Late medieval swords from Southeastern Europe

[Reventlov]

The sword of Stephen the Great is preserved in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, along with two others of exactly the same type that surely come from the same workshop. On one of these the pommel medallions are intact and show the coat of arms of Moldavia and a partitioned device showing a barry field and a cross above a crescent (when viewed with the sword point up). This combination is very similar to coins issued in the earlier part of Stephen's reign, which differ only in having a rose in place of the crescent. This might suggest that the sword can be dated to this period specifically. The barry field, double-cross, and roses all appear in Stephen's personal arms as later recorded.

I don't know if the cross-and-crescent variant was used by Stephen at some point in time, or perhaps by a close family member. Interestingly, a similar combination of a barry field with a crescent and star does appear in the arms of the Wallachian Drăculești, including Vlad the Impaler (see coin) and his father, Vlad II. The crescent takes the higher position, probably signifying their subservience to the Ottomans.

- Mark