Could it possibly stand for HIV - Heinrich [something beginning with I] the Fifth, or Heinrich the Fourth in case the sword was originally made for an ancestor?

In "Records" number XIV.5 is inscribed "TOTOTO". on the pommel. It's meant as an affirmation of loyalty and fidelity.

There are a statue of Heinrich, in Marienberg, west of Dresden.
My basic octoberfest German can not translate this. :D

Herzog Heinrich der Fromme von Sachsen
Auf dem Marktplatz erinnert das Denkmal an den Gründer der Stadt.
Das überlebensgrosse Bronzestandbild wurde 1900 eingeweiht.
Herzog Heinrich war Regent der Ämter Freiberg und Wolkenstein.
1519 erliess er Schürfrechte auf diesem Territorium.
Es entstand ein gewisser Wohlstand und Beschäftigung für viele im Bergbau.
In dessen Folge wurde 1521 die Stadt Marienberg gegründet.

---

 Attachment: 20.29 KB

I find it interesting that he is shown wearing a bastard sword as a sidearm while wielding a two-handed sword. I would expect that hilt to get in the way while employing the two-hander.

there is actually a picture of a similar blade in the Album section....
Stumbled across it ant thought of this thread, though it's been dead for a while.

http://www.myArmoury.com/albums/photo/1727.html


Yours
Elling

Hello,
I'm sorry to have "resurrected" this old thread, but are there any news on this one?
Is Peter Johnson still planning to make a recreation of this sword?
This is truly one of the most beautiful and at the same time strangest bastard-swords I've ever seen.

Its simply a kaltzbalger with a long blade. Normally these blades are somewhat short, but I have seen them with long blades. Executioner's blade were all wide, with rather short blades, and no point at all. Its hard to tell if its a Victorian copy from the photograph, but I would doubt it. Most Vickies were made close to originals so as to be easier to sell. The other sword is a two hander. These real wide bladed two handers were popular in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and North Germany. The hilt and the figure eight guard really give it away. Hank Reinhardt

A custom German / Italian bastard sword for a very huge man? Obviously, I would have no idea but thank you for posting this, it sure is interesting to me.

Thanks,

Bob

I want to ressurect this thread and stir the pot a bit. I wonder if the shorter overall measure of ~105 cm (see earlier post by Peter) could be the correct one after all. Consider that the Wallace Collection's A477, a German hand-and-a-half sword of the same period and with some of the same characteristics, is around 96 cm overall. The Windlass/MRL reproduction of that weapon is slightly longer at ~99cm. Consider the repro of A477 alongside Heinrich's sword and pretend that the latter is a total of maybe 10 cm longer. In this light the total overall length of 105 cm seems pretty reasonable.

So, maybe the Windlass weapon could serve as a platform for a Heinrich conversion project :D

---

 Attachment: 72.72 KB

...for bringing this thread back to the surface. Did Peter ever get to document or measure the original? How did they get along? Will Peter make a reproduction? I can't stand the wait to see what happened! I can't believe this thread was that old. Peter!!

This sword is like an itch I can´t reach.
Unfortunately there has been no opportunity to travel to this part of Germany yet. I still hope to do so, as another important sword has surfaced that would be good to get a closer look at.

This sword has inspired an interest in broad thin blades. It is one of the main reasons I did the sword for the Macao exhibition that way I did, even if it is not directly based on the Dresden one. One of the swords brought to Solingen last year was also a child of these ideas even if it came out as a unusually broad XVIIIc. There are other broad thin bladed swords in various forms of dream state preparation. Perhaps one or two of them will come to fruitition?

I would love to add a broad type XXII to the Albion NG line at some point.

-First a trip to Dresden is on the whish list however...

Another spin of is a study of very broad and very thin single hand swords. There is one probable XIa in Uppsala (broken halfway down, so it is not possible to know for cetain its type) that is impossibly broad but also quite thin. It is a brute in size, but still handy. This one has me rivetted: a faschinating blade.
Single hand XXII blades can also be also very nice. There is something about the design solution of these that push the boundary of what is possible with edge geometry, stiffness and agility.

One sword in storage in Solingen is a very broad *single edged* hand and a half sword that is extremely thin. The hilt might be a 19th C composite, but I have a feeling it could actually be original. A strange sword but faschinating just because of that.

All this is perhap a bit OT, but this is how it works for me: you see one sword that stands out from the crowd, looking unique and perhaps even impossible. Then other swords pop up that shares some of the same qualities and design solutions. At this point they will start to haunt you: the only way to be free is to make a practical study of some sort.

I still really want to do something based on the Dresden sword and it would be nice base it on some observations of the original. It is possible to guess of course, but it is more fun to have some known data as set limits.