MEDIEVAL IRON SWORD WITH INLAID PATTERN ON BLADE

Ca. 1300-1350 AD. Medieval Western Europe. A beautiful forged Oakeshott type XIIa.1 longsword with a short grip and a flat disc pommel. The crossguard is lenticular. The taper straight arms are slightly "waisted" and flare back to their original width at the terminal. The blade is decorated with inlaid patterns. The High Middle Ages saw swordsmiths develop new types of blades to combat the ever-increasing usage of plate armour. Against these defences, early-styled swords with light, flat cutting blades lost much of their effectiveness. Warriors and craftsmen of the day saw the need for more acutely pointed blades with cross-sections reinforced for thrusting. Mounted on a custom-made stand. Excellent condition. For more information on Medieval swords, see Oakeshott, R. Ewart (1998). Records of the medieval sword. Boydell Press. Size: L:975mm / W:155mm ; 1.1kg. Provenance: Property of a European collector. Formerly in the collection of Earl Mitchell, London 1990s.