The sword in late medieval Ireland

[claimhteoir]

I don't know if it's still of any use to you, but I randomly came across this article...
"Warfare in Sixteenth-Century Ireland" by Seán Ó�omhnaill in Irish Historical Studies, Vol. 5, No. 17 (Mar., 1946), pp. 29-54

[Celtic Britain]

In our research to the kingdoms of the western Isles of Scotland we found a typically sword on a lot of graveslabs, called an Islay hilt. When looking to the blade, it looks like an Oakeshott category XII, but it seems the sword was used for a longer time. We found different kinds of pommels on it but some are more common than others.

I know it is not a typically Irish sword but if the hilt indeed had his origins from the isle of Islay, 25 miles from the coast of Ireland, it is very well likely that they were used in Ireland as well.

[brendan_the_lesser]

ya i found the scottish connection while i was doing the research originally and one of the suggestions was that that style of pommel (almost resembling a squished wheel pommel) and the forward swept hilt was introduced by gallogaigh from scotland. This fits in with the distribution of the swords in ireland, where they stay among irish held regions rather than anglo-irish, which might be the case if they were introduced through England.

[TheXwarrior]

please tell me if this is an Ireland sword, it looks like a excalibur sword.

[the_power]

Yes, it's a fantasy sword, as far as I can tell. Shiny Black leather wasn't a common thing in medieval times. The forward sweep on the hilt is also a good sign that it's a fantasy sword - it's quite advanced casting, and a significant forward sweep on the quillion would catch on lots of things. It's rare to see a sword like that.

John

[Swifty]

please tell me if this is an Ireland sword, it looks like a excalibur sword.

What you have there is a bone fide fantasy sword. The Excalibur sword is not based on an archaeological specimen either.

[Celtchar]

A replica of a kern's sword.





http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/alb ... photos.htm

Of course you can always cheat and use a generic medieval sword; people in the middle ages chose weapons based on how effective they were not because they wanted an "Irish sword" or a "Scottish sword."

[brendan]

I have held one of those, it is exquisite...I try to banish memories of just how exquisite. Only thing is that it is a sharp so display only

[kevin714]

I'm proud to say I own one and it is an awesome sword, prominately displayed in a locked case in my living room. I am not trained with a sword and only collect but this sword feels very natural to me and is razor sharp. I can see why this would have been a very effective weapon in the hands of my ancestors.

[Celtchar]

An example of galloglass swords.