Ring pommel swords

[Mark G]

Just looking at the image of one in the new society publication on the Goths.

Why a ring pommel?

Is it easier to balance the weight after casting if you only have to trim weight of that otherwise irrelevant bit of iron ring at the bottom ?

Or is there a better idea why?

[Cantabrigian]

Easier to hang on the wall, perhaps?

[Erpingham]

The balance argument is a good one.  Another possibility is that a cord or strap attaching it to the wrist could attached.  Or it allowed a bigger showier pommel for the weight (i.e. a fashion statement).

[Duncan Head]

I was tempted to say ease of manufacture - you just bend the tang into a circle rather than making and attaching a separate pommel - but in fact not many examples look as if they were manufactured that way.