The Most Beautiful Swords in the World…

There is something about the schiavona which draws the eye and makes the hand want to reach for it – to slide into that gorgeous basket hilt and lift the sword. It is complex, sturdy and yet delicate in appearance, with its distinctive cat’s head pommel. 

The schiavona is defined by that hilt and never by the blade it is attached to. Indeed it was paired with a great variety of blade types, but most commonly with a double-edged kind, the classic broadsword.

There is no one moment – one sword – that we can point to and say ‘that is the origin of the schiavona’ but it developed in Germany through the late Sixteenth century and the opening years of the Seventeenth. 

So where did the name schiavona come from?

The name is Italian. Well, Venetian to be more precise. It is pronounced ski-ah-voh-na and the plural is, technically, schiavone, but schiavonas is much used today as well. In Italian schiavo means slave. It also once meant Slav (which is also the origin of our own word ‘slave’) because going back in the darkest recesses of history, in early medieval times Slavs were, tragically, the people most enslaved in all Europe.

In the 16th and early 17th century when the sword gained its name, schiavone referred specifically to the Slavic people who lived in Venetian-dominated Dalmatia, which is in modern-day Croatia. There is a famous portrait by Titian called La Schiavona painted around 1510, which shows a noble Dalmatian lady. 

Although it may seem odd to bestow something that has such a classically masculine shape as a sword with a female name, in those European languages where objects have a gender, the word for sword is often a feminine one. In addition, men throughout the ages have referred to their weapons as ‘she’, much as to their ships, planes and other such. And when you consider its grace and elegance, maybe it is not so surprising, then, that this sword of all swords took on a feminine name.

The name soon gained in status and prestige as the Doge’s personal guard was formed from mercenary Schiavoni. They were well-respected warriors, favouring this style of sword, who served the Doge much as the Viking Varangian Guard had once served the Byzantine emperors, as the Janissaries served the Ottoman emperors and the Pontifical Swiss Guard still do serve as a Papal guard. It certainly helps your chances of survival to have men protecting you who are in your pay and dependent upon you personally for advancement, rather than those who have possible family connections to other powerful factions!

Today, Schiavon, Schiavone and other variants are fairly common Italian surnames and there is often debate as to whether this indicates their ancestor was so named as they were a Slav or a slave.

So it was probably the Slavic Schiavoni who gave their Venetian bestowed name to a style of sword hilt that had been developed in Germany.

But what is it that makes a schiavona so unique?

During the sixteenth century, the basket hilt began to evolve in a variety of ways. Some had solid shells, others had bars running from guard to pommel and attached top and bottom. They developed primarily as cavalry weapons. The basket hilt was intended to protect the hand and replace the need for heavy, armoured, gauntlets which were ill-suited to the increasing use of firearms.

One design began to stand out as being different and distinctive.

It had a slanted basket design and the protective metalwork became ever more complex. This style had one big advantage. Unlike other basket hilts which stand parallel to the blade and are attached at both the base and pommel of the hilt, the schiavona gracefully swirls aslant to the blade and stands free of the grip, sometimes with a curved quillon or two. This meant there was greater freedom to expand the defensive metalwork of the basket without restricting the movement of the hand within it. 

The cat’s head pommel was the ideal complement to such a design. It didn’t need to be bulky or round as it wasn’t tethering any protective bands. Instead, it provided the perfect opportunity for both adornment and to be something that could deliver a strong knuckle-duster effect if used in a blow.

It is perhaps not surprising that, combining the practical function of a highly effective basket hilt with the elegance, style and beauty of its metalwork, the schiavona became a very popular sword type. Adorned by the wealthy with precious metal and gemstones, it was worn as much for its stunning looks as for its utility. But then soldiers of the time were not restricted by the dull uniform requirements of today and were keen on display.

But for anyone who has read Lord’s Legacy, the schiavona will always be inextricably linked with Philip Lord. His sword with its cat’s head pommel is often remarked on. And, of course, the nom-de-guerre he has as a mercenary commander is ‘The Schiavono’.

Eleanor Swift-Hook