What metal were swords made of around 900-1200 AD?

Question

I'm writing a novel taking place in medieval Wales and I'd like to know what swords were made of back then. And when steel replaced iron...

Answer 1

Iron.

Answer 2

Hey Mynxee,

Damascus steel is a steel used in Middle Eastern swordmaking from about 1100 to 1700 AD. Damascus swords were of legendary sharpness and strength, and were apocryphally claimed to be able to cut through more "ordinary" European swords and even rock.

The original Damascus steel swords may have been made in the vicinity of Damascus, Syria, in the period from 900 AD to as late as 1750 AD. Damascus steel is a type of steel alloy that is both hard and flexible, a combination that made it ideal for the building of swords. It is said that when Damascus-made swords were first encountered by Europeans during the Crusades it garnered an almost mythical reputation—a Damascus steel blade was said to be able to cut a piece of silk in half as it fell to the ground, as well as being able to chop through normal blades, or even rock, without losing its sharp edge. Recent metallurgical experiments, based on microscopic studies of preserved Damascus-steel blades, have claimed to reproduce a very similar steel via possible reconstructions of the historical process.

Answer 3

CAst steel was in use in the middle ages as well as cast iron, The Sacrenes of Surinam ll used swords of damascus steel to defeat the crusaders.

Answer 4

STEEL!!!NORSE AND DAMASCUS BLADES WERE SOME OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF STEEL AND STEEL HAMMER WELDED WITH IRON FOR INCREASE FLEXIBILITY!!JAPANESE BLADES WERE ALWAY S OF THE ABSOLUTELY HIGHEST QUALITY IN MANUFACTURE AND PURITY OF MATERIALS!!TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF THE QUALITY INVOLVED;THE EMBLEM OF A FAMILY "MON"OR CREST WAS SOMETIMES MADE BY THE REPEATED FOLDING OF IRON AND STEEL UNDER HEAT AND HAMMERING TO REPRODUCE THAT CREST IN THE BARE METALS CONTRASTING COLORS IN MEASURED REPLICAS ALL ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE BLADE!!IN SOME OF THESE SORTS OF BLADES A VERY FINE EDGING BLADE WAS INTRODUCED INTO A "SPLIT" RUNNING THE LENGTH ALSO!AND THEN WELDED IN PLACE AND SHARPENED TO A RAZOR'S EDGE!!! BRONZE COULD HOLD A SURGICAL QUALITY EDGE;BUT A GOOD STEEL SWORD WOULD MAKE SHORT WORK OF THE OWNER ON THE BATTLEFIELD!!

Answer 5

go to www.wikipedia