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Steve Grisetti
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 Posted: Tue 28 Sep, 2004 7:17 am Post subject: Louvre - The Sword of Charlemagne |
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I had a business trip to Paris last week for two days of meetings with a customer. As things worked out, we ended up going through the entire agenda in one long day. So, I had the next day pretty much to myself, and decided to run down to the Louvre, since I had never actually been inside. I was looking forward to seeing the Mona Lisa (which was a mob scene), the Venus de Milo, and some other pieces.
I had always associated the Louvre with paintings and sculpture, so was not really thinking about arms and armour. However, I stumbled across a piece that was attributed to Charlemagne. I do not yet know as much as I would like about swords in general, but it seems to me that this blade does not look at all like something from the time of Charlemagne, circa 800AD. I looks like a lenticular cross-section, with no fuller. I would appreciate information and/or comments that any of you may have on the provenance of this piece.
Sorry about the quality of the pictures, but this was as good as I could get with my little digital, and the way in which the piece was exhibited.
Steve Grisetti
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Steve Fabert
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Steve Grisetti
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| Posted: Tue 28 Sep, 2004 8:40 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the connection. Interesting to note in Björn Hellqvist remark that the blade "...has a relatively wide, shallow fuller...." I don't remember any fuller at all, but when I go back to look at my pictures, I think I can see it. It must be quite shallow. The lighting of the exhibit probably did not help.
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Don Stanko
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| Posted: Wed 29 Sep, 2004 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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The incredible sword you have pictured there is actually a coronation sword from some time around the 12th century (Swords and hilt weapons page 37). I dont know the exact date but I could look it up. Another earlier sword of Charlemagne is from the ninth century and resembles near eastern swords, displaying an angled grip and a slightly curved blade. It is equally impressive. I'm not sure if either sword was actually owned by Charlemagne but it is possible, after all he was a Holy Roman Emperor that had influence across the european continent and I'm sure the swords have been embellished throughout the years with new trendy hardware.
Don
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Jeff Johnson
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| Posted: Thu 30 Sep, 2004 7:29 pm Post subject: |
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(Insert Snarky Comment about Museums misleading the public for tha sake of hype)
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This is a standard topic