Exhibit of the month – January 2025
Longsword, Type XVII
Found in the locality of Paradzhika, between the villages of Ignatievo and Aksakovo, near the city of Varna.
1370 – 1400
Dimensions: Total length – 1318 mm; weight – 1693 g; blade length – 1032 mm; width and thickness at the base – 38 × 7 mm; guard width – 248 mm
NAIM – BAS, No 667
Photo: Temelko Temelkov
The longsword from the depository of NAIM–BAS, inventory number 667, is a highlight of the temporary exhibition "Chronicles of Steel. Bladed Weapons from the Bulgarian Middle Ages" currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum. It features a slender and elongated silhouette. The blade has a hexagonal cross-section with a shallow fuller at its base (near the hilt), transitioning to a hexagonal cross-section without a fuller, and finally to a diamond-shaped cross-section near the tip. The guard is straight with a circular cross-section. The pommel is disc-shaped, and adorned on both sides with a central circular depression. Traces of two blacksmith's stamps are present on the grip.
This distinctive sword belongs to Oakeshott Type XVII, which emerged in Western Europe in the second half of the 14th century and fell out of widespread use after the first quarter of the 15th century. Weapons of this type reflect the "new wave" of longswords in Western Europe, designed in response to the increasingly heavy and sophisticated defensive armour. Their narrow blades with diamond-shaped cross-sections near the tip made these two-handed swords primarily thrusting weapons.
Parallels from Western Europe date this sword between the 1360s and the early 15th century. Artistic depictions, some almost exact copies, suggest a narrower timeframe in the last three decades of the 14th century, associating the sword with Northern Italy.
References:
Apostolov 1989: Shanko Apostolov. European Medieval Swords in Bulgaria. – In: Proceedings of the National Museum of Military History, 8, 1989, pp. 99–104.
Rabovyanov, Zlatkov 2025: D. Rabovyanov, M. Zlatkov. Type XVII Sword from the National Archaeological Museum in Sofia: A New Look. – In: Interethnic Relations in Transylvania. Militaria Mediaevalia in Central and Southeastern Europe. VI. Edited by Zeno Karl Pinter, Claudia Urduzia, Anca Nițoi, and Răzvan C. Pop. Sibiu, 2025. (in press)