Cleveland Museum of Art

Sword

Date

c. 1400

Medium

steel, leather, wire

Culture

European, early 15th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The principal weapon of the European knight was his sword, a simple weapon with a broad, two-edged blade, a straight crossguard, and a round pommel or counterweight. The pommel gave the knight full mastery of a perfectly balanced weapon. The basic shape of the sword did not change significantly between 1200 and 1500. A sword required a different composition of steel than armor; as a result swordsmithing centers of Europe differ from those that specialized in armor.

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