[Merv Cannon]

I have only this one photo of this sword on file and it seems to me to be quite enigmatic. But I have learnt not to dismiss things that I dont understand, as some items are anachronistic...they seem out of place in time as either too modern for the period or somehow inappropriate. I am slowly gaining more books but its a slow process as you all would know, esp when many are out of print. This is another sword that I have almost no information about but it seems a strange combination of parts weather or not it belonged to the Maid of Orleans. The pommel looks like an Anglo-Saxon one to me.....but then we all often see some wierd historical swords.
You opinions would be appreciated. Does anyone have any other photos of this sword ?

Thank you !

[Steve Grisetti]

Merv - do you have any idea where this sword is located?
As for the blade - it looks to me like a classical Oakeshott Type XV, so seems appropriate for the Maid's time period. The sword could have been rehilted at a later time.

[Merv Cannon]

[Joel Chesser]

Why would she have used more then one? I admittedly do not know as much about the period, but if its anything like earlier periods wouldn't iron have been pretty valuable? It seems to me that if this was the case she would not have have very many swords.

[Mikko Kuusirati]

[Craig Peters]

There is a clerk's doodle of Joan of Arc's sword from the time of her trial. Since this is the only contemporary image that we have of her, it is not improbable to suggest that the sword she is depicted with looks like the one she really carried. The sword is a type XVa with a guard that curves slightly and has a type J pommel, if my memory serves me correctly. It certainly does not look like Merv's first sword, although it does look suspiciously similar to the second one he posted from the museum in Dijon. I'm just surprised I didn't see it when I was there recently.

[Jean Le-Palud]

The website of Dijon's museums, in french, doesn't speak at all of a sword of Jeanne D'Arc (as is her name in french). IMO it would be spoken of if there was any. From a short research I made on the french speaking internet it seems that no surviving Joan Of Arc's sword exists in France.

[James Arlen Gillaspie]

Merv, I hadn't come across any accounts of the sword of Fierbois breaking. Where could I look for further information?

[Richard Fay]

Hello all!

Wasn't "The Maid's" sword supposed to have been an old sword found in a church, or at least according to legend? I will have to look up the specifics later, but I think there were crosses or the like on the sword. Not to say that these swords couldn't be St. Joan's, just that I remember reading something about her finding a sword through miraculous means. If this tale has a grain of truth to it, the sword was probably a bit old (an offering to the church by a knight buried there, perhaps, or maybe a sword buried with a knight or lord?).

Items attributed to saints or saintly figures (she wasn't officially recognized as a saint until the 20th century, but she was seen as one by the people even in her day) have a habit of cropping up everywhere, with very little real connection other than "wishful thinking".

Most well-to-do medieval warriors would tend to have more than one sword, and sometimes carried one at the saddle and one at the hip, but I've heard that St. Joan's actual military contributions have been questioned. Some argue that she was more of a morale boast than anything else, instead of an active fighter. If this was the case, then her sword may have been more of a symbol, and she would have had no need for multiple swords. (I prefer to think she was a bit more than just a "mascot"; I believe it was said of her, perhaps at her trial, that she could wield a lance as well as any knight. Again, I would have to look it up; I'm digging this out of memory, so it might not be 100% accurate.)

Just a couple thoughts!

Stay safe!

[Fabrice Cognot]

Hi all

There are at least 3 swords attributed to Joan of Arc in France.

But the one you're reffering to is actually kept at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Dijon - it should be no surpise that its website doesn't mention it, as most French museum curators (and their co-workers) are not much into arms and armour anyway (though we'll try to change that, the new curator Sophie Jugie and I). At the moment (until it came back from normandy), the sword is in Rouen, for a temporary exhibition on Joan of Arc. I'm just sitting here waiting for it to be back.

A better description (in French) of this sword exists in La Revue de Bourgogne, year 1914 (in the same volume you'll find an interesting article on the history of Salles d'Armes in Dijon between 1500 and the French Revolution, but this is completely OT ), as well as in several other publications - it stirred quite the debate, the echoes of which sounding from England to Belgium to Italy.

To sum things up, and until I manage to examine the sword myself, all we can say is that the 84 cm blade (5 cm wide and 5.6 mm thick at forte) appears to be quite similar to a genuine type XV of the XVth century (some sources mention a Toledo origin for the blade BTW), while the 8.5 cm handle and 5.7x4.8x2.5 mm pommel are obviously later replacements ; the S-shaped cross-guard shows evidence of cutting the former (presumably straight) quillons, and replacing them with curved ones, welded on. There is a complex decoration on the blade, that I will not detail here due to lack of time mostly, but enough is to know that it is engraved, was once gilded, and that armorial features, as well as the name of King Charles VII and the date of 1419 appear repeatedly. However, this date (1419) appears irrelevant to the reign of the French monarch (started in 1422) or to the life of Joan of Arc - the only major historical event taking place then being the assassination of Duke John of Burgundy in Montereau.
Furthermore, the cross featured on the decoration is shown with a perspective not compliant to the XVth century ways of treating volumes and spaces. There are also other features - mainly related to spelling and shapes of letters - that indicate a later date for the decoration.

Still, it could be that this sword belonged to Joan. It is also likely, in any case, that this sword was kept in the Dukes of Burgundy's armouries since then. But other theories are equally valid.

I'd like to add that, before M. Metman's article, this sword was not attributed to Joan, but simply quoted as an "Epée du temps de Chalres VII" in the archives and registers.

But all this is after Metman's article in La Revue de Bourgogne. Once I get to get my hands on this sword, and if myArmoury's administrators agree to that - AND, more important, if my other duties allow me to do so, I'd happily write a review of this sword for this website.

Hope this helps

Fab

[Fabrice Cognot]