Posts: 1,757 Location: Storvreta, Sweden
Wed 05 Dec, 2012 5:23 am
One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot really apply a typology for medieval swords to classify modern swords.
-Unless of course the modern sword is made closely after the example of one or several old swords. Then the modern sword complies to a typology only to the extent that it is faithful to its ancient counterparts.
A modern film prop sword may very superficially look like a type XVIa, an XVIIIc or b, but it is far from anything like the original swords.
It is common to see modern swords being classified according to
Oakeshotts typology. I think this is a mistake.
Oakeshott never meant his typology to be a design concept or a system that fully defined historical swords.
You can make a sword today that follows the criteria of a typology, but may still be very far from what the historical sword of the type are like. There are many elements of medieval swords that are critical to their function, form and aesthetic character that are not even mentioned in typologies.
Swords made as props for films are very rarely designed with any real interest in historical authenticity. They are only made to tell a story in an effective way. If the story is about facing overwhelming odds, suffering pain and fighting inner doubts while rolling around in mud, a historical sword is not really part of the deal.
;-)
In the late 13th century there was a development of bigger forms of swords. This trend had started earlier in the century, but they did not get this big until the later half, as I understand it.
Such big swords tend to be of type XIIa or type XIII.