Hello fellow history enthusiasts and blade aficionados,

sometimes the most interesting discoveries come not from finding something new, but from looking again at familiar things.

Here are a few recommendations and updates that I hope you will enjoy.

A Stone Age Misconception?

Some ideas become so widespread that they eventually start to feel self-evident.

One such example concerns Late Neolithic fishtail daggers.

A new public video and accompanying post explore a detail that is often interpreted as an imitation of bronze casting seams — an explanation that sounds plausible at first glance, yet raises a few practical questions once one starts looking more closely at how bronze objects are actually made and finished.

As usual, my approach combines archaeology with handling and ergonomics.

The video premiered on Patreon and is now publicly available.

Fiore Returns

If you have not yet watched the teaser trailer for FIORE 2: La Lince e il Biscione, chances are that many of your fellow readers already have — repeatedly.

Following the award-winning first short film, Italian film maker Alberto Mattea is now preparing a second cinematic journey into the world of the late 14th-/early 15th-century master of arms Fiore dei Liberi.

I was delighted to help spread the word, and judging by the response to my own post, enthusiasm within our little niche is alive and well.

I cannot wait to watch the finished film later this year.

AI, Swords, and Understanding the Future

Artificial intelligence continues to reshape the way we work and live — whether we welcome it or not.

As somebody whose illustration business has already been profoundly affected by generative AI, I have become convinced that understanding the technology is one of the best ways to prepare for what lies ahead.

What actually is AI?
How does it differ from mathematical models and conventional algorithms?
What can it do — and what can it not do?

Few people have helped me think more clearly about these questions than fellow swordsman, trained philosopher, and AI expert Dr Marc Heimann.

One idea from his conversation with Guy Windsor particularly struck me: what if one trained an AI exclusively on knowledge available up to a specific point in history — say, the year 1500?

Such a deliberately “virgin” AI would not be biased by later discoveries, modern interpretations, or contemporary assumptions. Instead, it might help reveal patterns, associations, and possibilities visible to historical actors themselves — connections we may overlook precisely because we already know too much.

Whether or not such an experiment proves feasible, I find it a fascinating reminder that AI may become not only a tool for automation, but also an instrument for asking entirely new kinds of historical questions.

If this sparks your curiosity, I warmly recommend Marc’s writing and his recent two-hour interview on The Sword Guy podcast. Find more from Marc in his dedicated blog.

More Blades Await on Patreon

Finally, a heartfelt thank-you to everybody supporting my work on Patreon.

Recent exclusive content includes:

• a gallery of no fewer than 72 photographs of a remarkably light and agile medieval sword discussed previously in this newsletter​
• a video of handling a beautifully preserved langes Messer from around 1500
• a practical exploration of Scandinavian fighting knives, testing the effect of a hand strap functioning much like a sword knot

And of course there is also new public content: my photographs of two VLFBERHT swords currently on display in Berlin’s Neues Museum are available to everybody.

Whether you join for exclusive content or simply browse the public posts from time to time — thank you for following my work.

Enjoy — and blades up!⚔️

Roland

P.S. In the coming days, I will finally meet my good friend and fellow swordsman, archaeologist Ingo Petri, who will guide me through the new special exhibition Verlorene Krieger (“Lost Warriors”) at the Varusschlacht Museum Kalkriese.

The exhibition revolves around military equipment sacrificed in the famous bog deposits of Nydam and Thorsberg between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE and presents more than a thousand remarkable finds.

Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to it.

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