Oakeshott Type XIIIa Medieval Bastard Sword of the 1300s

[Jack Loomes]

Date: circa 1300 — 1400

Period: early 14th Century

Description: Hand-and-a-half war sword or bastard sword. Type XIIIA. Broad, oval wheel pommel, the central boss rectngular in shape and cut breadthwise with two deep parallel grooves. No rivet button. The whole pommel is very flat, and light seeming. Long tang covered with 19th century grip, obviously made at the same time and for the same collection as HEN.M.188-1933. Long straight cross of hexagonal section, widening a little toward the tips. There appear to be traces of some sort of plating on the pommel and the cross, of ? silver or ? tin. Blade of flat hexagonal section with a narrow rather shallow fuller running some one-third of the length. This fuller on one side runs up under the mid-part of the cross, and the other stops about 3 cm short of it. Fairly sharp point.

Production Place (legacy): Europe, production, continent

Production Note(s): Western European

There is a very strange patination on this blade, showing that it has corroded in contact with something wrinkled, like fabric. This is strongly suggested by a band about 2" wide where it has clearly been wrapped round by a strip of woven material, maybe a belt? It does not look as if it has been in a scabbard.

Technique(s): casting (process); whole plated; pommel

Material(s): steel; whole leather; bound tang silver; plating; or tin

Technique Description: sword, cast, with traces of plating on the pommel

Dimension(s): length, whole, 114.5, cm length, blade, 89.0, cm width, blade at hilt, 4.0, cm length, tang, 29.5, cm, width, cross, 20.0, cm
weight, whole, 1.40, kg

Acquisition: bequeathed; 1933-03-16; Henderson, James Stewart

Provenance: Sold at the Helbing Gallery in Munich 1908

Inscription: mark; both sides of blade; inlaid; made at a later date

Accession: Object Number: HEN.M.187-1933 (Applied Arts)(record id: 18824; input: 2001-01-25; modified: 2011-12-02)

Permanent Identifier: data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/18830

For more information on Oakeshott Type XIIIa Swords see this extract from Ewart Oakeshott's Records of the Medieval Sword: sword-site.com/thread/152/oakeshott-xiiib-records-medieval-sword

Source: www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explorer/index.php?qu=sword%20OR%20pommel&oid=18830