Oakeshott Type XVIIIb Longsword Possibly for Tournament

Editor's Note: This sword, like so many other historical swords features a small wedge near the ricasso area. This is a common feature on diamond cross sectioned blades.

Circa 1350-1400 AD. A hand-forged steel sword of hand-and-a-half type, with flat-section disc pommel and cross pattee quillons; to one face of the blade, an inlaid brass sigil of the globus cruciger; the blade narrow, lozenge-section and relatively flat; the quillons elliptical in section; the tang flat with traces of the grip remaining; the blade unsharpened, implying a tournament piece.

Steel, 1.1 kg, length overall: 103 cm, length of blade: 85 cm, maximum width of blade: 41 mm. Extremely fine condition, complete apart from grip.

Sold for (Inc. premium): £2,783 December 2011 UK

Provenance

Ex Tucker collection, Buckinghamshire, UK. Probably of German origin.

Literature

Cf. Oakeshott, E. Records of the Medieval Sword item XVII.2, a late 14th century Danish sword with very similar pommel; item XIX.2, a late 14th century sword with similar quillons; item XVIIIa.4, a late 14th century sword with lozenge-section blade profile.

Footnotes

The globus cruciger is the orb of the world (globus) topped with a cross (crux), a Christian symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages on coins, royal iconography and regalia. It symbolises the Christian deity's (the cross) dominion over the world (the orb), held under the protection and domination of an earthly ruler.

Date

Friday 2nd December 2011 Medieval and Later Antiquities; including Islamic, Christian and Arms And Armour Sections

For more information on Oakeshott's Type XVIII swords (note that Oakeshott provided no original examples of Types XVIIIb nor XVIIIc in his Records of the Medieval Sword) see here: sword-site.com/thread/183/oakeshott-xviii-xviiia-records-medieval

Source: www.timelineauctions.com/