There are many examples of the Munich Town Guard sword style. In today's video Dr. Nathan Clough discusses the Munich Town Guard style sword, making reference to examples in the Wallace Collection and the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum. You get a close up look at the Arms and Armor Town Guard Sword, and learn about the history and characteristics of this style of early 17th century sword, and some pictures of original swords of this group.
These swords are well represented in prominent museums and appear to have been made in Munich around the year 1610. Featuring a broad, quickly tapering blade with an acute point, a complex hilt with a fore-ring and sweep that forms a second ring, and a weight of three pounds and change depending on the example.
Our version of this type is based on the Wallace Collection examples, particularly A612 in the catalogue. This sword was measured and examined by Arms and Armor president Christopher Poor two decades ago.
In July of 2024, vice president Dr. Nathan Clough handled the example owned by the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worchester Art Museum. These experiences have really helped us to capture the soul of these iconic swords, and to reproduce them very faithfully, and maybe even more beautifully... (we really like this sword!).
Our version lookin' sexy
Ohh-la-la!
As always, our swords are entirely made by us, by hand, at our shop in Minneapolis, MN. The blades are hand ground of 6150 carbon steel, hardened and tempered to 50-52 Rockwell. All of our products are made to look, feel, and function just like the historical originals on which they are based.
Check out the video to learn more and see some up close views of the sword.
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
You've landed on the new (soon to be released) website for Arms & Armor. After looking around, we'd appreciate 2 minutes of your time to answer 3 short questions about your experience.
