A blade for coments; old, early, or very early

Lee · 29th July 2010, 04:38 PM

The form is unfamiliar to me, so I have been leafing through the library, perhaps with some success. The full length tang, tang button and the blade widening in its distal half are all somewhat unusual features.

Dr. Hoffmeyer shows a similar form of blade in Arms & Armour in Spain on p. 85 of v. 1 that was found in the Visigothic necropolis at Simancas (now in a museum at Valladolid) and identifies these as a particular knife-dagger form worn by Hispano-Romans in the 4th to 5th centuries. She notes also that it "is difficult to find parallels to this type in other regions."

Considering the find place, I greatly favor this attribution over a worn down medieval working knife on which the long tang would be very much less expected - so, a very nice find indeed!

I have included the drawing from Dr. Hoffmeyer below:

Matchlock · 29th July 2010, 05:53 PM

Hi Fernando,

The little nail-head shaped pommel reminds me of Roman or Celtic swords and daggers. Apart from that I agree with Lee's arguments.

Best,
Michl

29th July 2010, 04:38 PM	#1
Lee EAAF Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 993	Hispano-Roman 4th to 5th century Knife-Dagger The form is unfamiliar to me, so I have been leafing through the library, perhaps with some success. The full length tang, tang button and the blade widening in its distal half are all somewhat unusual features. Dr. Hoffmeyer shows a similar form of blade in Arms & Armour in Spain on p. 85 of v. 1 that was found in the Visigothic necropolis at Simancas (now in a museum at Valladolid) and identifies these as a particular knife-dagger form worn by Hispano-Romans in the 4th to 5th centuries. She notes also that it "is difficult to find parallels to this type in other regions." Considering the find place, I greatly favor this attribution over a worn down medieval working knife on which the long tang would be very much less expected - so, a very nice find indeed! I have included the drawing from Dr. Hoffmeyer below: Attached Images

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

29th July 2010, 05:53 PM	#2
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi Fernando, The little nail-head shaped pommel reminds me of Roman or Celtic swords and daggers. Apart from that I agree with Lee's arguments. Best, Michl