Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 1).djvu/86

 the other in the Imperial Treasury of Vienna. But, as may be imagined, they are not of the age they purport to be. They will be found dealt with later on in their proper period (pp. 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, and 94). There is yet another sword, preserved in the treasury of St. Veitus in the cathedral of Prague, which is known as the sword of St. Stephen of Hungary (Fig. 13, a, b, c). Although the fable as to its original owner is not acceptable, it is yet a much earlier sword than the four others mentioned, and it might well be a weapon of the XIth or even Xth century. The blade, which has chamfered edge, is considerably worn from cleaning, rendering it now very pliable, which clearly has also obliterated an inscription in large Roman letters, of which there are traces running down its centre. The inscription is now wholly illegible. The short, thick quillons, and the deep trilobed pommel are fashioned of ivory, engraved with intertwined dragons and foliage directly under runic influence, strongly suggestive of the sword hilts of Northern Europe of very early date. The wire grip must have been added in the XVIth century. The inventory of the Prague Cathedral Treasury of 1355 mentions: "Gladius beati Stephani regis Ungarorum, cum manubrio eburneo." The same notice also appears in the inventories of the years 1368, 1371, and 1387. It has been the theory of late years that the sword was presented to the treasury of St. Veitus by King Charles IV of Germany some time during his reign (1347-1378).

Cott. MS. Claudius B. iv. British Museum

But to return, many swords without speculation of the Xth and XIth centuries do exist, but before describing the actual swords, let us see how they figure in the Anglo-Saxon MSS. Take as an instance that already referred to which is reproduced (Fig. 12) from the Cotton MS. Claudius B. iv. The book is Ælfric's Paraphrase of the Pentateuch and Joshua; the particular illustration chosen is the battle of the three kings against the cities of the Plain. Here we see the swords of two of the kings drawn most accurately in