Late medieval swords from Southeastern Europe

[Teisani]

Mark, thank you for this very detailed anwer. I have a few observations/addendums to make, but that may take a bit. Let me just start with these:

1 - Stephen the Great's request for a sword to the Genoese.
Please find attached (the parper you mentione above): "Armamentul din dotarea oastei Moldovei in timpul domniei lui Stefan cel Mare (1457 - 1504) by Carol W. König". In it we learn of a book by Romanian historian, Nicolae Iorga (Acte și fragmente cu privire la istoria românilor adunate din depozitele de manuscrise ale Apusului, Volum 3, 1897), where we find the text regarding Stephen's request towards Gregorio de Reza (Genoese consul at Caffa, Crimea) about comissioning sword from Genoese makers. I chose to look at Iorga's text, because König's version is slightly modified.
Acte și fragmente cu privire la istoria românilor adunate din depozitele de manuscrise ale Apusului - Neculai Iorga
König's version is "una spada a la facione valachesca"
Iorga's version is "una spada ala facione velachesca"

The text from Iorga at pages 42-43 is:

"Genoa 18th of January 1468, Gregorio de Reza's request for reprisals,
Ihesus MCCCCLXVIII, die XV{I}II Ianuarii
Suplicatur coram magnifficensiis vestris, parte devoti vestri civis servitoris Gregorii de Reza. Le vostre magnificencie den saver como fomo electi in lo consulato de Caffa, meser Zoane de la Cabella, meser Calocio de Guizolfo e mi, e in l'ano de MCCCCLXIIII partimo de qui per andar in [Caffa] en andamo a ferir in Ihuihavia, dove [ci ri]trovamo cum Steffano Vaivoda, segnior de [la] Velachia-Bassa, alo quale prezentamo [molte] belle cosse, in le qualle era um bello {missing text, tear} baselardo dorato. El dicto Vaivoda ne p[rego] che volesemo cometer qui a Zenoa una spada ala facione velachesca; li respozemo, volentera la cometeremo, ma, perche Zenoa era monto lonzi da quelie parte, se si tosto non ne fose mandata, la soa segnoria dovesse aver paciencia. Subito scripsi mi a Christoforo campanario, lo qualle..."

Iorga's book can be found here: http://dspace.bcu-iasi.ro/handle/123456789/15468

Note: the text also says "um bello {missing text} baselardo dorato". Baselardo, as in baserald dagger? In "Princeps omni laude maior. O istorie a lui Ștefan cel Mare by Maria Magdalena Székely & Ștefan S. Gorovei" it is taken as mace/buzdugan, but that should be "mazza".

========================================

How did the swords end-up in Ottoman hands.

Well, the only info that I found was in "Cronici turceşti privind Ţările Române : Extrase. Volumul 1: Sec. XV – mijlocul sec. XVII" by Guboglu, Mihail & Mehmet, Mustafa 1966, page 270 (https://www.scribd.com/document/1224...e-Romane-Vol-1), the period source is Celālzāde Mustafa Çelebi’s chronicle "Tabakātu’ l-Memālik ve Derecātu’ l-Mesālik".

The basic idea is this:
In 1538 Suleiman I the Magnificent entered the city of Suceava, Moldova with his army. Voivode Petru Rares, to protect his wealth, buried it somewhere in Suceava, then fled. Suleiman finds out about this and orders Husein-aga to look for it. Husein-aga starts digging and eventually finds it. Among the treasures were "...swords encrusted with precious stones, German swords, very narrow swords with sharp points...". I have attached the excerpt below.

[Reventlov]

Originally Posted by Teisani

"Armamentul din dotarea oastei Moldovei in timpul domniei lui Stefan cel Mare (1457 - 1504) by Carol W. König". In it we learn of a book by Romanian historian, Nicolae Iorga (Acte și fragmente cu privire la istoria românilor adunate din depozitele de manuscrise ale Apusului, Volum 3, 1897), where we find the text regarding Stephen's request towards Gregorio de Reza (Genoese consul at Caffa, Crimea) about comissioning sword from Genoese makers.

Brilliant! I had König's paper on hand, but could not trace the references any further. It's great to have the full text available.

Here is another example of what might have been called a sword a la facione Velachesca - from the history museum in Brașov, one of the Saxon towns of Transylvania. It dates probably to the late 15th or early 16th century. It is a classic example of Aleksic's subtype XXb: two-handed swords with broad, spatulate blades, having many fullers at the base. Blades of this kind can be found further west in Germany and Italy, but very many have hilts with squarish pommels and S-shaped quillons, which are particularly associated with the kingdom of Hungary. An example of this blade type can be seen in a Tyrolean painting, c. 1480.

https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/e...ork/jpxegN3GJ7

The square boss on an oblong pommel is another feature that seems to be almost exclusively Eastern European - I'll write about this separately. A maker's mark can be seen on the pommel of the Brașov sword, which is also quite unusual.

- Mark

[Teisani]

And people keep finding them...

http://strefahistorii.pl/article/496...wisku-w-polsce
http://ezamosc.pl/region/item/505-sr...eziony-w-ziemi

[Teisani]

Also these two: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...&postcount=118

[Teisani]

Regarding the second sword, with Stephen's coat of arms, and your observations:
- the aurochs head coat of arms is pretty typical for Moldova of that period. Agreed, here are some other Moldovan coins from earlier periods.
- the shield with half stripes is also common. Agreed.
- the crescent moon and star/sun... One probable reason would be Stephen's victory over Radu the Handsome of Wallachia (a Draculescu himself) in 1473, battle during which his daughters were taken prisoners. In 1480 Stephen actually marries the youngest of them, Maria Voichiţa, which becomes his third wife.

The problem is regarding the dates He marries her in 1480, yet the coins change the coat of arms from 1480 to something else. I base this on the coins you posted. So, this is puzzling.

A few thoughts on the Basarab dinasty coat of arms (of which the Draculesti and Danesti where branches). According to "Basarabii Valahiei, studiu heraldic si genealogic" 2017 by Tiberiu Frăţilă-Felmer, the shield coat of arms with the sun and crescent moon start with Vladislav II of Wallachia and linked with his raids of Transylvania in 1456. The position of these two elements change according with his political needs. See bellow the papers hypotesized cronology of Basarab heraldry. Coincidentaly, the last time it was used was in 1480 by Basarab IV.

Paper in english here:
https://www.academia.edu/30095489/Ba..._and_genealogy

Oh, and a few fun facts.
- this guy, Balassa Menyhért (Hungarian) also has an aurochs on his coat of arms. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...5&postcount=27
- I wonder if Poland-Lithuania might also be a source for that shield coat of arms. I don't think it's likely but look here:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/C...arnenczyka.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/C...int_768761.jpg

[Teisani]

A few more multi-fullered blades:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...9&postcount=62
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...0&postcount=63

[Reventlov]

Originally Posted by Teisani

The problem is regarding the dates He marries her in 1480, yet the coins change the coat of arms from 1480 to something else. I base this on the coins you posted. So, this is puzzling.

The Russian article that I pulled the images of Stephen's coins is here... maybe they say something about the change? I didn't translate the text.

Originally Posted by Teisani

A few thoughts on the Basarab dinasty coat of arms (of which the Draculesti and Danesti where branches)...
Paper in english here:
https://www.academia.edu/30095489/Ba..._and_genealogy

I was reading this too while writing my earlier posts. Surprised to see that the colours of Vlad Dracula's arms are not really known? Many sites claim the Draculesti arms were blue/red/gold, but I don't see what this is based on and the Basarab green/gold bars seem most logical.

Originally Posted by Teisani

I wonder if Poland-Lithuania might also be a source for that shield coat of arms.

The gold double-cross on a blue field belonged to the Polish Jagiellons, and Stephen was a Polish vassal - I don't know if there was a marital link as well. According to the Russian article, the double-cross first appeared on coins of Stephen II (r. 1434-47). Stephen and his family seem to have acquired the French lilies (later modified to a single double-headed lily) from the Angevin kings of Hungary, who divided their arms with the red/white bars of Árpád.

[Reventlov]

Originally Posted by Teisani

Also these two: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...&postcount=118

Yes, these are good examples of this distinctive style of disc pommel with a square boss. The museum in Bucharest has at least five of them, judging from the photos I have seen.

The one I have picked out shares many features with the sword from Brașov, as does another exhibited in Ukraine: the blade is type XXb and the quillons taper towards a distinctive central block. The combination is quite distinctive, and probably these swords were made by Transylvanian Saxons. A loose pommel of this type comes from Haragîș, Moldova.

One sword of this type was recently acquired by a fellow forum member, and is discussed here: http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=22279. The hilt is very similar, but the blade has a single fuller, as do several of the swords in Bucharest. Its provenance is not known, but I think it can be safely grouped with the others.

Another unique example of a square pommel boss is the sword of King Sigismund the Old of Poland, dated c. 1520.

[Teisani]

More info on Moldovan swords at Topkapı Sarayı, Istambul. Looking through Carol König's paper I noticed that thee were 3 swords with multi-fullered blades. The sword with a single fuller and Dragos's coat of arms is missing. Which meant that there were 4 Moldovan swordst the palace. So I remembered that there is an older source in regarding these swords. "Buletinul Comisiunii Monumentelor Istorice 1935 anul XXVIII" contains the article "Odoare romăneşti la Stambul" by Emil Vârtosu. I posted it here for convenience (in Romanian), but the short version is this:

There are 3 Moldovan swords, in Fig.17, from left to right:

- 2635, the one with Dragos's coat of arms. No crosses, but a finely engraved sigil on the blade. Total length 126cm. It also mentions of a similar coat of arms of Bogdan I copied during the 15th century, residing at the Romanian Academi, ms. 5219. I have to look into that.

- 2636, Stephen's sword, with 4 crosses engraved on both sides of the blade the blade. Total length 125cm.

- 2637, the one with the aurochs & striped-shield coat of arms, 4 crosses engraved on both sides of the blade. Total length 126-127cm.

Other candidates:

- 2638, identical guard, and general shape to 2636 and 2367, same 4 crosses engraved. Pommel deteriorated, coat of arms discs on the pommel - missing. Total length 128-129cm.

- 2639, pommel deteriorated, no coat of arms, bent guard, 3 cosses instead of 4 but of similar placements. Total length 151cm.

- 2633 and 2343, similar guards as 2635's, finely engraved sigil on the blade. Coat of arms discs on the pommel - missing.

Note:
- the author likens the crosses to Maltese ones. Don't remember seeing goob photos of them on the originals, but on this gift replica given by the Turkish state to the Muzeul Manastirii Putna Romania (last photo).
- Konig's picture seems to be of 2638, 2636 & 2637 (left to right).

Of course, this article is old, and we would need some quality pictures of these additional swords to decide, although I think 2638 is probably from the same workshop as 2636 and 2637.

Source: https://patrimoniu.ro/images/BCMI/Bu...nul-XXVIII.pdf

[Reventlov]

Originally Posted by Teisani

So I remembered that there is an older source in regarding these swords. "Buletinul Comisiunii Monumentelor Istorice 1935 anul XXVIII" contains the article "Odoare romăneşti la Stambul" by Emil Vârtosu.

Great! Helpful photos for comparison. So much information to find in old articles - thanks for sharing. Probably the most comprehensive piece in English is David Alexander's two-part "European swords in the collections of Istanbul", in Waffen- und Kostümkunde (1985 and 1987). I do not think it is available online. I can share some images but the quality is not good.

Here are photos of the four-crosses mark on three of the four Moldavian swords. I think a common origin can be safely assumed.

No. 2639 has a type XXb blade, while the hilt has stereotypical Hungarian features: recurved quillons and squarish pommel. The marks on it are a little different: two thick crosses, and between them what seems to be an Italianate "twig" or knot mark. This thread is useful for comparison. Later I will share some examples that have more clearly Italian markings.

No. 2643 has the same type of hilt and is of more typical proportions. I will add also no. 2634, which appears to be another XXb, but the style of hilt is one very common in Germany at this time. The guards of both of these are covered in silver foil, which seems to be a Hungarian/Transylvanian trend. These and a number of other similar and contemporary swords are generally assumed to have been taken from Hungary by the Ottomans after the Battle of Mohacs (1526).

- Mark