Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 4).djvu/301

 finely proportioned weapon of admirable balance. There is in the collection of Lord de Lisle and Dudley at Penshurst a fine and ornate two-handed sword (Fig. 1337), and since it has chiselled upon its pommel the bear and ragged staff, which may be accepted as the cognizance of the Warwick family, there is the possibility of the hilt being of English workmanship, though the blade is certainly Italian. We find also a certain group of very simply constructed two-handed swords that can assuredly be regarded as of English make, and dating from the closing years of the XVth century. In the collection of Mr. Seymour Lucas is a sword of this class, perfect in every respect with a fine blade (Fig. 1338). It was discovered in an outhouse of an old Priory in Norfolk. Mr. Weedon Grossmith also possessed a very good example made the rarer by the fact of its retaining its original scabbard. The collections of Mr. H. G. Radford and Mr. W. H. Fenton each contain a specimen of this class of English made weapon.

Probably English Collection: Mr. J. Seymour Lucas, R.A.

Although the constructional principle of the Italian two-handed sword of the early years of the XVIth century was retained by all countries which had adopted it, the individual influence of each country soon made itself apparent in the matter of enrichment and elaboration. So it will be noted that in Germany the two-handed sword was influenced by the Maximilian feeling so prevalent there. The elaboration of the quillons, the side rings, and the addition of small counter-guards are all shown in that quaintly grotesque style that characterizes the short Landsknecht sword of the first half of the XVIth century. The Musée d'Artillerie of Paris (J 61) presents an admirable example of the German mid-XVIth century type; though for some unknown reason it is described in the official catalogue as being of Italian origin (Fig. 1339). The blade of this specimen, which possesses its original grip and is of exceptionally fine workmanship, widens somewhat towards the point, and, as is often the case, has a waved cutting edge. The lugs on the blade below the quillons are well developed, the space between them and the hilt being covered with leather. Etched upon the blade are various coats of arms, among others