[Martin Kallander]

I am currently in the process of commissioning a 12th.c sword for my roman kit. I have however run into a bit of a problem in that I basically know nothing about these swords. My first idea was to get a simple straight, dubble edged sword with one of those fancy handguards that are usually depicted in the contemporary arts like soapstones and Skylitzes:







When I tried looking after surviving examples of these however, I wasn't able to find a single one much to my dismay. So I asked the guy I'm commissioning the sword from if he knew of surviving swords like that but after he had done some digging around he wasn't able to find any either. He reckons that roman swords of the period were basically identical to western ones at the time, with simple straight handguards.



While I am not adverse to getting a sword like that as those too appear in contemporary art, I'd first like to ask if any of you know of a sword with one of those fancy handguards on the off-chance he might have missed something (though he did ask Peter Johnsson so I don't think it's particularly likely)

Lastly, assuming that no sword like that survives to the present, would a type XI be a fitting substitute for my kit? I really don't know anything about 12th.c swords so any input would be appreciated.