Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Iain · 27th December 2011, 09:03 AM

Hi Jim,

Yes, I think the 14th century date is fairly supportable now. The twin circles seems to have been popular as well as I've seen a few now (all Alexandria related).

Teodor and Ibrahiim,

Thank you for the kind words.

It was pure luck, but the best Christmas I can remember in quite some time.

I wanted to continue with the discussion a bit now that the blade has been pretty thoroughly commented on.

While the 1365 invasion by Peter of Cyprus is probably the most well known of the late crusades, the Mahdian Crusade should also be mentioned. A 1390 campaign against the pirate stronghold on the Tunisian coast. Besides this various other small campaigns and actions on Malta, Cyprus or the Italian commercial cities like Genoa could account for such a blade arriving in N. Africa and then on, into the Sahel proper.

But I wanted to talk about the hilt on this sword, which, putting aside the blade for the moment, is equally worthy of discussion.

The pommel is of the older oval type and interestingly is curved on the inside to fit the palm of your hand. Made of two halves, the top features a single strap of iron and a cap of brass in a rectangular shape. It is the most comfortable and hand fitting pommel I've seen so far.

The handle is ten sided and very solid. Almost certainly originally covered in leather.

The guard appears to be a single piece of iron forming both sides of the guard and a second piece on the top forming the ends and the top slot for the blade. This differs from the usual method of wrapping two pieces around the blade to form the guard. This in constrast this has clean, square edges and is more solid. I would say this has a chance to be an 18th century hilt and mount judging by the early 19th century mounts we can compare it with.

I still need to do a bit of derusting, there are some pits and built up dark areas on the blade, but knowing the age of it now, I am going slowly and carefully.

27th December 2011, 09:03 AM	#24
Iain Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Olomouc Posts: 1,708	Hi Jim, Yes, I think the 14th century date is fairly supportable now. The twin circles seems to have been popular as well as I've seen a few now (all Alexandria related). Teodor and Ibrahiim, Thank you for the kind words. It was pure luck, but the best Christmas I can remember in quite some time. I wanted to continue with the discussion a bit now that the blade has been pretty thoroughly commented on. While the 1365 invasion by Peter of Cyprus is probably the most well known of the late crusades, the Mahdian Crusade should also be mentioned. A 1390 campaign against the pirate stronghold on the Tunisian coast. Besides this various other small campaigns and actions on Malta, Cyprus or the Italian commercial cities like Genoa could account for such a blade arriving in N. Africa and then on, into the Sahel proper. But I wanted to talk about the hilt on this sword, which, putting aside the blade for the moment, is equally worthy of discussion. The pommel is of the older oval type and interestingly is curved on the inside to fit the palm of your hand. Made of two halves, the top features a single strap of iron and a cap of brass in a rectangular shape. It is the most comfortable and hand fitting pommel I've seen so far. The handle is ten sided and very solid. Almost certainly originally covered in leather. The guard appears to be a single piece of iron forming both sides of the guard and a second piece on the top forming the ends and the top slot for the blade. This differs from the usual method of wrapping two pieces around the blade to form the guard. This in constrast this has clean, square edges and is more solid. I would say this has a chance to be an 18th century hilt and mount judging by the early 19th century mounts we can compare it with. I still need to do a bit of derusting, there are some pits and built up dark areas on the blade, but knowing the age of it now, I am going slowly and carefully.