Late medieval swords from Southeastern Europe
 

Inspired by this thread on Wallachian swords, I'd like to expand the discussion to Southeastern Europe as a whole, and cover the interesting and distinctive features of 15th- and early 16th-century swords from this region. The most comprehensive resource for this topic is Marko Aleksic's excellent book, Mediaeval Swords from Southeastern Europe, which he has made available in full on Academia.edu.

At the time, the dominant Christian power in this region was the kingdom of Hungary, and the distribution of knightly swords with unusual "Eastern" features roughly corresponds with the Hungarian sphere of influence, particularly to the south and east. Some interesting examples can also be found from the kingdom's northern and western periphery, including Poland, Bohemia, Austria, and modern Ukraine. There are also important connections with Italy, stemming in particular from the colonial and mercantile activities of Venice, and exemplified by the well-known spada schiavonescas ("Slavic swords") associated with Balkan soldiers in Venetian service.

For reference are the approximate territorial divisions in 1444, on the eve of the Ottoman victory in the Battle of Varna.

- Mark

The interesting example of the sword of Stephen the Great of Moldavia (r. 1457-1504) has been raised here. The blade has four fullers at the hilt, decreasing to three, two, and one towards the tip. Many-fullered blades are unusually common in Southeastern Europe, and can be classified as Oakeshott's type XX, and further subtypes defined by Marko Aleksic.

As stated here, the blade was likely produced in one of the Saxon cities of Transylvania, though there are a few many-fullered blades with markings that indicate an Italian origin. The unique hilt, with a Slavic inscription identifying its owner, is likely of local Moldavian manufacture. The now-missing medallions on each side of the pommel probably displayed the Moldavian aurochs and Stephen's personal coat-of-arms. By comparison with other examples and artwork, I see no reason to doubt that the sword made for Stephen III (the Great), and not one of his earlier namesakes. Aleksic has suggested a date of c. 1480.

Some alternative theories of the sword's origin are discussed here and elsewhere. There is apparently a persistent story (rather myth, I suspect) that the sword was a gift from Pope Sixtus IV in 1475, after a victory for which Stephen was dubbed Athleta Christi. I have not seen any actual source cited for this claim. Another claim, which does rest on documentary evidence, is that Stephen once ordered a sword (or swords?) from the Genoese, who maintained trading posts in Moldavia. This is cited in a Romanian article by Carol König, "Armamentul din dotarea oastei Moldovei în timpul domniei lui Stefan Cel Mare (1457-1504)." There is apparently nothing to directly link the existing sword to this request, and I think the Transylvanian origin remains the most plausible explanation.

- Mark

The sword of Stephen the Great is preserved in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, along with two others of exactly the same type that surely come from the same workshop. On one of these the pommel medallions are intact and show the coat of arms of Moldavia and a partitioned device showing a barry field and a cross above a crescent (when viewed with the sword point up). This combination is very similar to coins issued in the earlier part of Stephen's reign, which differ only in having a rose in place of the crescent. This might suggest that the sword can be dated to this period specifically. The barry field, double-cross, and roses all appear in Stephen's personal arms as later recorded.

I don't know if the cross-and-crescent variant was used by Stephen at some point in time, or perhaps by a close family member. Interestingly, a similar combination of a barry field with a crescent and star does appear in the arms of the Wallachian Drăculești, including Vlad the Impaler (see coin) and his father, Vlad II. The crescent takes the higher position, probably signifying their subservience to the Ottomans.

- Mark

The Topkapi holds one other Moldavian sword, with a very similar hilt but different blade. The pommel medallions show the Moldavian aurochs, but without the accompanying star, crescent, and rose, and on the other side the arms of the house of Dragoș (Hungarian: Drágffy), descended from the first voivode of Moldavia in the 14th century. Stephen the Great's son Alexander was married to the daughter of Bartholomew Drágffy, who was count of the Székelys (1479-88) and voivode of Transylvania (1493-98).

The simplified Moldavian arms might refer to Stephen's predecessor as ruler of Moldavia, and the blade also appears to be older and simpler, with a single fuller. According to David Alexander, it carries marks in the shape of a unicorn and another quadruped, presumably a wolf. This combination occurs on many German swords of the 14th and 15th centuries.

- Mark

Mark, thank you for this very detailed anwer. I have a few observations/addendums to make, but that may take a bit. Let me just start with these:

1 - Stephen the Great's request for a sword to the Genoese.
Please find attached (the parper you mentione above): "Armamentul din dotarea oastei Moldovei in timpul domniei lui Stefan cel Mare (1457 - 1504) by Carol W. König". In it we learn of a book by Romanian historian, Nicolae Iorga (Acte și fragmente cu privire la istoria românilor adunate din depozitele de manuscrise ale Apusului, Volum 3, 1897), where we find the text regarding Stephen's request towards Gregorio de Reza (Genoese consul at Caffa, Crimea) about comissioning sword from Genoese makers. I chose to look at Iorga's text, because König's version is slightly modified.
Acte și fragmente cu privire la istoria românilor adunate din depozitele de manuscrise ale Apusului - Neculai Iorga
König's version is "una spada a la facione valachesca"
Iorga's version is "una spada ala facione velachesca"

The text from Iorga at pages 42-43 is:

"Genoa 18th of January 1468, Gregorio de Reza's request for reprisals,
Ihesus MCCCCLXVIII, die XV{I}II Ianuarii
Suplicatur coram magnifficensiis vestris, parte devoti vestri civis servitoris Gregorii de Reza. Le vostre magnificencie den saver como fomo electi in lo consulato de Caffa, meser Zoane de la Cabella, meser Calocio de Guizolfo e mi, e in l'ano de MCCCCLXIIII partimo de qui per andar in [Caffa] en andamo a ferir in Ihuihavia, dove [ci ri]trovamo cum Steffano Vaivoda, segnior de [la] Velachia-Bassa, alo quale prezentamo [molte] belle cosse, in le qualle era um bello {missing text, tear} baselardo dorato. El dicto Vaivoda ne p[rego] che volesemo cometer qui a Zenoa una spada ala facione velachesca; li respozemo, volentera la cometeremo, ma, perche Zenoa era monto lonzi da quelie parte, se si tosto non ne fose mandata, la soa segnoria dovesse aver paciencia. Subito scripsi mi a Christoforo campanario, lo qualle..."

Iorga's book can be found here: http://dspace.bcu-iasi.ro/handle/123456789/15468

Note: the text also says "um bello {missing text} baselardo dorato". Baselardo, as in baserald dagger? In "Princeps omni laude maior. O istorie a lui Ștefan cel Mare by Maria Magdalena Székely & Ștefan S. Gorovei" it is taken as mace/buzdugan, but that should be "mazza".

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How did the swords end-up in Ottoman hands.

Well, the only info that I found was in "Cronici turceşti privind Ţările Române : Extrase. Volumul 1: Sec. XV – mijlocul sec. XVII" by Guboglu, Mihail & Mehmet, Mustafa 1966, page 270 (https://www.scribd.com/document/1224...e-Romane-Vol-1), the period source is Celālzāde Mustafa Çelebi’s chronicle "Tabakātu’ l-Memālik ve Derecātu’ l-Mesālik".

The basic idea is this:
In 1538 Suleiman I the Magnificent entered the city of Suceava, Moldova with his army. Voivode Petru Rares, to protect his wealth, buried it somewhere in Suceava, then fled. Suleiman finds out about this and orders Husein-aga to look for it. Husein-aga starts digging and eventually finds it. Among the treasures were "...swords encrusted with precious stones, German swords, very narrow swords with sharp points...". I have attached the excerpt below.

Brilliant! I had König's paper on hand, but could not trace the references any further. It's great to have the full text available.

Here is another example of what might have been called a sword a la facione Velachesca - from the history museum in Brașov, one of the Saxon towns of Transylvania. It dates probably to the late 15th or early 16th century. It is a classic example of Aleksic's subtype XXb: two-handed swords with broad, spatulate blades, having many fullers at the base. Blades of this kind can be found further west in Germany and Italy, but very many have hilts with squarish pommels and S-shaped quillons, which are particularly associated with the kingdom of Hungary. An example of this blade type can be seen in a Tyrolean painting, c. 1480.

https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/e...ork/jpxegN3GJ7

The square boss on an oblong pommel is another feature that seems to be almost exclusively Eastern European - I'll write about this separately. A maker's mark can be seen on the pommel of the Brașov sword, which is also quite unusual.

- Mark

And people keep finding them...

http://strefahistorii.pl/article/496...wisku-w-polsce
http://ezamosc.pl/region/item/505-sr...eziony-w-ziemi

Also these two: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...&postcount=118

Regarding the second sword, with Stephen's coat of arms, and your observations:
- the aurochs head coat of arms is pretty typical for Moldova of that period. Agreed, here are some other Moldovan coins from earlier periods.
- the shield with half stripes is also common. Agreed.
- the crescent moon and star/sun... One probable reason would be Stephen's victory over Radu the Handsome of Wallachia (a Draculescu himself) in 1473, battle during which his daughters were taken prisoners. In 1480 Stephen actually marries the youngest of them, Maria Voichiţa, which becomes his third wife.

The problem is regarding the dates He marries her in 1480, yet the coins change the coat of arms from 1480 to something else. I base this on the coins you posted. So, this is puzzling.

A few thoughts on the Basarab dinasty coat of arms (of which the Draculesti and Danesti where branches). According to "Basarabii Valahiei, studiu heraldic si genealogic" 2017 by Tiberiu Frăţilă-Felmer, the shield coat of arms with the sun and crescent moon start with Vladislav II of Wallachia and linked with his raids of Transylvania in 1456. The position of these two elements change according with his political needs. See bellow the papers hypotesized cronology of Basarab heraldry. Coincidentaly, the last time it was used was in 1480 by Basarab IV.

Paper in english here:
https://www.academia.edu/30095489/Ba..._and_genealogy

Oh, and a few fun facts.
- this guy, Balassa Menyhért (Hungarian) also has an aurochs on his coat of arms. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...5&postcount=27
- I wonder if Poland-Lithuania might also be a source for that shield coat of arms. I don't think it's likely but look here:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/C...arnenczyka.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/C...int_768761.jpg

A few more multi-fullered blades:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...9&postcount=62
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...0&postcount=63

The Russian article that I pulled the images of Stephen's coins is here... maybe they say something about the change? I didn't translate the text.

I was reading this too while writing my earlier posts. Surprised to see that the colours of Vlad Dracula's arms are not really known? Many sites claim the Draculesti arms were blue/red/gold, but I don't see what this is based on and the Basarab green/gold bars seem most logical.

The gold double-cross on a blue field belonged to the Polish Jagiellons, and Stephen was a Polish vassal - I don't know if there was a marital link as well. According to the Russian article, the double-cross first appeared on coins of Stephen II (r. 1434-47). Stephen and his family seem to have acquired the French lilies (later modified to a single double-headed lily) from the Angevin kings of Hungary, who divided their arms with the red/white bars of Árpád.

Yes, these are good examples of this distinctive style of disc pommel with a square boss. The museum in Bucharest has at least five of them, judging from the photos I have seen.

The one I have picked out shares many features with the sword from Brașov, as does another exhibited in Ukraine: the blade is type XXb and the quillons taper towards a distinctive central block. The combination is quite distinctive, and probably these swords were made by Transylvanian Saxons. A loose pommel of this type comes from Haragîș, Moldova.

One sword of this type was recently acquired by a fellow forum member, and is discussed here: http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=22279. The hilt is very similar, but the blade has a single fuller, as do several of the swords in Bucharest. Its provenance is not known, but I think it can be safely grouped with the others.

Another unique example of a square pommel boss is the sword of King Sigismund the Old of Poland, dated c. 1520.

More info on Moldovan swords at Topkapı Sarayı, Istambul. Looking through Carol König's paper I noticed that thee were 3 swords with multi-fullered blades. The sword with a single fuller and Dragos's coat of arms is missing. Which meant that there were 4 Moldovan swordst the palace. So I remembered that there is an older source in regarding these swords. "Buletinul Comisiunii Monumentelor Istorice 1935 anul XXVIII" contains the article "Odoare romăneşti la Stambul" by Emil Vârtosu. I posted it here for convenience (in Romanian), but the short version is this:

There are 3 Moldovan swords, in Fig.17, from left to right:

- 2635, the one with Dragos's coat of arms. No crosses, but a finely engraved sigil on the blade. Total length 126cm. It also mentions of a similar coat of arms of Bogdan I copied during the 15th century, residing at the Romanian Academi, ms. 5219. I have to look into that.

- 2636, Stephen's sword, with 4 crosses engraved on both sides of the blade the blade. Total length 125cm.

- 2637, the one with the aurochs & striped-shield coat of arms, 4 crosses engraved on both sides of the blade. Total length 126-127cm.

Other candidates:

- 2638, identical guard, and general shape to 2636 and 2367, same 4 crosses engraved. Pommel deteriorated, coat of arms discs on the pommel - missing. Total length 128-129cm.

- 2639, pommel deteriorated, no coat of arms, bent guard, 3 cosses instead of 4 but of similar placements. Total length 151cm.

- 2633 and 2343, similar guards as 2635's, finely engraved sigil on the blade. Coat of arms discs on the pommel - missing.

Note:
- the author likens the crosses to Maltese ones. Don't remember seeing goob photos of them on the originals, but on this gift replica given by the Turkish state to the Muzeul Manastirii Putna Romania (last photo).
- Konig's picture seems to be of 2638, 2636 & 2637 (left to right).

Of course, this article is old, and we would need some quality pictures of these additional swords to decide, although I think 2638 is probably from the same workshop as 2636 and 2637.

Source: https://patrimoniu.ro/images/BCMI/Bu...nul-XXVIII.pdf

Great! Helpful photos for comparison. So much information to find in old articles - thanks for sharing. Probably the most comprehensive piece in English is David Alexander's two-part "European swords in the collections of Istanbul", in Waffen- und Kostümkunde (1985 and 1987). I do not think it is available online. I can share some images but the quality is not good.

Here are photos of the four-crosses mark on three of the four Moldavian swords. I think a common origin can be safely assumed.

No. 2639 has a type XXb blade, while the hilt has stereotypical Hungarian features: recurved quillons and squarish pommel. The marks on it are a little different: two thick crosses, and between them what seems to be an Italianate "twig" or knot mark. This thread is useful for comparison. Later I will share some examples that have more clearly Italian markings.

No. 2643 has the same type of hilt and is of more typical proportions. I will add also no. 2634, which appears to be another XXb, but the style of hilt is one very common in Germany at this time. The guards of both of these are covered in silver foil, which seems to be a Hungarian/Transylvanian trend. These and a number of other similar and contemporary swords are generally assumed to have been taken from Hungary by the Ottomans after the Battle of Mohacs (1526).

- Mark

I was already intending to post about no. 2633 next, as it has some other different but distinct features. The pommel is generally similar to previous examples, but octagonal instead of square. The guard is also silvered, and includes a tubular "rainguard" around the base of the blade. This can also be seen on the Dragoș sword. Alexander suggests this is another typical feature of Southeastern European swords (though it is not exclusively so). There is a coat-of-arms on the blade, half of bars (difficult to make out in photo) and half of teeth(?), which might refer to the house of Báthory.

One more sword with typical East European features. Not sure where I got this pic from. Multiple fullers (very similar to those on Stephen's, although a bit wavy). S-guard associated with the Kingdom of Hungary. Square-ish pommel.

More frescos from Dobromir the painter (before 1526) - church of the Argeș monastery, Wallachia. Triple fullers. http://clasate.cimec.ro/detaliu.asp?...08BEAC98E52292
http://clasate.cimec.ro/detaliu.asp?...1226B3B7C78102
http://clasate.cimec.ro/Detaliu_en.a...35AEC4ECF786F3
http://clasate.cimec.ro/Detaliu_en.a...E7A44BF19C41C7
http://clasate.cimec.ro/detaliu.asp?...60C3C0518072E4
http://clasate.cimec.ro/detaliu.asp?...65AFDBAC6AAD6C
http://clasate.cimec.ro/detaliu.asp?...9EA588D0529B3A
http://clasate.cimec.ro/Detaliu.asp?...78465BEFE65A33

The church of the Argeș monastery, founded by ruler Neagoe Basarab and Despina, was consecrated with great pomp on August 15, 1517. On this date, the monastic buildings were not finished either, the church being unpainted. The painting of the monument will be done during the reign of Radu de la Afumați (1522/1523 – 1524/1529) married to Neagoe's daughter, Roxanda, finishing in 1526, as the painted picture in the porch informs us. The text of the writing also tells us that the delay in the execution of the painting was due to the wars with the Turks, and it was completed on September 10. 1526 by Dobromir, at the urging of Mrs. Despina.

I found it! Source is here, the sword is in the Jósa András Museum, in Hungary. Very typical features overall, though the fuller arrangement (like the Moldavian swords) is not quite the norm - this is nitpicking though. This kind of roughly octagonal pommel, often very irregular in shape, is a common alternative/variant of the more strictly square and "cat's head" pommels. Aleksic classifies them as subtype Z2, and dates them to approximately the late 14th to mid 15th century. They also appear quite often on Hungarian sabers of this period, like these two examples from the National Museum in Budapest.

One more example with S-quillons. https://mandadb.hu/tetel/577309/Kardtoredek

Here is another distinctive sword in the Hungarian National Museum. The oblong octagonal pommel is similar to previous examples, but of higher quality with an inset emblem (possibly a coin?). The blade is again type XXb. The quillons have extended from an S-shape to a closed figure-8. Probably this coincides with the development of the famous German katzbalgers in the 16th century. The hilt has another cuff-like metal "rainguard" as seen on other presumably Hungarian swords posted above.



Attachment 225108

The museum has another very similar but much plainer example.
Attachment 225110

An overall very similar sword comes from the Dresden Armoury. The multi-fullered blade is stamped with distinctive knot-like marks that suggest an Italian origin, perhaps Belluno specifically. The marks on the first sword are likewise Italian in style.

Attachment 225109
Attachment 225111

A painting of c. 1505-15 in the Museum of Lower Austria shows a very similar sword (only a different pommel), and of course figure-8 guards are well-documented in Germany in this period. The painting and the Dresden sword have quillons which end in distinct knobs, which is seen in many other German artworks. These are absent in the two Hungarian swords, so perhaps this is a regional peculiarity within the international trend.


Attachment 225112

Excellent finds Mark!
I can agree that the knob-ends on the quillons seem to be a germanic trait (Austrian to be more precise).
The last sword has some very interesting fullers. Namely, 3-4 fullers, very narrow, very close together. This type of fullers will become quite common on sabre/dusack and backsword blades (of Austrian or North Italian manufacture) later on. Checkout these two Hungarian sabres, my guess from the 1550s to the 1590s. Also notice the gold wire wrap, another common trait on these mid-to-late 16th century Hungarian (and sometimes Polish) sabres. Makes me wonder if the wire wrap on the first sword you posted is a later addition.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...9&postcount=39
https://skd-online-collection.skd.mu...s/Index/284576

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I found this one, but can't get mo info on it.
https://www.pius-kirchgessner.de/05_...e/Petrus_2.htm

Attachment 225125

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One thing that puzzles me is the lack of one-handed examples, other than those on Dobromir's frescos.

St Paul. C. 1465. Painting on Swiss stone pine. By Michael Pacher (ca. 1435-1498). https://www.alamy.de/st-paul-c-1465-...8&searchtype=0

Blade looks like a candidate but the rest...not so much.

Saint Paul. Woodcut, c1530, by Hans Sebald Beham. Very poor detailing unfortunately.

I think this is possible - here is another sword in the same museum, overall rather different, but the grip is so similar. According to descriptions, the date of 1523 is inscribed somewhere on the fittings. The quillons are another variant of the S-curve, very broad and ribbon-like, with a number of international parallels in the 16th century - a topic for later.

Attachment 225208


I can't add anything specific, I don't see any references on that page... Will just say that this and Sebald Beham's woodcut show features that are very common in Germany around this time, long, straight or curved quillons with knobby terminals, various forms of "scentstopper" pommels, or disc pommels, and semi-circular, flap-like rainguards. I hadn't seen the woodcut before, so it's interesting to see what seems to be the multi-fullered blade... good to show and remember how these features are never exclusive to one region, no matter how they might seem stereotypically "Hungarian" or whatever.

There are some, I will share another day. Mostly from further south, around Bosnia and Serbia. The sabers and large swords really do predominate within Hungary/Transylvania apparently.

That last sword with gold wire wrap is even more interesting. Other than the wrap being reminiscent of later sabres, this one also has "sabre-like" scabbard fitting. Checkout these scabbards.
The
Attachment 225210Attachment 225214Attachment 225212Attachment 225213
=========================

The main altar at the church St. Johannes und St. Martin in Schwabach. Finished in 1508. Another example that these multi-fullered blades were quite widespread, local details being more in the hilt.
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwabacher_Altar
Attachment 225209

https://www.willhaben.at/iad/kaufen-...ert-645496344/
82cm blade

Found it! Kirche St. Peter und Paul in Heinfels, Austria https://www.heinfels.at/kirche-st--peter---paul.html

Yes, very similar! I am not very knowledgeable about sabers and post-medieval swords, so I didn't make this connection.

I think this one is one is quite interesting because it also seems to show cuff-shaped rainguard, integrated into the hilt, like several of the Hungarian swords


This one seems to have circulated through several auction houses, here is one instance: https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-50...ssummary&lid=1

This one I am more dubious about, some proportions of the hilt seem off to me...

To follow up on my earlier post on examples with Italian makers' marks, another important example is this one in Toronto, which I have seen in person. It was donated to the Mamluk armoury in Alexandria in 1436-37, giving a firm reference point for the earliest appearance of blades of this type.