Taken from Hermann Historica.
A two-handed sword from the Battle of Castillon in 1453.
The blade is presumably German, the hilt English. Long, slender, double-edged heavy blade with a mid-ridge. There is a running wolf inlaid in brass on both sides in the upper quarter of the blade as well as a divided
shield. Cross hilt with straight, ridged quillons, round in
cross-section, edged in the centre, and lightly shaped toward the point (with organic remnants of the leather scabbard on the undersides). Spherical finials. Pear shaped, facetted pommel with remnants of the iron grip fastenings (braided ferrules). Total length 145.5 cm, blade length 110 cm. Greatest width of blade 5.5 cm. Length of the tang 25 cm. Dark-brown, blackish river patina in the form of Goethite (hydrated iron oxide). The material is in remarkably good condition, with damage restricted to the vicinity of the point. Curatorial protective cover of paraloid.
Provenance: Dordogne or Lidoire in the vicinity of Castillon-la-Bataille. Altogether, there have been 80 alleged medieval swords found at this spot.
The Battle of Castillon on 17 July 1453 ended the so-called "Hundred Years' War" between France and England. On 17 July, the 60 year old English commander, Talbot, ordered the assault on the French position south of Castillon, after he had received false information that the enemy was pulling back and that an epidemic had broken out in the camp. However, the English attack failed, Talbot and his son were killed, and those left alive attempted to escape in panic-stricken flight.
Cf. E.
Oakeshott, "A river-find of 15th century swords", in Blankwaffen - Festschrift Hugo Schneider zum 65. Geburtstag 1982 (the type corresponds to No. 16) as well as L. Thompson in "The sword treasure trove" in Man at Arms, Lincoln USA, August 1997.
Only one other two-handed sword exists from this group, and it is now in the Tower Collection.
Cf. two other swords from this group, Hermann Historica Auction 35, 23 October 1997, lot 1146, and Auction 38, 28 October 1999, lot 819.
Condition: II Limit: 15000 EURO
Währungsrechner / Currency converter
Zuschlag 43000 EURO
For images:
http://www.hermann-historica.de/auktion/images50_gr/49580.jpg
It seems to me that this sword is not one of those in the original post.
Arma Bohemia based their EP 50 on this one.
For images:
http://www.armabohemia.cz/imgnew/epees/epees/n45v2.jpg and
http://www.armabohemia.cz/imgnew/epees/epees/n45v.jpg
There are some differences:
Total length: 147.1 cm (145.5)
Blade length: 114.8 cm (110)
Greatest width of blade 4.1 cm (5.5)
Length of tang 24.5 cm (25)
Point of balance: 8.8 cm
The quillons are ridged and the ends of them are not just round but have eight facets (as the pommel). The pommel is off, it is clearly not pear shaped and the grip on mine has an extra riser at 15 cm from the cross. The leather of the grip is black and the seam does not overlap, it is clearly visible.
Arma Bohemia differentiates between an exact copy, they've handled the original and a copy, in that case their reproduction is just from pictures. The EP 50 is a copy, so you can't blame them for the differences. What surprises me is that the quillons are ridged and the ends of them are eight facetted, something which I can't see on the pictures while the shape of the pommel is apparent and they don't get it. Compared to two other two-handed swords I've handled, this one feels heavy in my hands and you have to make it move. It doesn't respond easily but that's something you get used to if you train regularly with it, but if you leave it for a while ... Maybe if the blade width was closer to the original, it would change the mass distribution and make the blade more responsive, but I'm no bladesmith and neither do I know if the dimensions given by Hermann Historica are correct. If I knew how to measure pictures with a computer program, but I don't ...