Gothic Hunting Sword

One of the medieval practices we use in our shop is trying to let little go to waste. That is how we will use certain elements reworked on some of the one of pieces we sell at renaissance fairs. Here is one that turned out quite nicely, done in a gothic bough style and patterned after hunting swords of the late gothic period. 

These swords were used in the hunt to dispatch or bring down game as it was seen as good practice for personal combat and war. We have done a few blog posts on medieval style hunting here and here. This piece is done in the style of this type of sword.

The medieval hunt was often done with drivers and dogs which would force the game into confined areas were the nobility could take on the beasts in hand to hand fashion. This was quite different than game hunters of the lower classes looking for food. They would almost certainly have tried to keep a low profile of their activities.

OL: 37.5"

BL: 31"

GW: 7.1"

Grip L: 3.5"

Weight 1.96 Lbs  889 grams

One of the characteristics of this type of sword that we find very appealing is its versatility. While we are calling it a hunting sword, light weight, single handed swords like this were quite popular for daily travel and personal protection use. Anyone who was moving from one place to another even over just a short distance was usually moving in a group or properly armed for personal protection through much of the middle ages. Those who traveled a great deal, like plowmen, are known for being well armed and often quite good at the use of those arms.

So check out our video looking at this sword and let us know what you think.

In fact we like this sword so much you may see a version of it on the website in the foreseeable future, so stay tuned.

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