Medieval book transport
You are looking at two ‘wraps’ (top), the outside and inside of a box (middle), and a leather satchel (bottom). What they share is not just their old age (they are all medieval), but also the purpose for which they were made: to transport a book from A to B. The actual reason for transporting books in these objects varied considerably. The wraps are late-medieval girdle books, which were hanged from the owner’s belt by the knot. The text inside - which was often of legal or religious nature - could be consulted quickly and easily: just unwrap it and read. The box (and the ninth-century book inside) had a more exotic use: the package functioned as a charm for good luck on the battlefield, where it was carried in front of the troops by a monk. The satchel, which also dates from the ninth century, was just a bag to transport a book while on the go - it was popular among monks. Read more about these fascinating devices in my blog post “Medieval Books on the Go” (here).
orcaswimmer
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Source: patchowl
So can you tell me please what is a sparth axe and why were they so popular with the gallowglass?
Ah yes, the sparth.
So, quite simply, Ireland is a weird place. When we’re talking about the development of arms and armor, it’s oddly distinct from the rest of Europe, especially for the fact that they never seem to adopt plate armor in any real capacity.
Light armor is the name of the game, even into the 16th century, and the Gallowglass, considered a mercenary elite, were some of the most heavily armored blokes on the field, typically only wearing a maille hauberk and a helmet of some kind (with padding beneath.)
(Hands together for Osprey illustrations.)
The sparth is suggested to be a descendant of the (in)famous Dane axe of Viking era fame. As armor in Europe develops, so too do the weapons trying to defeat that armor, so axes like the poleaxe, which is far more equipped for dealing with plate, become popular.
However, since here in Ireland you don’t have heavier armor really developing (it’s been suggested because of the nature of the Irish countryside and Irish warfare at the time) then a large, two handed axe like the sparth fills its purpose perfectly. It wreaks havoc on opponents only armored in cloth, and certainly transmits enough force to give an opponent in maille a bad time.
So we’ve established that the sparth is an effective weapon an Irish military context. The reason they are so synonymous with the gallowglass is because the weapon is so well suited to their role on the battlefield as heavy infantry. The gallowglass were a sort of flank guard, and often served to cover the escape of the other troops with the cattle they were stealing (which was the vast majority of Irish warfare.)
In this capacity putting a big, hard-hitting, intimidating weapons in the hands of your heavily armored mercenary elite seems like a pretty good plan to me. I hope this answers your question!
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