I was at Sutton Hoo last weekend.

Here's a draft of a piece I wrote about one of the displays there on swordmaking. I'd be grateful for any comments you might have. Thanks!

THE WOVEN SWORD

The gods brought fire, a gift to man
but only the smith could tame it
to his will, and the swordsmith is
its master. His apprentice-work
the ploughshare, latch and barrel-hoop;
his true craft is the dragon-sword.
For as a woman weaves a cloak
from the white fleece-backs of her flock
the swordsmith weaves the naked blade,
forging the offices of war
from the cold ore-blood of the rock.

The warp and weft of it he makes
from tough, blunt iron and brittle steel;
folded stacks, in white heat annealed,
beaten flat, stretched out and twisted
like a sailmaker's rope, then three
of these braided as a maid's hair.
This is the sword's core, then steel-edged,
hammered to its deadly shaping,
sharpened as bright as very death.

Weighed in your hand, the heft and flex
meets your grip, see the blade shimmer
like damascene silk; the patterns
flow and glimmer, speak of its strength.
You shall call it by its own name:
Smite-Foe, Wind-Whip, Bite-Bone
Brain-Chill, Split-Skull, Gut-Spill,
and its art makes warriors brave
and brings armies to victory,
making the tales the Sagas tell.

One day, King Raedwald, when you sail
your last ship to meet your fathers,
count yourself a fortunate man
if this, my sword, will journey with you
to the halls of your ancestors.