history of armour literature.
Its author, Carlo Paggiarino, has the unique qualifications of being both a brilliant, award-winning, photographer and a passionate lover and collector of armour, and so approaches his subject with a sympathy and understanding that has been denied to previous photographers.
The results speak for themselves and it gives me great pleasure to introduce them to what I hope will be a wide public.

Claude Blair, CVO, OBE, MA, Litt. D., FSA
EAN: 978-88-95191-00-3 (limited edition of 2,000 copies)

This classic compact book, originally published in 1909 by Oxford was written by Charles Ffoulkes (1868-1947) who was the Royal Armouries first full-time curator. He writes an informative book on the evolution of personal military defense for individuals and horses, from a highly functional, simplistic mail-based harness to plate harness to the highly decorative, and in some cases, grotesque harnesses illustrating the prostitution of a craft degraded to satisfying the personal fashion whims of people who possessed more power and wealth than a sense of true combat.

For any student of the art, or for those who practice the ancient armoured combative arts requiring one to wear a harness of the period and wielding a period fascimile sword, will fully appreciate what makes this book invaluable, is the fact that Charles highlights the numerous subtleties of armour contruction and design elements which for most of us are unattainable, and who also highlights artifacts which no longer exist today having been lost during the world wars. It is clear that he had written this book after years of developing hands-on expertise of this art through his work at the Royal Armories. If there would be a good reason to include this book in your bibliography, the latter makes this book an invaluable addition.
(ISBN: 1-59416-022-8)

This volume provides an absolute mine of information about medieval and early post-medieval ironworking, knightly and infantry armour, horse armour, crossbows, guns and the industry of armour-production across Europe. Williams successfully combines detailed and technical metallurgical data with accessible descriptions of armour types, function, decoration, ownership, use and faults. With much of the book arranged geographically, each type of armour is illustrated with black and white photographs of numerous examples from collections across Europe, accompanied by a brief description of the metallurgy of the piece and a photograph of its microstructure. The book also discusses the early history of armour and traces the development of mailmaking through Europe during the Roman and early medieval periods before it reached its greatest heights in 15th- and 16th-century Italy and Germany. In addition, Williams examines the history of guns and gunpowder, also looking at their use in battle, medieval theories surrounding metalworking and armour hardening and the methods employed to improve the effectiveness of the armour.
(ISBN: 9-00412-498-5)

A Companion to Medieval Arms and Armour covers the entire period from the fifth to the fifteenth century, a thousand years which saw huge changes in military technology in most of the world's major civilisations. Arms and armour in Europe are the principal focus of the studies, but those of neighbouring civilisations, including the Byzantine Empire, eastern Europe, the steppes and the Islamic world, are also investigated, both for the impact upon them of European technological developments, and for their influence upon developments within western Europe.

Arms and armour in Europe developed dramatically during the thousand years from the fifth to the fifteenth century. During this broad sweep of time civilisations rose and fell and population movements swept from east to west, bringing in their wake advances and modifications absorbed and expanded by indigenous populations. So although the primary focus of this book is on the arms and armour of Europe, it also includes neighbouring cultures where these had a direct influence on developments and changes within Europe, from late Roman cavalry armour, Byzantium and the East to the influence of the Golden Horde. A truly impressive band of specialists cover issues ranging from the migrations to the first firearms, divided into three sections: From the Fall of Rome to the Eleventh Century, Emergence of A European Tradition in the High Middle Ages, and New Influences and New Challenges of the Late Middle Ages; throughout there is particular emphasis on the social and technological aspects of medieval military affairs.
(ISBN: 0-85115-872-2)

Armour from the Battle of Wisby is perhaps the most important work on arms and armour ever to be published pertaining to the 14th century. On a hot July day in 1361, 1,300 poorly armed men stood their ground to defend their city of Wisby against the pressure of King Waldemar, hoping to replicate, perhaps, something of the English victories of France achieved at Crecy and Poitiers. Unfortunately, it was not to be. The defenders were slaughtered. It was three days before the besieged city capitulated, at which point the defenders were finally able to come out to bury the dead. Putrefying in the hot sun, pits were dug in the peat bogs and the bodies hurriedly cast in and buried. In the 1920s, Bengt Thordeman and a team of archeologists excavated at the site of the burial and producing a work that has stood the test of time. The 900+ photographs and illustratins record in great detail the coat of plate cote armours, brigandine finger gauntlets, dress accessories and wound pathology for many of the victims. This work has long been an extremely hard-to-find but key reference for students of arms and armour, wound pathology, and medieval archeologists. Copies have sold for upwards of $2000--when they can be found.

Reproduced for the first time since 1939 with a new Introduction by "Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction" author Brian R. Price, this elegantly printed version of the original 2 volumes bound into one is a must for any library on medieval knighthood, arms and armour, archeology or warfare.
(ISBN: 1-89144-805-6)

Both a work of scholarship, and a treasury of information, for anyone seeking a factual and vivid account of the story of arms from the Renaissance period to the Industrial Revolution. The author chooses as his starting-point the invasion of Italy by France in 1494, which sowed the dragon's teeth of all the successive European wars; the French invasion was to accelerate the trend towards new armaments and new methods of warfare. The author describes the development of the handgun and the pike, the use and style of staff-weapons, mace and axe and war-hammer, dagger and dirk and bayonet. He shows how armour attained its full Renaissance splendour and then suffered its sorry and inevitable decline, culminating in the Industrial Revolution, with its far-reaching effects on military armaments. Above all, he follows the long history of the sword, queen of weapons, to the late eighteenth century, when it finally ceased to form a part of a gentleman's every-day wear. Lavishly illustrated. Ewart Oakeshott is one of the world's leading authorities on the arms and armour of medieval Europe.
(ISBN: 0-85115-789-0)

Through poetic prose and practical instruction, Brian Price presents a lavish introduction to some of today's finest craftsmen and their work as well as a step-by-step guide for novice and intermediate armourers who desire to delve into the 1,000 stunning photographs of medieval and modern designs, Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction is a major contribution to the restoration and preservation of one of the grandest physical representations of the ideals of the Western world.
(ISBN: 1-58160-098-4)

This book presents the most information ever published on German sword and edged weapon makers from the Middle Ages to the present. It includes photos and illustrations of German swords from Prussia, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Saxony and Austria; more than 300 illustrations of German sword maker blade marks spanning five centuries, rare sketches and photos of German sword makers and their factories; a listing of German sword makers who exported swords to Union and Confederate dealers during the American CivilWar; a listing of special suppliers of swords and edged weapons to Nazi Germany; and much more. This is an indispensable resource for sword collectors, historians, antique dealers, weapon experts and researchers.
(ISBN: 1-58160-057-7)

A definitive study for anyone interested in the subject to have in their library'. Classic arms and military history and typology of the European knightly sword. Oakeshott draws on his extensive research to trace its development from the knightly successors of the Viking weapon to the emergence of the Renaissance sword, using evidence from literature and art as well as from archaeology.
(ISBN: 0-85115-715-7)

This book is an invaluable exploration of the significance of the sword as symbol and weapon in the Anglo-Saxon world, using archaeological and literary evidence. The first part of the book, a careful study of the disposition of swords found in peat bogs, in graves, lakes and rivers, yields information on religious and social practices. The second is concerned with literary sources, especially Beowulf.
(ISBN: 0-85115-716-5)

This lavishly illustrated volume details the armies of western and central European states and their client kingdoms in the Middle East in over three centuries of military development and almost continuous warfare--a decisive period when Christendom, Islam, and the Mongol world came into violent and sustained conflict, this definitive study pinpoints the evolving military sciences, technologies, and practices in an era of revolutionary change.
(ISBN: 1-85367-347-1)

An extensive and thorough study of the origins, development and usage of the glamorous two-edged knightly sword of the European middle ages, with a complete typology. Spanning the period from the great migrations to the Renaissance, this book presents a selection from a very large body of photographs and research and gives a full and detailed record of the swords of that turbulent time.
(ISBN: 0-85115-566-9)

The Knight and His Weapons is a solid, if brief look at a knight's armaments in the twelve to fifteen hundred (though, earlier weapons are paid less mind). The introductory fiction was nicely done, and tied in well with the rest of the book, which is broken into several sections, each dealing with a particular type of weapon. The sword and knife section was initially somewhat mundane, but Oakeshott spends a good deal of time on the construction of the sword, which isn't something I've seen elsewhere in as much detail. The last section deals with early firearms, and while interesting, much less detail was spent there than on other topics (as is appropriate).
(ISBN: 0-80231-299-3)

In The Archaeology of Weapons, Ewart Oakeshott traces the development of European arms in logical sequence, showing how changes were wrought by the use of new materials and the ever-shifting demands of war and fashion. The core of the book, however, is the middle ages: a general survey of the institution of chivalry, an understanding of which is vital to the appreciation of all the arms of the high middle ages, is followed by a classification covering all sword types from about 1050 to 1500. Oakeshott draws on a variety of sources, from the archaeological evidence provided by existing weapons to the clues to be found in literature as diverse as the Old Testament, the works of Homer, Norse sagas and medieval romances. The symbolic importance of the sword is treated as an essential part of this lucid study and adds much to its archaeological interest.
(ISBN: 0-48629-288-6)

A beautifully presented book, which describes arms and armour in detail from the 11th century through to the 16th century Europe. It contains large, colour photographs of objects which reside in museums including Aachen Cathedral Treasury, Bern Historical Museum, Royal Armouries, Royal Museum of Scotland and Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna to name a few. The book also includes details on some aspects of armour creation, complete with photographs of original components. Any one, regardless of level of expertise, should have this book in their collection.
(ISBN: 0-51710-319-2)

Originally published by Methuen & Co. Ltd., London 1912, it is still a classic that anyone interested in medieval and renaissance armour needs to have. There are line drawings and some black and white photos depicting men in armour, suits of armour and objects related to the armourer's craft. There is some primary source material reproduced in the appendix - unfortunately the documents in foreign languages are not translated. There is a good-size glossary of armouring terms that includes several different languages. There is some biographical information on several Renaissance armourers.
(ISBN: 0-486-25851-3)

The Complete Bladesmith will show you how to take a bar of steel and forge it into the blade of your dreams. This guide to smithing world-class blasdes is for the novice as well as the experienced bladesmith. With this book you will be able to build your own forge, equip your workshop, choose your materials from the exotic to the mundane, and get to work.
Whether you want a survival blade, commando dagger, broadsword, tanto, or just a trustworthy utility knife, it's all here. Enter the custom-blade world with an edge.
(ISBN: 0-87364-430-1)