Hello all,

Seeing a few posts from myArmoury on Facebook I was struck by the lovely type U pommel and cross on one piece, and then the thought occurred to me-- where had I seen that design before? Isn't there rather a strong resemblance between many of these type pommels?

Most notably there is this thread, though I have had issues doing a search on the website for more, I found it easier eventually to use Google 'site:myArmoury.com [so and so]'.

http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=13868


There are of course a few modern reproductions with this pommel type, the best known probably being the Albion Viceroy and the Arms and Armour English Longsword, though Mike Jia of Printed Armoury is producing a set of hilt fittings using this pommel type for Hanwei-Tinker bastard sword blades.

http://myArmoury.com/review_aa_els.html
https://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=303704

If you would like to see the myArmoury facebook page for the pictures that (I believe) Nathan posted, here:
https://www.facebook.com/myArmoury/

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Notably, from bottom to top (so to speak):

--The 'stem' of the pommel is generally squarish or hexagonal in section.
--There is a sharp transition from the 'stem' to the oval segment of the pommel.
-- A pronounced mid-rib is quite common as well; this is occasionally decorated with file-work.
--The lot of it culminates in a finial on top.

You can see this in the other 'Type U' thread as well:

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This next one is somewhat of a divergence as it does not have the sharp transition from stem to oval, but otherwise it follows the rest of the form:
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The guard designs also are very consistent throughout with these pommels-- generally a square section (turned so that the corners present themselves) or hexagonal, with a flat section in the middle where the blade goes through. There is more variation than with the pommels, though.

Seeing this striking consistency in general design, especially coupled with how it's not a very common design, I am tempted to wonder-- is this a sign that the majority of swords made in this manner have a very specific origin? Were they made in the same shop or by the same craftsman? Certainly not all were-- there is sufficient variation to show this. But there are quite a few here, that have extreme similarities (even down to the little bit of file-work at the edges where oval and stem join).

Share your thoughts! Or more pictures of this type, if you have any!

Arms and Armor also used this pommel on a few custom pieces, one is a German Tuck: http://www.arms-n-armor.com/custom913.html

The other is a hunting sword: http://www.arms-n-armor.com/custom918.html


I'm certain some day I'll have a Viceroy... :D

The hunting sword there has what seems to me to be a type V1 pommel... it lacks the pronounced and distinct lines that tend to be notable of type U pommels. It could certainly be viewed as an extreme outlier of the type, though.

http://myArmoury.com/feature_oakeshott3.html#pommelV1

Here's another photo. Circa 1480.

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Sword, circa 1480, with Type U pommel

And another tuck either modeled after the same tuck shown before or made by the same shop. Either way, it's in the same style.

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Another another Type U pommel on the cover of this book.

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Splendid pictures! Thank you! Do you have any thoughts on this phenomenon?

Here are a few more...

Held in Vienna, this ornate ceremonial sword was a gift from King Mathias Corvinus of Hungary to the city of Ragusa/Dubrovnik:
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(full size image here: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/KHM_Wien_A_141_-_Ceremonial_sword_of_the_Rector_of_the_Republic_of_Ragusa,_1466.jpg)

Also in Vienna is a sword given to the Emperor Maximilian upon his wedding to Bianca Sforza in 1494:
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Somewhat similar to the latter (more so in the form of the blade than the pommel) is another ceremonial sword held in Friuli, anachronistically attributed to the 14th c. patriarch Marquard of Randeck:
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Finally there is a another sword held by the Swiss Museum in Zurich:
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That is it indeed. I remember it from Oakeshott, Records I think. That strong mid-rib is definitely distinctive.

It would be so very interesting to create a page of some sort where one could compare and contrast sword fittings in terms of their historic and geographic context... not just the blades. Perhaps a futile exercise, but it would be lovely to have :)

In Niels Just Rasmussen's thread (I hope I spelled that right) regarding XVIIIe swords, there was posted a picture that has what appears to be a very thin type U pommel...

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Upon review however that appears to be identical to the one Mark Lewis posted above, am I wrong?

As the d) sword from Bruhn-Hoffmeyer's plate is a Zürich example, it is quite likely she didn't have any examples at hand from Nationalmuseet in Copenhagen; but I have discovered a Church-wall-painting from the late gothic art style period (1475-1550) of (perhaps?) that U-type sword pommel from a Danish church - Tuse Kirke on Zealand (Sjælland)!

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Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Tuse_kirke_20110312-15.jpg/1024px-Tuse_kirke_20110312-15.jpg
Look to the King.
Also two swords - the one the Herod is holding and the other the baby-stabber - with 90 degrees forward turned cross-guard ends and rain-guard.