A renaissance sword from Racibórz

Marcin Biborski; Janusz Stępiński; Grzegorz Zabiński

doi:10.3989/gladius.2004.41

A renaissance sword from Racibórz

Authors

Marcin Biborski Kraków, Jagiellonian University, Institute of Archaeology
Janusz Stępiński Kraków, Academy of Mining and Metallurgy
Grzegorz Zabiński Katowice, Freelance Medievalist

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/gladius.2004.41

Keywords:

Late medieval and early Renaissance swords, Grave-found swords, Broken sword blades, Archaeometallurgy of late medieval blades, Racibórz, Silesia, Poland, Central Europe

Abstract

A broken sword was found in Racibórz, in an assumed Ducal grave, dated back to the 1520s. The sword blade can be classified as a variation of the Type XVII (similar to the Type XVIIIb), the pommel belongs to the Type T5 and the crosspiece to the Type 12. As blade types XVII were mainly in use ca. 1350-1450, it cannot be excluded that the blade of the Racibórz sword was re-hilted and provided with a more fashionable pommel and a crosspiece ca. 1500. Several analogous examples of swords are presented in the paper. Concerning archaeometallurgical analysis of the blade, it was made of one piece of iron, carburised and then hardened. In result, a highquality blade with a soft core and hard edges was produced. For the sake of comparison, selected examples of archaeometallurgical analysis of other late medieval blades are provided.

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Published

2004-12-30

How to Cite

Biborski, M., Stępiński, J., & Zabiński, G. (2004). A renaissance sword from Racibórz. Gladius, 24, 187–208. https://doi.org/10.3989/gladius.2004.41

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Issue

Vol. 24 (2004)

Section

Articles

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