Beschreibung:

Medieval Hand-and-a-Half Long Sword with Heart and H Maker's Marks Late 13th-early 15th century AD A beautifully balanced hand-and-a-half sword of Oakeshott Type XIIa with double-edged blade, long central fuller with damascened maker's marks, one a pierced heart and the other a letter 'H'; crossguard variant of style 1, long tapering tang with compressed chamfered wheel pommel. 1.6 kg, 1.11m (44"). Fine condition. Provenance From a 1980s collection, acquired by the vendor’s family; thence by descent; accompanied by an academic report by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato Literature See Oakeshott, E., Records of the Medieval Sword, Woodbridge, 1991; Oakeshott, E., The sword in the Age of the Chivalry, Woodbridge, 1964 (1994); Oakeshott, E., Sword in hand, London, 2001; for a similar sword from the Alexandria Arsenal, see Oakeshott, 1991, p. 92, dated 1350-1400 AD; two very similar specimens sold at Bonhams, Antique Arms and Armour, including items from the Dr. T.J. Mortimer Collection, Wednesday 30 November 2016, Knightsbridge, London, 2016, pp. 85-86; see also Gillot, C., Armes & Armures/Weapons and Armours, Bayeux, 2008, pp.128 & 131. Footnotes According to Oakeshott, the swords of typology XII were the most difficult to identify, for many swords of this category could be easily confused with the type X or even XVI, especially for the forms of their hilts. Originally Oakeshott excluded the hand-and-a-half length blades from this category, but after years of studies, he created a sub-category of XIIa, comprising the swords used with two hands.