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Arkadiusz MICHALAK
eminent guests in the Baltic crusades. They are, however without any cross sign. On
the other crusader sword (from the River Tina) there is a depiction of a cross crosslet
sign 27 , which was often used by the Knights Templar 28 (Fig. 1: 2).
Crosses which crusaders wore on their clothes were not only supposed to defend
them. They were also to remind their bearers of their double mission: the holy war
and the pilgrimage 29 . The French historian Orderic Vitalis (d. 1142) described the
meaning of the cross for crusaders in Historia Ecclesiastica, using the words of Elias
de la Flèche, Count of Maine (who wanted to go on crusade): Our Savior cross [...] I
want to put on my shield and my helmet and all my weapon, and attach to my saddle
and my reins holy cross, to everyone, who’ll raise weapon against me, should know
that man that he raised sword against, is a warrior of God 30 . Raymond of Saint-
Giles, one of the First Crusade’s leaders was even described in written sources as
from every side armed with the cross sign 31 .
In the world’s collections there is a large number of swords which bear various
types of cross sign: a Greek cross 32 , a cross potent 33 , a Latin cross 34 , a cross fleury 35 , a
cross patée 36 , a cross pommée 37 , a cross crosslet 38 . There is however only one sword,
from the collection of the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest (inv. 53. 181) 39 ,
which bears a Jerusalem Cross sign on its blade (Fig. 2-3). This emblem may connect
the sword with crusades or crusade ideology. This sword has a long tapering blade,
broad at the hilt, with a sharp and strongly reinforced point. The well-marked fuller is
quite short but longer than a half of the blade length. The pommel is of a disc form.
According to E. Oakeshott’s classification, the sword represents Type XVIa, K, 1.
The British scholar suggested that swords of this type were most popular at the end of
the 14 th - the beginning of the 15 th cent. The earliest examples, however, are known
from Italian paintings from the beginning of the 14 th cent. 40 . Type K pommels are rare
c. 1260 and they become common (mostly in art) between 1290 and 1350. They
appear rather seldom after c. 1480 41 . The Style 1 cross guard gives no further
27
Chodyński 2003, p. 28; Chodyński 2007, p. 485.
28
Oakeshott 1998.
29
Contamine 1999, p. 68.
30
Seitz 1965, pp. 127-128.
31
Histoire 1924, p. 36, 72, 84; Hill, Hill 1962.
32
Aleksić 2007, cat. 64, 99, 100, 138, 358, 363.
33
Müller, Kölling 1981, p. 167, cat. 23; Głosek 1984, p. 57; Aleksić 2007, cat. 69; Chodyński 2011.
34
Głosek 1984, pp. 60-62; Aleksić 2007, cat. 36.
35
Müller, Kölling 1981, p. 164, cat. 21.
36
Oakeshott 1991, p. 93.
37
Bordi 2008, p. 247, 250, 15 tabla. The cross sign from this sword consists of points in four cantons,
which is very similar to the sign used on the coins of Guy of Lusignan (Metcalf 1996).
38
Oakeshott 1991, p. 99, 212.
39
I am greatly indebted to Prof. Marian Głosek from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of
Łódź for giving me a permission for publishing documentation about this find. I would also like to
thank Prof. Jerzy Maik and Dr Piotr Strzyż from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the
Polish Academy of Sciences, Łódź Branch, for their kind help and access to this documentation.
40
Oakeshott 1997, pp. 63-65.
41 Oakeshott 1997, p. 96.