The primary object of the present article is to offer a review of the current state of knowledge of those flange-hilted swords of bronze which characterize the earliest phase of the Hallstatt period, and of some derivative varieties; and to support it by as complete an inventory of the available material as lies within the writer's power. It aspires, accordingly, first and foremost to be a factual survey of a clearly defined group of weapons, which over a significant portion of the area treated were the last of their kind to be made in bronze.

More specifically, it is hoped that the topographical, typological, and chronological aspects of this essay may be found acceptable, in and for themselves, and as a basis for further study. But the interpretation of the character of the Hallstatt sword, and the socio-historical situation presented as a background to that, inevitably lie in a more speculative field, and are offered solely as a possible explanation of the genesis of the type. This explanation, if correct, would indeed make good sense of a number of otherwise disconnected factors. It remains, nevertheless, a hypothesis propounded to account for the origins of the material under review; and can be jettisoned, in whole or in part, without at all impairing the validity of the treatment of that material, once it had come into being.

Though the contemporary swords of iron are certainly overdue for comprehensive and up-to-date treatment, they fall outside the scope of this study.