Bruhn-Hoffmeyer Brazil Nut Sword -- myArmoury.com

Craig Peters · Posted: Sun 25 Oct, 2015 3:15 am Post subject: Bruhn-Hoffmeyer Brazil Nut Sword

In the article on Ada Brunn-Hoffmeyer's sword typology, there is mention of a sword with a brazil nut pommel from Rouen in Chateau Gaillard. Does this sword still survive? Where is it now? Are there photos and is there information about it?

Shahril Dzulkifli · Posted: Tue 27 Oct, 2015 5:41 pm Post subject: Bruhn-Hoffmeyer Brazil Nut Sword

We would never know either this sword still survives to this this day or not.

Mark Lewis · Posted: Tue 27 Oct, 2015 9:52 pm Post subject:

It's illustrated in Middelalderens Tvaeggede Svaerd and seems to now be held in the Museum of Evreux:

This image came with the caption:
"Epée. Avec inscription damasquinée sur les deux faces de la lame : « MEUS DEUS »
(L. 670 mm ; 1. 62 mm).
Provenance : Le Petit-Andelys (27).
Dépôt : Evreux, Musée municipal, N° Inv. 7084.
Références :
- Medieval Catalogue, 1954, pp. 22 et 30, fig. I, n° III.
- Rouen, Musée des Antiquités, une épée provenant de Paris N° Inv. III, 1803."

The sword seems to have lost a large portion of the blade since Bruhn-Hoffmeyer illustrated it, but the inscription and pommel are distinctive and consistent.

Craig Peters · Posted: Tue 27 Oct, 2015 11:27 pm Post subject:

So the sword has lost even more of the blade now? I am assuming the illustration comes from the book. Too bad we don't have a photo, as it's hard to say what kind of blade the sword had. It looks like it might have been Type X, but without the point of the sword I can't be sure.

Thanks for posting!

Mark Lewis · Posted: Wed 28 Oct, 2015 6:07 am Post subject:

Gottfried P. Doerler · Posted: Wed 28 Oct, 2015 12:35 pm Post subject:

very strange.
what puzzles me a bit is, how could it lose the crossguard without losing the pommel first ? Confused

obviously it could not happen without applying force. if the crossguard got lost due to natural rusting/aging processes, the tang, which is even thinner, would probably have broken first.

Craig Peters · Posted: Thu 29 Oct, 2015 1:16 am Post subject:

Gottfried,

There are other antique swords that survive with a pommel and not the cross, so this cannot be so unusual as you suppose. If the cross had impurities or other problems with the metal (I don't know much about metallurgy, hence my vagueness) it's possible that the cross might have broken when the sword was used. Alternatively, if the sword was buried in the ground or a river and the cross, but not the thinnest part of the tang, was exposed to material that would corrode it, the cross might have been in poor condition when the sword was recovered.

Both of my ideas are just speculation. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable could contribute their insights.

J.D. Crawford · Posted: Fri 30 Oct, 2015 6:27 am Post subject:

What is your interest in this sword Craig?

Tim Lison · Posted: Fri 30 Oct, 2015 10:02 am Post subject:

Gottfried P. Doerler · Posted: Fri 30 Oct, 2015 1:00 pm Post subject:

Craig Peters · Posted: Fri 30 Oct, 2015 3:44 pm Post subject:

Tim Lison · Posted: Fri 30 Oct, 2015 4:43 pm Post subject:

Tim Lison · Posted: Mon 07 Jan, 2019 8:25 pm Post subject:

So, I've contacted Robert Moc about making the sword discussed in this thread. It won't be until next year but I like to get my plans in order earlier rather than later. The inlay is just too damn cool not to have reproduced. I was thinking the script in gold and the drawings in silver? Would the blade be a X? Xa? What do we think the cross guard would look like? I'm attaching a photo of a sword with a similar pommel that might have a cross that could work for this sword. A simple bar would be another choice... Does anyone have any pics of the actual sword or any input about the blade or cross that could help? Any pics of similar pommels with the cross in place would be nice too....

Craig Peters · Posted: Tue 08 Jan, 2019 8:31 am Post subject:

Hi Tim,

Looking at Geibig, the pommel to me seems to be most akin to a slender Geibig Type 15 Variation II pommel. That means it should have one of three cross guard shapes. The cross guards should be fairly short, something around the size of that seen on Albion's Reeve. The cross shape looking sideways at the sword should either be Gaddhjalt, bar, or bar with a very subdued bow tie swelling at the ends. Inlay wise, the style seems most akin to some of Oakeshott's pencil sketches of blades associated with Type X.a (see Type X.a 11-12), so I would probably go with a Type X.a. My impression is that silver is much more common on inlays than gold, but maybe someone else could chime in with better information.

I've attached a picture of one such sword from Geibig. You'll notice that it combines the bar cross with subdued bow tie shape sideways on, but actually looks like a Gaddhjalt from the top down.