The goal of this site is to help you. To provide information in a way that is logical and to the point with supporting documentation from widely accepted authoritative books in the arms collecting world. I hope that this website will be of service to you. I hope that it will instil a sense of appreciation for the times when these items were created and wonderment at the places and moments, sometimes historic, of which they have been a part. I hope that you will be a good caretaker of the pieces that come into your possession so that future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy this fascinating and humbling path.
Many reasons. It sounds cooler than Matthew Honey Arms. It’s oldy-worldy sounding. And as I was creating this site as a learning project for myself, I had just finished watching the Merlin series on TV in which Merlin’s alternate name is ‘Emrys’. I did some digging into the name Emrys and learnt that it is Welsh for ‘Immortal’ and as I contemplated the history of the sword, the thought came to me, reinforced by having read Richard Burton’s The Book of the Sword (Warning: brush up on your Greek, Hebrew and Egyptian if you plan on getting the full enjoyment out of reading it) that the sword has truly been around for a very long time. Almost like it is immortal…
We all know the various historical contexts of the sword. However, even in the present era, while not carried into the battlefield anymore, the sword is still present on the parade ground. Present in royal knighting ceremonies. Practised in martial arts. Used in fraternal societies. It holds a special piece of the person we want to be.
As we look into the future, or at least what we conceive the future to possibly look like, we see things like Star Wars. A fantasy setting yes, but there still exists the concept of the sword, in the same manner, it has come to embody. The honourable, knightly archetype. And really…who wouldn’t want to be a knight! I know … somebody out there just said not me…
This is where the idea for Emrys Arms came from. I hope it has been helpful to you.
Who am I? I have been many things. A former university student. Former computer consultant/technician. Former cafe owner. Former county archivist. A university student…again… and now a new path as a web developer. Throughout all of those things, all of those years, I have been and still am a student of antique arms. And I love it!
I have been collecting for over twenty years now, yet there are still so many out there who are much more knowledgeable than I. They have had the pleasure of visiting castles in Europe and viewing their ancient armouries. They have had the absolute joy of visiting museums in far-off lands. And I? Well…I have books. Many books. I have tried to increase my collection as a source for study. I have participated in online forums when stumped or in need of another opinion. And I have tried to visit as many of the collections in Canada as possible,…but my country is comparatively young and older pieces are far and few between.
It is my intent to provide as much accurate information here as possible. That is the reason that you will find little of my own opinion on this site except in areas where I could find little written information to quote. I don’t have all the answers, but there are people out there who do and they know the reasons and have done the leg work in writing those books.
In this regard, if you are a novice collector, I will share something with you that was shared with me when I began. Buy books. Lots of books. Be aware that sometimes books are updated or revised with new information. To that end, whenever I have quoted something, I have also attached a link so that you will be able to see a copy of the book it is taken from. I have first tried to link back to the publisher or distributor if possible. Many books are out of print and will have to be purchased second-hand. Some are almost impossible to find unless you are independently wealthy.
Lastly, I am only human and while I have tried to be as accurate as possible, if you find information which is incorrect, please feel free to inform me. I ask only one thing, that you back up your opinion with textual evidence. If your argument is supported I will happily update my information as time allows.
To this end, happy collecting!
One last thing. Here is a fun link to a project I created in my web development program. Have fun!