When looking at the Maciejowski Bible one of the most noticeable features of the swords is that the majority appear to have bronze guards and pommels. Surviving swords from the 13th century almost all have steel hilt furniture from what I have seen and heard. Were the artists of the Maciejowski Bible just exercising a little artistic liscense like where swords are shown cleaving straight though helm, coif, and skull?

I also noticed that in the portrayal of Goliath on leaf 28, his massive sword has a 5- lobed pommel as seen on many viking-era swords and again, seems to have bronze guard and pommel. The plates with Goliath on them are well known because he is wearing plate greaves, so I think it is interesting that Goliath is shown with ahead-of-his-time leg defenses and a sword with a very old-fashioned pommel.

Anyone have any thoughts on these things?

Thanks for the feedback. I agree about the guilding or commissioner's preference and a spherical pommel does make more sense on Goliath's sword. I thought the lobes were just ill-defined when I looked at it.

I know this is straying off topic but how exaggerated do you think the cleaving through helm, coif, and skull is? In Usamah ibn-Munqidh's first hand account of the crusades he tells of several instances where swords had cleaved a man in half or hacked him from his shoulder down to his saddle. I realize a mail shirt and bone isn't as tough as a helm, bone, and mail but isn't it plausible that a sword could do that, maybe not as frequently as the Maciejowski Bible but do you think it happened occasionally? Escpecially a nice falchion? Just wondering how far a sword really could cleave.

-James