Oakeshott typology of medieval swords

This article about the Oakeshott typology is a follow-up of my previous post about sword classification. In case you missed it check it out here.

Table of Contents

Basics

Created by the historian Ewart Oakeshott (1916-2002), his classification system is very detailed and widely used. In his work, he defined several distinguishable factors of swords. They will be covered in the next chapter.

Criteria

The most important differences between swords are the profile, grip, cross-section, average blade length and the primary purpose.

Oakeshott types

Type X

Most of these swords were used in the late Viking age (9^th – 12^th century).

Albion-Bayeux-Medieval-Sword — Søren Niedziella from Denmark [CC BY 2.0]

Profile: broad and medium length
Grip: single-hand (9 cm/3.5 in)

Cross-Section: lenticular
Average Blade length: 76 cm (30 inches)
Primary Purpose: cutting

Type XI

These swords were in use between 1100 and 1175.

Albion-Arn-Sword — Søren Niedziella from Denmark [CC BY 2.0]

Profile: longer, narrower than Type X
Grip: single-hand (9 cm/3.5 in)

Cross-Section: lenticular
Average Blade length: 95 cm (37.4 inches)
Primary Purpose: cutting

Type XII

Common sword in the High Middle Ages (13^th – 15^th century). In this category are arming swords.

Albion_Turin_Medieval_Sword — Søren Niedziella of Albion-Europe, Denmark [CC BY 2.0]

Profile: broad, flat and evenly tapering
Grip: single-hand (9 cm/3.5 in)

Cross-Section: lenticular
Average Blade length: 81 cm (31.9 inches)
Primary Purpose: cutting

Type XIII

These swords were developed in the age of the Crusades (middle of the 13^th century to 15^th century). As they got a slightly longer grip they are considered hand-and-a-half or bastard swords.

Profile: broad, flat and parallel edges
Grip: hand and a half (15 cm/5.9 in)

Cross-Section: lenticular
Average Blade length: 88 cm (34.6 inches)
Primary Purpose: cutting

Type XIV

This Oakeshott type features swords from the late 13^th to mid 14^th century.

Albion_Yeoman_Medieval_Sword — Søren Niedziella from Denmark [CC BY 2.0]

Profile: broad, flat and sharply tapering
Grip: single-hand (9 cm/3.5 in)

Cross-Section: lenticular
Average Blade length: 76 cm (30 inches)
Primary Purpose: cut and thrust

Type XV

These swords were used from the 14^th to 15^th century and are considered bastard swords.

Albion_Poitiers_Medieval_Sword — Søren Niedziella from Denmark [CC BY 2.0]

Profile: Straight tapering
Grip: hand and a half (15 cm/5.9 in)

Cross-Section: flat diamond
Average Blade length: 79 cm (31.1 inches)
Primary Purpose: thrusting

Type XVI

These swords were used in the early 14^th century.

Albion_Prince_Medieval_Sword — Søren Niedziella [CC BY 2.0]

Profile: broad, flat and sharply tapering
Grip: single-hand (10 cm/3.9 in)

Cross-Section: flat diamond
Average Blade length: 76 cm (30 inches)
Primary Purpose: thrusting

Type XVII

This Oakeshott type was used between the 14^th to the early 15^th century.

Albion_Landgraf_Medieval_Sword — Søren Niedziella from Denmark [CC BY 2.0]

Profile: long, slender and acutely tapering
Grip: two-handed (20 cm/7.9 in)

Cross-Section: hexagonal
Average Blade length: 89 cm (35 inches)
Primary Purpose: thrusting

Type XVIII

This classification features swords from the mid 15^th century to mid 16^th century.

Albion_Kingmaker_Medieval_Sword — Søren Niedziella from Denmark [CC BY 2.0]

Profile: long, fairly broad, evenly tapers to a sharp point
Grip: one-handed (10 cm/3.9 in)

Cross-Section: diamond
Average Blade length: 81 cm (31.9 inches)
Primary Purpose: cut and thrust

Type XIX

This category includes single-handed as well as hand-and-a-half swords from the mid 15^th century.

Profile: narrow, flat
Grip: one-handed and hand-and-a-half (10-15 cm/3.9-5.9 in)

Cross-Section: hexagonal
Average Blade length: 86 cm (33.9 inches)
Primary Purpose: cut and thrust

Type XX

This Oakeshott typology category features swords from the 14^th to 15^th century.

Profile: nearly parallel or only slightly tapered
Grip: hand-and-a-half (15 cm/5.9 in)

Cross-Section: lenticular or octagonal
Average Blade length: 82 cm (32.3 inches)
Primary Purpose: cut and thrust

Type XXI

This category contains swords from the late 15^th century.

Profile: broad heavily tapering swords
Grip: one-handed (9 cm/3.5 in)

Cross-Section: hexagonal
Average Blade length: 76 cm (30 inches)
Primary Purpose: cut and thrust

Type XXII

This is the last Oakeshott typology class, which includes swords from the mid 15^th to 16^th century.

Profile: broad, flat blade, moderate tapering
Grip: one-handed (9 cm/3.5 in)

Cross-Section: hexagonal
Average Blade length: 76 cm (30 inches)
Primary Purpose: cut and thrust