14th Century Hand-and-a-Half Sword

An imposingly large hand-and-a-half sword or longsword, probably of the late-14th century. The precise origin of this European sword is unknown, but from the markings it is likely to be German or possibly Italian. It found its way into the Arsenal of Alexandria either as a diplomatic gift, war booty or as a tribute object from the Kingdom of Cyprus to the Sultanate of Egypt, where it was inscribed with Arabic text. From there it made its way into at least one private collection, before subsequently being acquired by the Royal Armouries. This big knightly sword features a broad and powerful Oakeshott Type XVIa blade of 38 inches. This is quite a heavy sword by the standards of the day, due to the length and breadth of the blade, but is wonderfully balanced thanks to the distal taper, long grip and large pommel. Similar swords to this can be seen extensively in late-14th and early-15th century art, including manuscripts and also knightly effigies and brasses. Such swords were popular at this time all over Europe, from England to Italy, from Portugal to Poland, and they are featured in a number of contemporary fighting treatises like Fior di Battaglia by Fiore delli Liberi (1410). They were used on foot and mounted, in armour and unarmoured, with one hand or two-handed. This example is an especially powerful cutting weapon and less specialised to the thrust than some other longswords of the time. Our replica closely matches the original in all aspects of form, measurements and manufacture.