NORMAN IRON BRAZIL-NUT POMMEL SWORD

Ca. 1000-1100 AD
An iron sword with a distinctive Brazil nut pommel, Oakeshott type A. The cross guard is long, thin, and square-sectioned, in Oakeshott’s typology a type I. It slightly tapers towards each end. The blade is most probably Oakshott, category XI, typically long, thin with a slight taper and a rounded tip. The fuller is concave and runs the length of the blade, stopping well short of the tip where the metal, by design, has started to thin out. The hilt is short, a feature copied by the Norman swordsmiths from their Viking and Saxon predecessors. Cf. Ellis Davidson, H.R. The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England, p.56-7.
Size: L:950mm / W:150mm ; 1.16kg
Provenance: Property of a European collector; ex. German collection formed between 1990-2010.
Estimate: GBP 3000 - 6000