A "short" cruciform sword from Oakeshott's ROTMS -- myArmoury.com

Sean A. Garrison

Good afternoon.

I am not sure where I saw stats and info on this particular sword; it may have been from an Oakeshott article that appeared in The Gun Report magazine, or in an early edition of his Records of the Medieval Sword.

It was a cruciform arming sword with a very short blade. Not a huge baselard, but a traditional arming sword that had been made with a short blade or had been reworked after a catastrophic break.

Does anyone have any information on this particular weapon? I haven't owned a copy of the book in over a decade.

Thank you in advance-

S. A. Garrison

Peter Johnsson · Industry Professional

Can you remember any details of how it looked? Overall shape? Pointy? Fuller? Sharp midrib? Guard shape? Pommel?

There are quite a few rather small swords surviving and I think Oakeshott wrote about several of them.

Sean A. Garrison · Posted: Wed 20 Jan, 2010 3:06 pm Post subject:

Thank you for your time, Mr. Johnsson-

If memory serves it was a type Xa or a type X1a. Straight cross, wheel pommel and with the classic pre-estoc dual-purpose point.

I am interested in any short-bladed arming swords with a total length under 35".

-S. Garrison

Luka Borscak · Posted: Wed 20 Jan, 2010 3:47 pm Post subject:

I know the sword you are talking about but I'll have my ROTMS in hands on friday. If you'll still need info, I'll post what's in the book then.

Sean A. Garrison · Posted: Wed 20 Jan, 2010 3:53 pm Post subject:

I was beginning to think I had imagined this. I have had two people leafing through the book all day and they simply cannot find it. It's the only surviving "short sword" from the High Middle Ages that I have ever seen.

Thank you so much.

Luka Borscak · Posted: Wed 20 Jan, 2010 4:00 pm Post subject:

I think I remember it's a Xa and has 66cm long blade, but I'm not 100% sure. Oakeshott said, I think, that although some think it's a shortened normal sword after breaking he thinks it was made that short because he thinks it's balanced prefectly as short as it is.

J.D. Crawford · Posted: Wed 20 Jan, 2010 4:54 pm Post subject:

I think you are talking about X12 on page 31.

-Glasgow Museum
-Found in Northumberland England
-Blade length 26"(66CM)
-Disk Pommel
-Straight Cross
-Blade inscribed with BO'AC

Oakeshott says he thinks the sword was always intended to be short, because it seems properly balanced, although others had speculated that it might have been cut down from a longer sword. There is also an article that talks about the inscription in appendix B of the book.

Was there anything more specific you wanted to know?

Sean A. Garrison · Posted: Thu 21 Jan, 2010 5:28 am Post subject:

That's the one.

Thanks, guys.

Does anybody know of any other museum piece like the one under discussion?

Luka Borscak · Posted: Thu 21 Jan, 2010 6:15 am Post subject:

There are two viking shortswords in the Swords of the Viking Age by Pierce with 63 and 64cm long blades, types O and U.