14th-15th century AD. An iron long sword of Oakeshott's Type XVII with broad two-edged blade (5.6cm at the shoulder), double fuller extending 38.5cm along each face, wide rectangular-section tang tapering at the upper end, capped with a biconvex octagonal-section pommel; guard with tapering round-section quillons; stamped unidentified maker's mark to one face of the tang, a grid of six squares; the blade shortened to 58cm in length and the end squared. See J Oakeshott, R.E., The Archaeology of the weapons, London, 1960; Oakeshott, E., Sword in hand, London, 2001; cf. Oakeshott, E. Records of the Medieval Sword, Woodbridge, 1991, item XVII.7 for pommel. 1.4 kg, 81cm (32"). Property of a Suffolk collector; formerly acquired on the European art market in the 1990s; accompanied by an academic report by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato.The blade of the sword has been shortened from its expected length of around 75cm and the weapon has been described as an 'executioner's sword' on the basis of its altered profile. This sword belongs to the category which, in the Middle Ages, was referred as 'La Grant Espée d’Allemagne', or 'Great sword of Germany'(Oakeshott, 2001,p.90"). Oakeshott classified this type of swords as swords of type XVII (sub-category 7, 8 or 9"). Our sword is in fact, very similar to a sword recovered from the Lake of Neuchâtel (Oakeshott, 1991, p.165), but more similar to one in the British Museum, with identical pommel of type T2 (Oakeshott, 1960, p.314), the fuller of the blade and the cross-guard. In our specimen the point is missing, probably lost in action or cut deliberately. This suggests the possibility that the original fighting sword was transformed into an executioner's or justice sword, but it is improbable, as all the executioner's swords of late Middle Age have a flat blade without fuller and a round point. Another sword presenting similar characters is the one from Thames (Oakeshott, 1991, p.167), with a long ricasso below the hilt to enable the sword to be used for effective thrusting in close combat, while the left hand could be brought forward to grasp the blade below the cross, in order to shorten the length of the blade. Type XVII (Oakeshott, 1960, pl.16d) was perhaps the most frequently used sword during the period of 1370-1425. Its cross-section is usually hexagonal and very solid, sometimes with a very shallow fuller in its upper half. Many samples survive; perhaps the finest of them all is an example found in the River Cam, now in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (Oakeshott, 1960, pl.16c"). Swords of this type all have the same bladeform, but considerably varied hilts, and examples have been found all over Europe. One which comes second only to the Cambridge example, with a similar blade but a different hilt was, in 1960, in a famous and very choice private collection in Denmark. This is the same sword as in the Hall of Victories at Alexandria, presumably a trophy, by the Mamluks. In 1426, the Mamluk Sultan Malik el Asraf Barsabay raided Cyprus, carrying off a number of swords which were duly inscribed, often more than ten years after their capture. Most of the surviving swords are from this time, being dated in the 1430s. Occasionally an actual date (in one instance A.H. 836 = A.D. 1432) was stamped upon them, but more often they bear simply a statement that they are the inalienable property of the Arsenal of Alexandria, together with the name of the Emir in charge of it at the time. As these people held the office only for very brief spells, it is usually possible to date the inscriptions quite accurately by the name. Most probably our specimen is from a battlefield or, most probably a river find. The piece is, notwithstanding the shortened blade, in excellent condition. With the type XVII, used between around 1360-1420, we see a sword designed for no other purpose than cracking into the plates of the armours. Type XVII always has a long hand-and-a-half grip, and a very stout blade of hexagonal section, occasionally with a shallow fuller, and often very heavy and always very rigid. The Type XVII was designed in an attempt to allow the sword some use against the increasingly prevalent plate armour of the period. In many ways, a Type XVII is more of an impact weapon designed to crack armour or provide blunt force trauma than a cutting weapon. The blade is long, stiff, and triangular in profile, with a hexagonal cross section – more of a very long spike with a handle, than a sword. The handle always with a hand-and-a-half grip. The mountings of the swords of type XVII may have lead Oakeshott to refer to such swords as a 'rather boring type'. Most samples seem to fall into two groups: the Sempach family of swords, so called because the two swords in this category belonged to two knights killed at the battle of Sempach, in 1386 AD. These swords possessed scent-stopped pommels of type T2 (like our specimen) but curved cross-guards of stile 1a (Oakeshott, 1960, p.323, fig.9"). Swords of the other group usually have oval pommels, wide, and crosses of either Style 1 or Style 6. A handful of other examples don't fit into either group; these typically have other forms of scent-stopper pommels or other forms of wheel pommels. Our sword seems a melée of different types, what it is perfectly conceivable. Very often, in the modern world, we think that the ancient objects were created in the shape they were discovered in, and that, except for some small modifications, they are preserved now in their original form. This is not correct, especially for the weapons used in battle: they were restored, repaired, details such as cross-guards and pommels were often changed, with later repair or additions, or transformations for different use. Although the sword was mainly the knightly weapon par excellence, its conception and use changed over centuries. During the period concerned here, the sword was a versatile weapon. From the 14th century onwards, the sword began to be used not just as a battlefield weapon, but also as a civilian weapon. Starting in Germany and then Italy, sword masters such as Johannes Liechtenauer (14th century) and Fiore dei Liberi (c. 1340s-1420s) trained students in the use of the sword, not on the battlefield but in the judicial duel against unarmoured and armoured opponents. This too required a sword that could both cut and thrust. Fine condition; blade shortened.
