Medieval Tewkesbury Sword, 15th Century

Get Medieval Tewkesbury Sword, 15th Century

Medieval sword with Tewkesbury scabbard, 15th century



The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) were a series of battles for the English crown fought between the noble houses of York and Lancaster. Both houses were offshoots of the same European ruling dynasty, the Plantagenets, which had ruled England for three centuries. These civil wars (interspersed with brief periods of relative peace) took their name from the roses that both rival families bore on their respective coats of arms: white for the Yorks and red for the Lancasters. After 30 years of political machinations and horrific bloodshed, the family feud eventually led to the fall of the House of Plantagenet and the rise of the House of Tudor.



The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was a decisive victory for the House of York. It ended with the death of Lancaster's young crown prince, Edward of Wales, allowing King Edward IV to finally rule unopposed and marking the beginning of England's longest period of political stability in this multi-generational conflict. When Edward IV died in 1483, power struggles for the throne immediately broke out again.



The Tewkesbury Sword, named after this historic battle, is a classic example of a late medieval cutting and thrusting longsword. Although this beautiful and inexpensive hand-and-a-half sword (also called a bastard sword ) is not an exact replica of a historical original from this great English battle, it does have the typical features of a traditional late medieval longsword and is inspired by the swords that were probably wielded on both sides of the conflict at the time.



The long, double-edged blade is forged from hardened and heat-treated EN45 spring steel. It tapers smoothly towards the tip and is serrated on both sides for about half its length, with a flattened, diamond-shaped cross section towards the tip. The cutting edges are not sharpened and the continuous blade tang is screwed into the end of the handle.



The vessel consists of a handle with a wooden core and black leather covering, a flattened steel crossguard and an elongated, six-faceted steel stoppered knob with slightly concave side surfaces. The knob is inlaid with a cross on one side. The guard is approx. 23 cm long and 0.5 cm thick. Its ends are flared and each is decorated with a cut-out cross.



The one-and-a-half-handed sword from the late Middle Ages is delivered with a black wooden/leather scabbard with a blued steel mouthpiece and bezel.



This sword is designed as a collector's item or decorative object and is also ideal as an accessory, for example to complete your costume.



Details:

- Material: EN45 spring steel blade (carbon steel, not stainless), steel guard and pommel, wooden handle with leather covering

- Total length: approx. 118cm

- Blade length: approx. 90 cm

- Handle length: approx. 25 cm (handle section approx. 19 cm)

- Maximum blade width: approx. 5.5 cm.
- Center of gravity: approx. 12.5 cm in front of the guard

- Incl. wooden case with genuine leather covering and steel fittings

- Weight without cover: approx. 1.8kg

- Weight with case: approx. 2.4 kg



The above specifications may vary slightly from specimen to specimen.



The steel used here is not stainless and may show slight signs of corrosion. We recommend that you take care of the blade and sheath regularly, for example with Ballistol, a universal oil ideal for preserving steel products.



Please note:

This item is only sold to persons over 18 years of age. Please enter your date of birth on our order form. We also require a copy of your ID, driving licence or similar by email, scan, fax or post.



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