Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 1).djvu/216

 Canterbury. The family feature is the wheel pommel of great thickness; the long grip, the long straight quillons with a short right-angle drop at their extreme ends, and the comparatively narrow but very stiff blade of flattened diamond-shaped section.

Of this group of swords a beautiful and gracefully proportioned weapon is in the possession of Sir Edward Barry (Fig. 172). It is safe to assign its date to the middle of the XIVth century. The heavy wheel-shaped pommel with its built-up rivet block, the finely proportioned and eminently useful quillons, which are straight except for the slight droop at the extreme ends, show the characteristics to which we have referred. It was found in lake Constance. This sword is almost duplicated by one in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries in London (Fig. 173), although the latter is rather shorter. Both have blades of the same section, rigid and slender, adapted for thrusting. The Society of Antiquaries sword was recovered from the Thames at Westminster.

Referred to by Guiart. From an early XIVth century carved chest at New College, Oxford

A very similar, though rather larger, weapon of this same family is in the Musée d'Artillerie, Paris, J 10 (Fig. 174), whilst another, found in the North of France, is in the collection of the Baron de Cosson (Fig. 175).

Of the lance belonging to the first half of the XIVth century, a weapon of great importance to the knight, we can learn but a little from contemporary illustrations. It was still of spear-like form, with a plain shaft, having a head of simple but eminently useful shape.

We give an illustration of two heads found in Northern Italy (Fig. 176, a, b). The period of their production may safely be assigned to the XIVth century. They are accurately forged, one of them (b) bearing an armourer's mark of importance, though one impossible to recognize. The lance, to