[Julien M]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for later period bastard sword, featuring more intricate hilts.

As a reference, a typcial example of what I'm looking for would be the german bastard sword from arms and armor.

I'll provide the first one, held at the V&A (blackberry pictures unfortunately)

Don't hesitate to provide pictures!

Cheers,

J

Hand and a half sword, ca. 1510
(check this link for more information (very detailled including measurments: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O97450/hand-and-a/ )

[Julien M]

3 swords, from hermann historica past auctions, all german, all first half og the 16th century.

A-hand-and-a-half-sword

South German around 1520
Slender, double-edged blade of diamond section. There are two small, jagged smith's marks on one side of the blade forte. Straight quillons with grooved spiral decoration and grooved finials. Grooved pear-shaped pommel with engraved decorative lines. Grip is covered with leather over cord wrapping. Length: 118.5 cm.




A-hand-and-a-half-sword
South German around 1520
Double-edged blade with half-length fullers on both sides and a brass inlaid orb and stylized wolf mark at the forte. Spiral cut, forged iron quillons and pommel. Wooden grip, wrapped with cord and leather (somewhat cracked). Length: 120 cm.
Well preserved knightly weapon.




A German hand-and-a-half sword,
circa 1530/40. The thrusting blade of diamond section with small fullers on both sides, the finger and loop guards on the hilt with finely chiselled decorative bands, the conically flaring round quillons struck with wave ornaments, the stepped grip covered with leather and the onion-shaped pommel with lightly twisted grooves. Length 131 cm.

[Bill Grandy]

Here's me holding two really beautiful 16th century German pieces:

[Bill Grandy]

And here are a couple from the National Museum of the American Indian in DC:

[Nathan Robinson]

A Fine German Hand-and-a-Half Sword, circa 1530
Note the "back of the hand" protection
Copyright Hessink's Auction House


A Swiss hand-and-a-half sword, circa 1550
Copyright David Oliver, Northumberland


Top to bottom:
1) Thrusting Sword, German ca. 1550, pommel and quillon with burled decor.
2) Hand and a Half Sword, German ca. 1520, with blade inscription and crucifix.
3) Hand and a Half Sword, German ca. 1530, flower-bud shaped pommel and quillon ends, the blade with smith’s markings of JOHANNES HOPPE, Solingen.
4) Battle Sword, German ca. 1600, the blade with imperial orb marks.
5) Hand and a Half Sword, German ca. 1580, the blade with smith’s marks
(Image and description Copyright Fricker Historical Weapons)


Here is another example, this one from circa 1530.

[Nathan Robinson]

Hand-and-a-half sword
Switzerland or South Germany, about 1540
Dimension: cm 121; cm 102 (blade)
Bibliography: M. Scalini in 'A bon droyt - spade di uomini liberi, cavalieri e santi', edit. by M. Scalini, Milano (Silvana editoriale) 2007, pp. 244-245.

[Nathan Robinson]

Random photos shown below. No time to dig up more info.

[Nathan Robinson]

A cousin of the sword inspiring A&A's German Bastard Sword? Perhaps...

[Julien M]

[Roger Hooper]

Here is a hand and a half that I saw at Hermann-Historica -

South German, 1515, 110cm long

[Nathan Robinson]

Frankly, I'm in love with the first one in this topic:



I'd really enjoy seeing this recreated.

The following info is Copyright: © The Victoria and Albert Museum. All Rights Reserved.


Physical description

The hilt of cut and blackened steel, with a pommel decorated with spiral chiselling, and a two stage grip with serpentine guards extending forward into simple guard loops in front of the quillons. The quillons are chiseled and curved with flared ends. The blade is long with a single central fuller extending approx two thirds of the way down the blade, with a stamped mark near the hilt.
Place of Origin

Germany (made)
Date

ca. 1510 (made)
Artist/maker

Unknown
Materials and Techniques

Forged and partially blackened steel, chiselled
Marks and inscriptions

Maker's mark: a cross on a star Unidentified
Dimensions

Height: 119.7 cm (blade)
Width: 22.9 cm
Depth: 10.9 cm
Weight: 1.1 kg

Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Object history note

This sword was acquired by the Museum from the Major Victor Farquharson Bequest in 1927. Its provenance before this is unknown.
Historical context note

The art of combat was an essential part of a nobleman's education. Sigund Ringeck, a 15th-century fencing master, claimed knights should "skilfully wield spear, sword, and dagger in a manly way." This sword, gripped in both hands, was a potent weapon against armour before the development of firearms.

To fully appreciate the sword’s meaning to the sixteenth-century gentleman, it is important to understand its double role as both offensive weapon and costume accessory. As costume jewellery the decorated sword hilt flowered fully between 1580 and 1620. However, the seeds were sown long before. This ‘hand-and-a-half’ sword for use in foot combat carries an early sign of this development. Held either in one or both hands, and also known as a ‘bastard’ sword as its grip was not as long as a traditional two-handed sword, it can be dated to around 1500 based on the decoration of its hilt. The rounded ends of the crossbars (quillons) are quite flimsy while the finely chiselled pommel recalls the swirling lobes that decorated contemporary flagons and candlestick stems. This appearance demonstrates a move away from the brutal simplicity of the medieval sword.

No part of a medieval sword was made without both attack and defence in mind. Modern fencing encourages us to see the blade, in fact only the tip of the blade, as the sole attacking element of a sword and the hilt more as control room and protector. Tight rules prevent the sword hand ever straying from the hilt and the spare hand from getting involved at all. The fifteenth-century Fightbook published by the German fencing master, Hans Talhoffer, illustrates a more pragmatic approach as two fashionably dressed men settle their differences using undecorated swords with thick diamond-section blades. The blades could be gripped as well as the hilt. The rounded pommels at the end of the grip and at the ends to the quillons not only balanced the swing of the sword but acted as hammerheads to deliver the ‘murder-stroke’. As soon as these elements ceased to be functional they took on the role of adornment. This sword hints at the more decorative hilts produced later in the century.
Descriptive line

Steel, the blade forged and the hilt cut, chiselled and partly blackened, Germany, ca. 1510
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Victor Harris et al, Swords and Hilt Weapons (Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1993), Ch. 4
General history and similar examples
North, Anthony, An Introduction to European Swords, Victoria and Albert Museum, HMSO, London, 1982, ISBN 0 11 290378 9
General history and similar examples
Blair, Claude, European and America Arms c.1100-1850, B.T. Batsford Ltd., London, 196
Genreal history and similar examples
Stone, George Cameron, A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Jack Brussel, New York, 1934, pp. 182-183
For general history and comparison
Materials

Steel
Techniques

Colouring; Forging; Chiselling

Categories

Arms & Armour; Metalwork; Tools & Equipment; Accessories
Collection code

MET

[Kjell Magnusson]

[Julien M]

[Sean Flynt]

I think the Hanwei blade is a great candidate for one of these.

[Dave Leppo]

I’m attempting a hilt similar to the one presented by Julien M post 13 May, 6:31AM sword #3. Does anyone have any actual dimensions such as thickness of ring guards, thickness of cross, or diameter / length respectively; diameter of pommel? I'm trying to achieve a twisted cross in pattern-welded instead of chiseled twists, with a similar pommel. I already have some material fabricated or selected, just looking for verification.

thanks

[Julien M]

Hi Guys,

These all look great, but I am actually trying to come up with an historical design for an hollow ground longsword, and I have not yet or can't recall such later hilts on hollow ground bastard swords (to me these later sword are reminiscent of the type XIII great sword of war, so lenticular profile blades, fullered, or as we've seen here on a couple of swords on this thread, thick estoc)

If you happen to have an example of a hollow grond blade mounted with a later hilt such as the ones above (let's say in the german fashion) please post it here!

Many thanks,

Julien

[Julien M]

Actually looking in my own pictures from the Wallace colelctionI just found one!

More would be nice!

Cheers,

Julien

[Nathan Robinson]

That's a great sword. Really fantastic. I'd love to see that recreated someday!

[Luke Zechman]

This one is found at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

[Julien M]

Hi Guys,

Another likely candidate: late german hilt type, combined with a type XVIII hollow ground blade.

Cheers,

J