STUDIES OF THE 10–13th CENTURIES BLADE WEAPONS HISTORY IN BELARUS

The work is dedicated to the history of the 10–13th century''s blade weapons on the territory of Belarus. The major kinds of Old Rusian blade weapons were swords and sabers. Blade weapons became widespread on the territory of Belarus in Viking Age, approximately in the late 9th century, which is the low chronological border of the research. The upper border is defined as the end of the 13th century. The period can be divided into two sub-periods, which coincide with large epochs in the regions history. The first sub-period dates to the end of the 9th – beginning of the 11th century, or the Viking Age. The second sub-period lasts from the middle of the 11th to the end of the 13th century, or Old Rusian time.