Scandinavian Pretzel/Kringla/Kringel Swords ~1500 AD. -- myArmoury.com

Niels Just Rasmussen

In the Osprey book: Medieval Scandinavian Armies (2) it is stated that:
"A very distinctive form of crossguard was, however, used in Scandinavia and perhaps also northern Germany. It takes the form of an open ring, looking rather like a pretzel, and is found on large hand-and-a-half swords whose guards bear some resemblance to later katzbalger guards, though with more twists to them". (page 16).

So the name for this sword could be "Pretzel-sword", or
Swedish "Kringla-svärd"
Danish: "Kringel-sværd" (older Danish) or "Kringle-sværd" (modern Danish, but it does sounds if the sword is being made of pastry, so I go for the old Danish as the word Kringel-kroge = eng. nooks and crannies).

These swords seems to be from around ~1500 AD.

I have found a pair of pictures of this "pretzel-type" of sword. This example was found within Säveån, Gothenburg, Sweden in 1928, now located at Göteborgs Stadsmuseum. [found where Säveån runs out into Göta Älv].

Source: http://62.88.129.39/carlotta/web/object/38291

Digressing: In 2012 they again found a sword in Säveån (probably a messer). On page 11, fig 9.
Source: http://samla.raa.se/xmlui/bitstream/handle/ra...uence=1%20

From Denmark a well-preserved example was located in Tudeå near Trelleborg on Zealand. So both swords were perhaps deliberately deposited in water. The publication doesn't give any measurements, but it sure looks like a 2-hander.
Code: National Museet nr. D 13492

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Sun 07 Jun, 2015 8:40 am Post subject:

Source: http://emuseumplus.lsh.se/eMuseumPlus
Livrustkammeren; inventory 12714 (5742)
Pretzel sword from Sweden - end of 1400's.
No measurements given. Blade is German, Guard Swedish.

This looks more like a hand-and-a-half sword with shorter grip than the Danish example.

Olov Tidemalm · Posted: Sun 07 Jun, 2015 11:31 am Post subject:

Here is an older thread where other examples are posted.
http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=18698

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Sun 07 Jun, 2015 12:18 pm Post subject:

Jussi Ekholm · Posted: Sun 07 Jun, 2015 1:05 pm Post subject:

Here is a twohander from Finnish National Museum. Blade is described as being German. This "pretzel" guard seemed very odd to me so it's nice to see some other examples too.

Photobucket image

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Sun 07 Jun, 2015 1:13 pm Post subject:

Mark Lewis · Posted: Sun 07 Jun, 2015 1:27 pm Post subject:

I know of a few others that I don't think have previously been posted.

In Oslo, C20339:

http://www.unimus.no/arkeologi/#/detailsView?search=C20339

and C13815:

In Trondheim, T662:

http://www.unimus.no/arkeologi/#/detailsView?search=T662

One described here, which I think is also from the Livrustkammaren:

In the Swedish Army Museum, AM.060638:

Sold by Bonhams, supposedly found in the Netherlands:

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/14956/lot/62/

Mark Lewis · Posted: Sun 07 Jun, 2015 1:45 pm Post subject:

Matthew G.M. Korenkiewicz · Posted: Sun 07 Jun, 2015 4:18 pm Post subject:

Have to say, got a good chuckle from this post, thankyou ! A good laugh or chuckle
should be on everyone's daily list ! ... and it is an interesting sword. If you happen
to commission a replica ? you already have one of two names :

Hel-Kringla or Halv-Kringla

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 6:54 am Post subject:

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Mon 08 Jun, 2015 12:33 pm Post subject:

From Worsaae (1859): Nordiske oldsager i det Kongelige museum i Kjöbenhavn.
Overview Book about fine items at the National Museum, so no info other than very general period (Medieval).

.
Source: https://archive.org/details/nordiskeoldsager00wors

Sword on the right is "pretzel-like" [a little difficult to be entirely sure because of the angle], but also has a cross guard
Interesting if this is early or late type.

No idea yet where it is from.

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Mon 21 Sep, 2015 7:56 am Post subject:

Thanks for Carl Koppeschaar for making his extensive and impressive photograph-collection from museums known and available to us here in myArmoury:
http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=32454

I makes it possible to link to some more pretzel swords from the Nationalmuseum, Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Danish Tudeå sword can be seen on the far right in this image;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98015679@N04/9217543579/in/album-72157634497562183/
&
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98015679@N04/9220370846/in/album-72157634497562183/

Other group of 3 pretzel swords:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98015679@N04/9220320020/in/album-72157634497562183/
& full length:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98015679@N04/9220405146/in/album-72157634497562183/

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Mon 14 Dec, 2015 11:18 am Post subject:

Found a little info on one of the "hel-kringel" sword in Nymark (1980).
It is the a) sword on Bruhn-Hoffmeyer given on plate XI below by Mark. It is 138 cm long so clearly a 2-hander.
It is likely another very old member of the Nationalmuseet collection, since it's without inventory number and info about find-spot.
Probably around the same dimensions as the example from Livrustkammeren from Sweden (128 cm) just with a longer grip.
It looks very much like the Tude Å sword with the spheric pommel.

Mark Lewis · Posted: Mon 14 Dec, 2015 3:12 pm Post subject:

Here is Hoffmeyer's plate XL of pretzel-hilted swords in the Nationalmuseet.

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Tue 15 Dec, 2015 7:00 am Post subject:

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Tue 15 Dec, 2015 7:26 am Post subject:

Also at the Nationalmuseet you have at least 3 examples of the C-guard type swords ("halv-kringel"), both found in Hinge Sø.

Two are shown in Bruhn-Hoffmeyer's book.

Swords a) + b) on Plate XXXV

EDIT: So D 4445 + D 4446 should based on the consecutive inventory numbers both be from Hinge Sø.
The D 4445 sword is shown on Plate XXXV a) is the one given in illustration below (see attachment)
The D 4446 sword is shown on Plate XXXVIII a) is the one on the image below from Nationalmuseet (see attachment).
The sword with no inventory number on Plate XXXV b) I don't have any more info on, yet.

The text (Mollerup 1908) is a bit unclear, but the Plate XXXVIII a) (D 4446) sword shown in Bruhn-Hoffmeyer should be the 141 cm long sword that has preserved wood on the handle and a "ball" pommel, while the Plate XXXV a) (D4445) sword shown in Bruhn-Hoffmeyer has a pear-shaped pommel and should be 135 cm.
They both have brass inlay showing factory marks. The b) sword has a minuskel-a over a wolf like figure and the a)-sword has an a, three stars and a bishop staff.

The sword (D 4445) is also shown in illustration (see attachment) where the C-guard ("halv-kringel") is more obvious.
Jussi Ekholm's post above also showed a picture from Finnish National Museum with a C-guard sword just left of the pretzel-sword.

The sword showcased at Nationalmuseet is the D 4446.

Mark Lewis · Posted: Wed 16 Dec, 2015 5:06 am Post subject:

Niels Just Rasmussen · Posted: Wed 16 Dec, 2015 7:26 am Post subject:

Yeah I agree the inlay design looks from an earlier period - is it like something you have seen before?

Also the pommel (on the sword to the right) is "out of place" being disc-shaped (Oakeshott type G) instead of the facetted pear-shaped OR ball type pommel we see from other Scandinavian swords from the 1400 - 1500 hundreds.

But if the sword to the left of the picture is perhaps the a) one on Plate XL (without inventory number and the knot on the pretzel), and the sword in the middle of the picture is clearly the b) one (787) on Plate XL ; then the sword on the right of the picture could be a sword with the same large size of pretzel - so either c) or d). So hard to see on the Bruhn-Hoffmeyer illustration, whether they have round or disc shaped pommels.

I think its possible that the Swedish soldier might have carried a pretzel sword - shame Dolnstein didn't make the Swede carrying his sword-staff a little higher so we had a view on the hilt. But the pommel seems to be a "fish-tail" (Oakeshott Type V), right? I don't think we have any pretzel swords with this type of pommel, so it could be another kind of two-hander the Swede is carrying.
The Dolnstein sketch also shows a sword with a s-curved cross-guard carried by the landsknecht-guy on the right in his scabbard -> these were prominent in Denmark (at least when seeing church paintings).
Here an image from Tingsted Kirke on Falster quite close to where I live (see attachment) - it's dated from 1500-1520.
So funny that episodes from the Bible were portrayed in contemporary fashion!

This kind of one-handed sword with an S-guard in the plane of the edges has been found in Denmark. Here is an example from Svendborg where the guard looks precisely like the sword the guy on the right has. One quillon ends on a "ball", the other doesn't.
Inventory number: 36.303
Length: 67,0 cm
Cross-guard: 14,7 cm

Source: https://www.kulturarv.dk/mussam/VisGenstand.action?genstandId=965866

Mark Lewis · Posted: Thu 17 Dec, 2015 6:33 am Post subject:

Kyle Eaton · Posted: Fri 18 Dec, 2015 9:12 am Post subject:

How common should I suspect pretzel-shaped crossguards were used by the Medieval Norse around the 15th century? I'm creating a few 15th century Swedish units for a total war mod (video game version of a table top miniatures war game), and I would like to attempt to make the units as historically correct as possible. What are the advantages to having a pretzel-shaped crossguard?