Oakeshott Type XII Sword

Oakeshott type XII sword from the collection of the Instituto del Conde de Valencia de Don Juan, Madrid, XII-XIII century

This is what Ewart Oakeshott writes about this sword in his monograph “Archeology of weapons. From the Bronze Age to the Renaissance ”:

“The enamel colors on the apple have faded to gray and dark gray, so it’s impossible to determine the true color. The inscription on the apple in Latin is “AVE MARIA PLENA GRATIA”, and on the guard in Spanish “DIOS ES VINCENTOR EN TOD” and “O DIOS ES VINCENTOR EN TOD A” (Lord conquers all. The last letter is probably from the word AMEN (amen.)) The apple and the guard are made of gilded iron and gilded bronze, respectively.

The fact that the inscription on the guard in Spanish indicates that the hilt was assembled in Spain or for the Spanish customer. The wooden handle is covered with red (now pink) leather, with narrow leather straps. Laking believes that the handle was redone in the 19th century, but when I inspected the sword in 1949 I was sure that it was the original.
This is a wonderful example of the XII type, moreover, a beautiful example of a medieval knight’s sword.
In others, the publication (for example, Laking and Hoffmeyer) dates from around 1300, but I believe that its shape and style of decoration speak of the 12th century. ”

Oakeshott Type XII Sword

The sword we have chosen dates back to various sources from the 12th-13th centuries. And was found in the Monastery of San Vicente, the city of Logrono, Spain. The condition is excellent.

When reproducing this sword, we did not set ourselves the task of making a copy, but to make the same sword but slightly resizing it in accordance with the requirements of the customer. The blade and the set on the handle are made without inscriptions and decorations, unlike the original. The source we relied on was the book of Records of the Medieval Sword by Ewart Oakeshott.

Oakeshott Type XII Sword with Modified Pommel and Etched Guard and Pommel