A 13 C. Crusader sword from the Holy Land

Norman McCormick · 26th March 2009, 09:22 PM

Hi,
The Type XII for me epitomises the archetypal 'knights sword'. As far as I can remember this type was one of the most produced in the Medieval period. It does seem unusual that a sword produced in numbers over a long period of time should be so scantily represented in one of the most fought over theatres in the Middle Ages. With an abundance of dry and arid climatic regions you would think that well preserved examples would be more prolific. Perhaps this scarcity is due more to the care of the 'victors' in stripping the battlefield of reusable 'materiel' than anything else, after all weapons grade metal would not be 'a penny a pound'. From memory a distinct feature of Type XII blades is a lenticular cross section it is difficult to see this in the photographs and I just wonder if you could confirm that the blade has this particular property. A really nice addition to any collection.
My Regards,
Norman.

26th March 2009, 09:22 PM	#4
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,618	Hi, The Type XII for me epitomises the archetypal 'knights sword'. As far as I can remember this type was one of the most produced in the Medieval period. It does seem unusual that a sword produced in numbers over a long period of time should be so scantily represented in one of the most fought over theatres in the Middle Ages. With an abundance of dry and arid climatic regions you would think that well preserved examples would be more prolific. Perhaps this scarcity is due more to the care of the 'victors' in stripping the battlefield of reusable 'materiel' than anything else, after all weapons grade metal would not be 'a penny a pound'. From memory a distinct feature of Type XII blades is a lenticular cross section it is difficult to see this in the photographs and I just wonder if you could confirm that the blade has this particular property. A really nice addition to any collection. My Regards, Norman.