ENGLISH CRUCIFORM BROADSWORD C.1550

Extremely rare example used as funerary achievements in over knight's tombs in England. This, and the following are two of the only three examples on the market in the last 50 years, in our experience. Iron, 35" overall with spherical pommel, spatulate terminal cross guard and wire wrapped grip. Heavy section straight blade. Church patina-five centuries exposure without cleaning resulting in surface texturing with deep glossy patina and a protective surface as with the Brown Bess muskets. A fully functional town sword of the cruciform revival which became briefly popular in England about 1600. While this and the following closely related example were surely used as funerary achievements, it is unlikely that they were produced for that purpose as the demand was insufficient to generate an industry. The topology of English cruciform swords is insufficiently explored, but these clearly are swords for town use, preserved on noble tombs. They were likely produced for personal protection and some relegated to funerary displays.