GOTHIC SHORTSWORD, GERMAN C.1450

19 å?‰۝ length with 13 å?‰۝ blade of heavy wedge section. Excavated with its pommel cap and two of three grip rivets intact. Closely related to the scramseax of centuries earlier, these were swords of peasants, untrained in fencing, but of extraordinary musculature resulting from their backbreaking work. They were kept in the house at the front door for defense and carried when foul play might be encountered as when going to town. That they are weapons and not working knives, is verified by the fact that their original form is preserved, uncompromised by repeated sharpening, as would be the case with a working knife or tool.