Holy Roman Empire 14th Century Longsword, licensed by the Royal Armouries

If this sword looks familiar, it should. This sword is of the same type as the famous sword that most scholars have agreed belonged to Edward IV, the Black Prince. The original, designated as IX.1106 by the Royal Armouries, is a mid-to-late 14th century knightly longsword, found in Lake Constance, where Austria, Germany and Switzerland meet. This sword features a stiff tapered blade, which is double- edged and straight, with an acute tip. It has a hand-and-a-half hilt, which could be used one or two handed, and an imposingly large wheel pommel. This sword is of notably robust proportions overall and is rather heavy (1775g) compared to most longswords of this size, the blade being very thick in the spine for its whole length, and the large pommel counterbalancing it. The blade is of a simple flatted diamond cross-section, but the pommel has some complex and subtle shaping, with the front and back planes uniquely canted inward at the top. This sword would have been used principally by armored men-at-arms and knights, usually one-handed on horseback or two-handed on foot. Swords like this were being used all over Europe in the second half of the 14th century and would have been familiar to fencing masters like Fiore dei Liberi and used at battles like Sempach in 1386. This sword seems quite specialized to armored combat and halfswording (gripping the blade with one hand), due to the notable stiffness and mass of the blade. The edge geometry is quite obtuse, but the blade has a lot of presence in the strike. Equally, the weighty pommel could be used with good effect to strike in close combat. More information...