Sword
Category
Arms and armour
Date
1550 - 1821
Materials
Brass, Metal
Measurements
500 mm (Width); 1662 mm (Length)
Place of origin
Germany
Order this imageCollection
Cotehele, Cornwall
NT 347403
Caption
This sword was admired by Queen Mary when she visited Cotehele in 1938. Her host, Piers 5th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, told her it once belonged to Edward, the Black Prince (1330-76). However, the sword is a composite piece, probably assembled in the 18th-century for decorative purposes. The earliest part of it was made more than two centuries after the death of the Black Prince, but it was a good story!
Summary
Two-handed composite sword, the steel blade with triple fullers (German, c.1600), the guard and quillons chased with stylised foliage, the brass pommel a later addition, possibly from a beadle's staff. Illustrated in a photograph c.1860 showing an antiquarian assemblage of Cotehele's arms, armour and furniture, and seems to be portrayed on John Buckler's 1821 watercolour of the Hall. This sword is pictured with the quillons of the guard pointing towards the pommel on the watercolour and the antiquarian photo; this has since been upturned to reflect a more realistic appearance.