18 h 56 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 18 h 56 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Before the sword becomes a symbol, it begins with stone, metal, and the need for an edge.
In The Book of the Sword, Richard Francis Burton traces the blade from sharpened stones to bronze edges and the iron swords of the ancient world. A soldier and trained swordsman, he brings practical knowledge to his history. His question reaches beyond the weapon itself: how does the sword grow from earlier tools, and what does metal make possible?
Burton draws on archaeology, old texts, myths, and word origins as he follows the sword into the classical world. Greeks, Romans, and Celts favour different blades; European sagas and poems give swords a place beyond combat. This opening volume of an unfinished survey offers a wandering, curious exploration rather than a quick, tidy account.
What you’ll discover
- Before the metal blade Follow Burton back to flint knives, stone axes, and spear points.
- What bronze makes possible Discover the place of bronze in Burton’s account of the sword’s early history.
- Blades of the ancient world Explore Burton’s comparisons of the swords carried by Greeks, Romans, and Celts.
- More than a weapon Enter old stories where swords become companions and symbols, not merely tools.
- A swordsman’s curious eye Meet a writer who joins scholarly inquiry with his own experience of weapons.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love arms and armour, ancient history, museum collections, metalworking, fencing, or the sharp opinions of a famous Victorian explorer.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The sword stands for the whole human story
- Weapons begin with animals and the hand stone
- Stone, bone and wood shape the first blades
- Copper opens the age of the metal blade
- Bronze arrives and the sword takes its form
- Iron and steel complete the metal story
- A sword is shaped by the work it must do
- Egypt is the cradle of the sword and of much else
- The blade crosses Syria, Assyria, Persia and India
- Greece, Rome and the northern peoples complete the first volume
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The Book of the Sword
by Richard Francis Burton · 1884
A curved wooden blade in a Cairo museum carries a pharaoh's name, and Burton follows the sword from there to Rome.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What if the story of one weapon could take you from a monkey pelting travellers with branches to the legions of Rome? Picture a curved wooden blade in a Cairo museum case.
The Book of the Sword at a glance
- Reading time
- About 10 h7 h 55 min fast, 11 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 142,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1884by Richard Francis Burton
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The sword stands for the whole human story
Burton opens with a bold claim that the history of the sword is the history of humanity. He calls it the oldest, the most widespread and the most varied of weapons. For him the blade is a record of what people have prized, feared and hoped for.
Swords were worshipped, stored in temples and given names such as Joyeuse and Zu'l-Fikar. To surrender a sword meant submission, and to break one meant disgrace. Kissing a sword was among the highest oaths a person could take.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1884
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Burton, Richard Francis. The Book of the Sword. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-book-of-the-sword.
Burton, R. F. (2026). The book of the sword. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-book-of-the-sword (Original work published 1884)
Burton, Richard Francis. The Book of the Sword. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-book-of-the-sword.
@book{burton2026book,
author = {Burton, Richard Francis},
title = {The Book of the Sword},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-book-of-the-sword},
note = {First published 1884}
}
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What is The Book of the Sword about?
It is a history of the sword from its prehistoric origins to the early Roman Empire. Burton follows materials such as stone, copper, bronze and iron, then peoples such as the Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks and Romans.
When was The Book of the Sword written and was it finished?
It appeared in 1884, after Burton had worked on it through the 1870s and early 1880s. It is Part One of a larger plan, and it ends with the sword among the barbarians of the Roman Empire.
Why did Burton write about the sword?
He was a trained fencing master who thought the sword shaped civilisation. He noticed that students had no single book on its origin and history, so he gathered museum finds, ancient authors and travel notes into one work.
The author
Richard Francis Burton
1821–1890 · British explorer and travel writer
Sir Richard Francis Burton was a British explorer, army officer, writer and translator. He was born in Torquay, England, in 1821. He served in India and later lived in Trieste as British consul. He published Vikram and the Vampire in 1870 and The Book of the Sword in 1884. He died in Trieste in 1890.
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