[Roger Hooper]

I'm not sure how long this sword has been out, but since I ordered the upcoming Albion Castellan sword, I certainly noticed it. Here is the blurb:

In the 1970's, several swords of this type were found in a wooden chest at the bottom of the French River Dordogne. A little downstream is the town of Castillion, where a battle in July of 1453 essentially ended the Hundred Years War. The English commander John Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, led his men in a rash attack on the emplaced siege lines of the French. Talbot and most of his 6,000 man army were killed by heavy artillery fire, afterwards a strong attack by the French destroyed what was left of the English. We have named this sword after that significant, terrible battle. Its sculpted beauty almost belies its deadliness. An excellent example of a sword type that combined the attributes of the long thrusting sword and the short, wide cutting sword, that were both in use during the early 1400's. The well-tempered high carbon steel blade by Windlass Steelcrafts® tapers to a good point but still has the width needed to deliver a strong cut. Although this weapon could be easily used with one hand, the long elegant pommel that extends into the grip leaves room for an extra hand, making this a true hand-and-a-half sword. Includes scabbard. Overall-41 1/2" * Blade-34" long, 1 3/4" wide * Wt.-2 lbs. 10 oz. Original can be seen on pg 120 of "Blood And Red Roses".

Gross specs are very similar to the Albion version. Of course it is silly to put the windlass sword up against the Peter Johnsson one, but I thought it would be interesting to see how different designers viewed these XVa swords from the Dordogne River.

[Joe Fults]

I know which one I think more closely replicates the original picture.