Hands on with the Sutton Hoo sword I Curator's Corner S5 Ep1  

For even more from Sutton Hoo Sue, check out her blog: bit.ly/2yQkfYV

The sword’s owner had no idea that his sword would be viewed by people all over the world on devices we hold in our hand. Really is a trip

I can't believe how carelessly she handled that ancient foam sword!

Came to see the Hoo, stayed because now I'm in love with Sue ❤️

Reminds me of when I've handled antique tools and noticed my wedding ring fitting perfectly into worn grooves on the tool handles.

As a person who worked in silver and gold for many years, I'm always astonished by the craftsmanship and wonderful designs of the Anglo-Saxon goldsmiths - absolute perfection!

Being left handed has never been this exciting!

This may be the coolest archaeological discussion ever. I was immediately enthralled when she first mentioned the wear pattern on the pommel cap, and I got actual chills when she was talking about how it was almost like being able to touch the hand of this person whose body is long gone, whose name we will probably never know. We forget today how intimate the touching of hands can be, and how telling the wearing down of an object by a hand can be. I love these little details that can tell us so much about people who lived so long ago. We may not have statues or poetry to tell us of this person's name, life, or death, but we can still uncover such personal details as them being left-handed, and I find that amazing!

The pommel in itself is an exquisite work of art, virtually looks like a piece from Fabergé. Beautiful.

I was on the fencing team in college, and the lefties definitely had an advantage - they got to practice against right-handed fencers all the time, but we seldom got to practice against left-handed ones. It really is a different experience. Interestingly, lefties had trouble against other lefties too. :-)

Spectacular. Unique. Mesmerising. Almost beyond belief... And that's just Sue's choice of trousers.

Who got here because Watching "The Dig" like me????

"I'm not left-handed either" -- Man in Black, Princess Bride

what a fantastic host! thank you Sue!

She needs to have her own channel

My son is a left handed saber fencer and he believes it gives him a huge advantage against right handed fencers what is funny is when two lefty fencers face each other its like they are fighting a mirror image and it gives them fits.

History, the way Sue presents it here, is like time travel. Her vivid descriptions and in-depth knowledge of this subject made me feel like I was back in time, in another country, experiencing life as it was then. She is a fantastic presenter and I look forward to seeing and hearing more of her sharing this special knowledge with us.

What a Saxy sword. Thanks Sue for informing us on this Hoo-done-it mystery.

Don't mess with Sue. She will WRECK you with knowledge.

It's truly impressive that the builder of that pomel was better at garnet work for some purposes than we are doing in this 21st century

As a retired medieval historian, i had always been intrigued by the occasional, but rare reference to left handedness in manuscripts, illuminations or glass. Being left handed myself encouraged me to notice I suppose :) Sue provides a detailed, intelligent and rational explanation, together with a careful examination of pommel wear to suggest the owner was indeed left handed. Not always clear cut, as left handed individuals ( myself included ) do favour the right hand in certain situations. Excellent in every way :)

As a lefty myself, I find this to be highly compelling evidence that this sword was wielded by the coolest person in history!

The left hand advantage is especially true for that style of sword which is meant to be used single handed with a shield.

Yes, everyone should watch The Dig! As a medievalist I was pleasantly surprised by how well it is done - showing how incredibly important this find was for England in 1939 (and Netflix can be hit or miss these days). It features some of Ralph Fiennes’ best work in decades as the (no longer) forgotten Basil Brown. I love your work Sue! Thanks 🙏 to you and to the British Museum for supporting these projects. I’ve visited the Sutton Hoo exhibit a number of times, and it’s always overwhelming and awe-inspiring but what fascinates me is that visitors often grow silent as they move through the exhibit (or at least I noticed the gradual “silencing” when I visited the exhibit - at busy times and at sparsely populated times). It’s wonderfully moving. There’s something beautifully haunting and melancholy about that Anglo-Saxon king, what he meant to his people and the astonishing respect and love that burial demonstrates, and his truly awesome burial with its priceless artifacts. It seems to evoke an almost religious reaction. I am a medievalist (Ph. D. in English - specialization in medieval lit), and I greatly appreciate how knowledgeable you are and how deftly you weave your knowledge and appreciation of the beautiful Anglo-Saxon culture into your presentations (I’m a nerd I suppose but it still thrills me to see the expressions on the faces of students when they realize they can understand a line from Beowulf *before* we have worked through the transition - they understand what it means to know that we speak the same language even though it has changed through time). Thank you for these lovely videos!

Just when I thought, I could not be more smitten she says she is Rookie Boxer

if he had a phd he could be called doctor hoo.... ok i'll show myself out

"Loud with information." What a wonderful turn of phrase.

Such an excellent presenter ! This young lady is so relaxed and comfortable with her material. She should give lessons to some of the real dunderheads who present on RU-vid and drive their hearers crazy with a billion UM's and UH's. Great job, Sue, one are One-in-a-Million. The Museum should give you a golden sword for your work ! Cheers from the USA.

As a lefty, I have no problem in a right hand world. In fact I think it's easier since we get used to using our right hand out of convenience. This was very enjoyable to watch. Thanks for sharing!

Sue talking sword fighting, boxing and science is very satisfying

One of the most fantastic examples of migration era swords in existence. The fittings are unparalleled.

I love how gold doesn’t decay, rust or oxidize so it looks just amazing today as it would have thousands and thousands of years ago

"The Dig" brought me here ! Brilliant film , go and see it !

I'd never thought I'd give a dusty fuck about old swords haha. But this is very well presented and by someone who's passionate about what they're talking about so it becomes interesting to listen to. Good stuff!

Watching all this content makes me think we should reform how we teach History in Primary and Secondary school. More!

this woman is amazing, the British museum has done well in securing her curatorship!!

Sue, You are outstanding as a presenter. I found your presentation fascinating. I was enthralled while listening to your unveiling of this historical mystery shortly after watching The Dig!

Left handed swordsman were also better when storming castles, the spiral staircase was made to wind up to the right thereby disadvantageous to a righthand attacker climbing up

You remind me of the man. What man? The man with the sword. What sword? The sword of Sutton Hoo. Who do? You do. Do what? Remind me of the man.

I think the analogy with boxing is even more relevant. A boxer has two fists to defend or punch with, a swordsman of this era might well have had a shield in the left hand with the attack coming into his right, he would have had to reach his shield across that would negate his attacking ability with his sword, and as someone previously noted a right-hander does not get much practice against left-handers but a left-hander probably almost exclusively practices against right-handers.

The boxing analogy is great and a similar thing happens as a cricketer, facing a left handed bowler or batsman can drastically change the trajectory of the ball and make it harder to read because you are just not as used to doing those calculations as much.

"loud with information" what a great turn of phrase,thank you for an informative and entertaining piece.

I love the exquisite example of early 21st century cobbling together with the intricate drawing-pin-in-chunk-of-foam adornment 👍

Thank you very much for your close-up examination of this marvelous piece. As an engineer, hobby black- smith and reenactor, I appreciate these details. I was lucky enough to see about 30 major world museums and yours is my favorite. Please show us more of your collection!

really interesting. I love to think about how close objects like this bring us to the people who used them many centuries ago. thank you

She nailed it, left-handed combatants have all the advantage when fighting with swords. Thank you Ms Brunning for this wonderful video.

I was told the direction of circular staircases were also designed to make it easier to defend by righthanded men against right handed men. Attackers would come from the bottom, the center of the tower on their right hand side. Defenders would defend from the top, having more room because the walls of the tower are on their right hand side.

Sue, beautifully done. Especially I like your idea of being able to touch Raedwald's hand through time. In the early days of the NT at Sutton Hoo I was working as front of house manager when the BM artifacts were in the care of Angela Evans. On one occasion, when dismantling the exhibition at the end of the season Angela allowed a handful of us to touch some items whilst wearing appropriate gloves. I felt the same as you. The magic of touching something once held by the king so long ago. Wonderful memory.

You're a great communicator Sue, eloquent and enthusiastic. Hope to see more of your presentations

Love the fact that the physical intimacy of the object is considered, and of course the use of the "foam sword" thank you :-)

"Loud with information" Beautiful.

Sue reminds me of David Fletcher of Bovington, knowledgeable and totally in love with their work. Less moustache though.

The south paw boxing analogy is excellent. I love being able to spar both regular and south paw and can fit any opponent. It must be equally difficult in any combat let alone mma

I know from personal and anecdotal experience in fencing that left-handers have an intrinsic advantage over the more common right-handers so it in fact does also apply to sword fighting. I believe that a decent number of Olympian fencers are also left-handed.

RU-vid algorithm actually helped me find something good!

I could watch these all day long. So glad I stumbled across this channel.

Now that is what I call passion, a very clever young woman into swords working at a world renowned museum & also into boxing, I feel proud of her by just watching this video, I'm also left handed.

This dudes bling withstood the test of time. He wanted to stand out, he has. So cool

Amazing video and explanation as usual ! Can we get another deep video for the Sutton Hoo helmet ? Or maybe even for the full treasure since every piece is breathtaking

I always like to imagine going back in time in seeing these people in their prime. Must of been a site

When you made the connection between the sword and it’s owner you could almost hear the battle cry and a yell from the victim.

This is a fantastic video. I love the explanation of southpaw vs orthodox, and overcoming cultural stigma. Sue is a wonderful host; obviously a serious researcher with a wealth of knowledge, but its her infectious enthusiasm for history that should be featured in many more videos to come. The fact that she's beautiful doesn't hurt either. For your own good, British Museum, give her more screen time.

The stairs in castle is design to be hard for right handed person i.e enemy to go up the stairs. Thus a left handed enemy going upstairs in a castle is just brilliant

I want to shake this woman's hand. Incredible work

Wonderful. Never lose that passion or enthusiasm Sue.

Love these videos. And that is my dream job right there. Sword hilts of this era are fascinating and must have had a large social significance. The way they used patterned gold foil to back-light the garnets is spectacular, and it makes one wonder about the complexity of that society. It must have been pretty stable in order to that sort of complexity and specialization to emerge. Which might not be the first thing one thinks of in post-Roman Europe. Also this is the era of Beowulf as well. Really interesting stuff.

This is the same in fencing. I did a bit of foil fencing in school, and we had one lefty in the class, and it was really weird to face off against here. The funny thing is when we see people who are more advanced, but haven't had as much of a chance to face a lefty face her, they never seem to know quite what to do. PS. I so appreciate your enthusiasm. It truly is exciting to get to reach through time like you say.

I just stumbled upon this video, and so glad I did! What wonderful insights! I actually found this idea of learning something intimate about this great person who was buried at Sutton Hoo so incredibly moving. Thank you!

Heard of the mask but never the sword! How fabulous thanks so much ❤🎉🎉

Seeing the Sutton Hoo treasure in London was definitely a highlight, the workmanship is beyond exquisite....

I'm sad to see that the Flexcalibur's handle is already worn down.

I've just watched The Dig on Netflix and I really enjoyed it. Great acting and a riveting story. I enjoyed this chat too especially as one who saw Jimi Hendrix live twice! 😊

Thank you for this intimate, detailed look at the Sutton Hoo sword - very thought provoking!

This is fascinating! Thank you both Ms Brunning and The British Museum for this post!

I could listen for hours - She is such a great presenter. Many greetings from Hamburg, GER

Sue is my favourite being. She is wonderful.

12 mins isn’t enough! I could listen to A 3 hour video of her talking about anything she’s this passionate about in history easy.

Sue is the best!

Wow this is absolutely incredible. History never ceases to amaze me.

Fascinating! Thank You!

I wish she gave lectures io that I could, at least, attend them if they exist. The whole analysis of wear patterns and clue-gathering seems a very, very interesting topic.

What a great little (short time) series I have come across! Now I have to go to series 1 episode 1 and enjoy it from the start... of course I will ration my viewing to one series per week... or not. Liked. Subscribed. Thanks.

Thank you for the fantastic info I did not previously have on Sutton Hoo. My only complaint is the British Museum does not have leopard print gloves to match your skirt. yet.

Again, Sue is an amazing presenter making history come alive, along with the wearer of this artfully fashioned sword.

Even spiral staircases built within castles (and almost all older military and defensive fortresses, etc.) were made so that they're twisting down and to the left, (towards the entrance from the perspective of the inside looking out,) so that the, (primarily right handed,) defenders would have that small but significant tactical advantage. (Imagine defending a tower from the inside on a staircase twisting to the right, and being right handed, it's far more awkward either needing to somehow reach down and to the right with your right hand or by switching to your lesser used and trained left hand to reach down and to the right comfortably.) If you notice, any ancient or medieval military or defensive structures (castles, fortresses, etc.) with spiral staircases had them installed so that they almost _always_ twisted towards the entrance, down and to the left, so the typically right handed defenders of the structure would themselves usually always have that defensive advantage. It's virtually 99% true, and something that anybody can see for themselves! (except in cases in which the staircases were purely decorative, like during, or after, the French Renaissance and post- enlightenment periods, etc. After the advent and proliferation of gunpowder siege weapons, ballistics, etc.) and something that anybody can see for themselves. (So please, don't just take my word for it lol look it up!✌️)

Sue is great on camera! Perfect amount of passion, technical information, and why we care about this item. 💓💓

I enjoy these very much. Thank you! I am left handed and was a collegiate fencer. There was a small advantage, but if you want to see something really hilarious, watch 2 left handed fencers in a bout!

I absolutely love the way you capture the incredible spirit of archaeology when you say that these artifacts are "loud with information" ~ perfectly said!

Terrific stuff. Thank you once again.

The perfect woman doesn't exi-- Also, you guys should show a replica or something so people can fully appreciate the beauty of this amazing sword!

Thanks Sue for another informative piece. I am now suffering from significant levels of job envy. Look forward to the next instalment.

This is a person who really loves her career. Thanks, I learned a lot.

Thank you, Dr. Sue Brunning, for your video. Regarding 8:44, for those who are unfamiliar, a left-handed person is known as a "Southpaw" also known as a "Mollydooker".

So the wielder of the weapon was left handed! Inspector Barnaby will be very pleased :)

You're a wonderful teacher . When this video appeared in my YT recommendations I was slightly mystified as to why they YT algorithm sent it to me. It seemed to be outside my range of interests. But I took a chance on it and I am very glad I didn't skip it. 30 seconds in I was hooked and watched the whole thing. Thanks for posting it. Btw I loved your use of your fake sword 😊❤

Sue is amazing !! Really makes me want to visit the museum !!

Thanks, Sue, for another great presentation.

This was fascinating and explained extremely well for the novice like me.

I'm here after watching The Dig on Netflix and found this video SO FASCINATING I'm going through your backlog to find more. Thank you for doing these!

❤❤ I love Sue's presentations! Brilliant!