I had a business trip to Paris last week for two days of meetings with a customer. As things worked out, we ended up going through the entire agenda in one long day. So, I had the next day pretty much to myself, and decided to run down to the Louvre, since I had never actually been inside. I was looking forward to seeing the Mona Lisa (which was a mob scene), the Venus de Milo, and some other pieces.

I had always associated the Louvre with paintings and sculpture, so was not really thinking about arms and armour. However, I stumbled across a piece that was attributed to Charlemagne. I do not yet know as much as I would like about swords in general, but it seems to me that this blade does not look at all like something from the time of Charlemagne, circa 800AD. I looks like a lenticular cross-section, with no fuller. I would appreciate information and/or comments that any of you may have on the provenance of this piece.

Sorry about the quality of the pictures, but this was as good as I could get with my little digital, and the way in which the piece was exhibited.

Steve Grisetti

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You aren't the first person to suspect that the sword is much younger than Charlemagne. http://www.myArmoury.com/feature_charlemagne.html

The incredible sword you have pictured there is actually a coronation sword from some time around the 12th century (Swords and hilt weapons page 37). I dont know the exact date but I could look it up. Another earlier sword of Charlemagne is from the ninth century and resembles near eastern swords, displaying an angled grip and a slightly curved blade. It is equally impressive. I'm not sure if either sword was actually owned by Charlemagne but it is possible, after all he was a Holy Roman Emperor that had influence across the european continent and I'm sure the swords have been embellished throughout the years with new trendy hardware.

Don

(Insert Snarky Comment about Museums misleading the public for tha sake of hype)