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Arms and armor 12th century sword. Two handed?
Sir Humphrey:
I have that sword. I would call it a Hand and a Half. I can wield it one handed, but I'm 6'4". A person of shorter stature might have trouble with one hand. there is enough room, even with my big hams, to grip it with two hands, although the second hand would wrap around the pommel too. I got mine used from Joe Metz and do not regret it in the least. Here it is after grip rewrap along with the scabbard I made for it.
Sir Humphrey
Sir James A:
^ that's beautiful!
Sir William:
--- Quote from: Sir Naythan on 2015-02-24, 23:12:18 ---I wasn't sourcing films, I was referncing a situation where people think knights all had swords that size or that they were common because movies in KOH, Ironclad, and Brave heart, the hero has a two handed sword, or a great sword. Im not saying that means they did, Im saying its because of films like that Ive had to tell people they didn't have two handed swords like that yet.
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That just means you get a chance to educate the listeners- and another opportunity to expound on all things knightly, not just swords! You can't help what Hollywood's done to the contemporary mind with regard to knights however- you can point out what they got right, rather than all the things they got wrong. It'll make for a more meaningful discussion- don't get me wrong, I've been there, casting all kinds of shade at this or that movie for the things they got wrong but if you're talking to a bunch of people who got interested in knights in the first place because of these movies, you may not want to figuratively crap on what they liked about it as an opener. Just my humble opinion, of course.
And Sir Humphrey- love what you've done with that sword.
Chuck G.:
--- Quote from: Sir Edward on 2015-03-02, 19:14:20 ---
--- Quote from: Sir Naythan on 2015-02-20, 22:26:02 ---Oh, I've always told people it wasn't seen until the mid 13th century.
Usually when talking about how many pre 1250 movies give the hero a two handed sword(particulary ironclad and KOH).
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They became somewhat more common in the late 13th, and much more popular in the 14th, where we start to see the manuscripts describing their use. So you've been erring on the correct side of things. :)
Ironclad is particularly bad in some ways, in that the sword isn't just a longsword, it's freaking huge. The really large two-handers are a much later invention, being seen more with Landesknechts, and bearing swords, and a variety of other 15th/16th c. uses. These would be pretty much unheard of prior to the 14th, if I recall correctly.
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However, this Albion offering does seem to be based on originals from the 13th-14th centuries documented by Peter Johnsson's research, and is 55 inches long (!):
http://albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/sword-2hander-archduke.htm
Don Jorge:
--- Quote from: Sir Humphrey on 2015-03-16, 15:50:45 ---I have that sword. I would call it a Hand and a Half. I can wield it one handed, but I'm 6'4". A person of shorter stature might have trouble with one hand. there is enough room, even with my big hams, to grip it with two hands, although the second hand would wrap around the pommel too. I got mine used from Joe Metz and do not regret it in the least. Here it is after grip rewrap along with the scabbard I made for it.
Sir Humphrey
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So beautiful!
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