Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 2).djvu/338

Fig. 678. Landsknecht sword

Of a type known as Hauswehr or Kurzwehr. German or Swiss, early XVIth century

No. 128, Wallace Collection (Laking Catalogue)

the Maximilian times, so to a certain extent the elegance in line of the swords worn with such costumes disappeared, making way for a series of weapons in which the ratio of breadth to length was greatly increased. There are numerous swords, some short, some long, which from their general similarity of construction must all be classed together; though admittedly it is somewhat difficult to perceive the general likeness at first. In the Wallace Collection, take the swords Nos. 123 and 128. Despite the fact that they are of two different provenances—Italian and German—they both come under the general heading of the Landsknecht type. No. 123 is a beautiful weapon, graceful and well conceived, which, though of Italian workmanship, is essentially of German fashion (Fig. 675). With such a weapon is armed the knight in Dürer's famous plate, Der Spaziergang, published about 1495. We give a portion of the famous picture by Palma Jacopo (il Giovane) in the Accademia of Venice, which shows the same type of sword in the hands of Judith (Fig. 676), thus affording another illustration of the great difficulty there is in assigning a nationality to a weapon from form alone. Again, a very beautiful example of the Italian version of the Landsknecht sword is in Baron Ferdinand Rothschild's bequest to the British Museum (Fig. 677). This is a sword of similar proportions and form; though the metal gilt pommel ends in a rectangular cup. The main ornamentation of the hilt is found on the flattened octangular silver grip, each facet of which is decorated with nielloed designs, introducing figures of Tarquin and Lucretia, Hero and Leander. The blade has been associated with the hilt at some later date. Upon it are a Solingen mark and the arms of Amsterdam. This weapon may be dated at about 1490-1500. No. 128 in the Wallace Collection (Fig. 678) shows the cap-like pommel and stumpiness that characterize certain other forms of Landsknecht sword. This short form of sword, which is German, or conceivably Swiss, was familiarly called the Hauswehr or Kurzwehr. We regret that we can supply but two illustrations from English collections of the finer class of Landsknecht sword, such as figures on Swiss painted glass, on carved