FINE QUALITY ENGLISH GOTHIC SHEATH KNIFE C.1370-1400

This knife is from a group of knives studied extensively and published in 1987 in Knives and Scabbards, Medieval finds from excavations in London, HMSO. They are specifically dated to the late 14th century, the period of the Black Death which reduced the population of England by 70%! They are distinguished by the angled shoulder plate at the junction of the blade and grip, which construction was not used after 1400. The presence of sheaths with many examples as well as the absence of sharpening clearly identifies them as side arms, not used as tools. The majority of the knives in the group are whittle tanged (a narrow tang fully embedded in the grip) while both these are scale tanged with the tang edges exposed between the grip scales. The former are typically undecorated while the latter are often decorated, and thus represent a more meticulous method of construction indicative of finer original quality. These two are the only examples with original grips which we have ever encountered in private hands and very few museums possess even a single example. 4 5/8" wedge section blade with a narrow fuller to the right side. Two piece bone grip tapered toward the terminals and decorated each side with two clusters of concentric circles. See Knives and Scabbards, #135 for a very similar example with similar decoration.