Custom Venetian Pirata Sword

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Venice was one of Europe's greatest powers, drawing its wealth from the extensive maritime trade networks and coastal colonies it maintained.  This iconic sword has a relatively early example of the so-called "cat's head" pommel that graced so many sciavone and other Italian swords of the renaissance. With a strong distal taper and a beautiful hexagonally ground cross section of Oakeshott type XIX,  this sword recalls the days when Venice ruled the Adriatic.

Along with several other weapons we make, such as our Serenissima Rapier, and Calliano Sword, this custom blade is unmistakably Venetian.  In fact many swords of this type are on display in the Palazzo Ducale, whence the rulers of Venice once organized global trade, and commanded the military force necessary to safeguard the wealth this trade produced.  

Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is Vice President of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography.  He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.

Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985