Del Tin 2120
One of the most well-known swords in the world is the traditional coronation sword of France, once attributed to the great Emperor Charlemagne. It is kept in the Louvre, the famous museum of art in Paris, France. To this day, it is unclear whether the sword is Charlemagne's sword "Joyeuse" or if it is of a later date. It is shrouded in mystery, but before moving on to the sword itself, I'll try to sketch an outline of who Charlemagne was and why a sword attributed to him is something special.
Charlemagne - or Charles the Great - is one of the most important figures in European history. He was king of the Franks, a people living in what is known today as France. He was born in 742 AD, the son of the Frankish king Pepin the Short. He inherited the crown together with his brother Carloman in 768, but when Carloman passed away in 771, Charles became the sole ruler. One of the things he inherited was the obligation to protect the temporal rights of the Holy See. He was soon embroiled in wars with the Lombard enemies of the Pope and with the pagan Saxons in Germany. His successes in defeating the Lombards and Saxons made the Pope declare Charles the first champion of the Catholic Church in 774. The next 20 years were full of warfare against Saxons, Lombard insurgents and the Moors of Spain. In the latter conflict, there was a Frankish campaign against the Moors in 778, where the legendary battle in the Pass of Roncevalles took place. In this battle, Charles' paladin Roland fell, breaking his sword "Durandal" and entered legend in the "Song of Roland". The following year, Charles attacked the Saxons again, ending in the baptism of the Saxon leader in 785. After that, Charles' life was relatively quiet, interrupted only by the odd revolt and Viking raid. His defense of the Pope and Western Christendom was recognized in 800 AD, when the Pope crowned him Emperor of the Western Empire. Apart from his military prowess, he was also very good at ruling his empire, bringing order to a tumultuous time and setting an example for later kings. Agriculture, trade and law flourished. He died in 814, a few months before his 72nd birthday. The empire soon split into several kingdoms, but the work of Charles the Great had left an indelible legacy.
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Today, there are two swords attributed to Charlemagne. One, a saber-like weapon, is kept in the Weltliche Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury) in Vienna, Austria, while the sword covered in this article is kept in the Louvre in Paris, France (catalog number MS 84). The sword was originally kept in the monastery in Saint-Denis, where the other regalia and the battle standard of France, the Oriflamme, were kept. The monks (and other people) believed that the regalia had belonged to Charles the Great, but some modern researchers have arrived at a later date for all pieces, though others dispute this. The decorative elements, proportions and purported age don't really correspond. The Sword of Charlemagne has no known counterpart and presents antiquarians with a problem: when was it made?
There are basically two schools. One thinks that the sword is basically that carried by Charlemagne. Their main argument is that the ornamentation of the hilt, which is not typical of later swords, indicates an early date of manufacture. The other school thinks that the proportions are that of a later weapon and that it is unlikely the original sword has survived for 1200 years. The antiquarian Sir Martin Conway believed the sword to be made up of parts, some of them from around 800 AD, while Sir Guy Laking put the age at a much later date, the early 13th century. One French antiquarian, a M. Dieulafoy, saw similarities between Sassanidian decorative styles and the decoration of the pommel, thinking that a western craftsman imitated the style for some obscure reason. As the style in question would be of the mid-7th century, it would explain the unusual pommel and also provide evidence for the sword's age. Laking, on his side, argued that the general proportions of the sword put it at a date of manufacture no earlier than 1150 AD, and that similar ornamental styles can be encountered in European art of that period. Laking speculates that the sword might have replaced the original "Joyeuse" in the 13th century, being made as a copy of the original, which might account for the seeming anachronisms. The sword expert Ewart Oakeshott, on the other hand, tends to side with those who set an earlier date for the sword, arguing that the proportions aren't that unlikely for an earlier sword and that the decorative style is alien for the years around 1200 AD. Alterations made through the centuries have further clouded the issue. The Louvre's official website lists the following ages of the different parts: pommel 10th-11th centuries, cross second half of the 12th century and grip 13th century. There's no date for the blade.
The earliest known instance when the sword was used at the coronation of a French king was when Philip the Bold was crowned in 1270. The ceremony was usually held in Reims cathedral, with the regalia kept in the nearby monastery in Saint-Denis. The first mention of the sword being kept in the monastery was in an inventory made in 1505. The sword is listed together with three other swords, none of which survives to this day. They were (reportedly) the sword of Louis IX, carried on his first crusade, the sword of Charles VII and a sword associated with Archbishop Turpin. The sword was taken to the Louvre on December 5, 1793.
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The heavily sculpted gold pommel is made in two halves, resembling a bulky Oakeshott type B, 53 mm (2.1") high. The 107 mm (4.2") long gold grip was decorated with fleurs-de-lis inside the diamond patterning, but those were removed for the coronation of Napoleon I in 1804. The gold cross is an Oakeshott style 1, 226 mm wide (8.9"), and in the shape of two winged dragons with lapis azuli beads for eyes. The cross was stamped in the 13th century with the weight of the gold in the hilt, the text reading as follows: "Deux marcs et demi et dix esterlins" ("two marks and half and ten sterlings").
The blade is a rather slender Oakeshott type XII. It has a relatively wide, shallow fuller. The blade is 828 mm (32.6") long and 45 mm (1.77") wide at the base. There are differing views on the age of the blade, one school thinking it was forged when the sword got an overhaul in 1804, the other (and in my view probably correct) thinking it is medieval.
As with other coronation swords, there's a scabbard. It has been changed, and I doubt there's anything left of the original except for the precious stones on the scabbard throat and the belt. It is made of gilded silver, the 155 mm (6") throat decorated along its length with gems, while the rest is covered with purple velvet and decorated with fleurs-de-lis embroidered with gold thread. The velvet and fleurs-de-lis were added in 1824 for the coronation of Charles X. The scabbard is 838 mm long and 70 mm wide at the throat. A piece of the belt is still in place, fitted with a gilded buckle in a decidedly medieval style.
The Sword of Charlemagne is probably the most reproduced of any historical sword. The majority are made just for decorative purposes, with stainless steel blades and weak hilts. Marto swords are typical of this kind of sword, but considering the crisply cast hilt, it is a good buy if one is looking for a purely decorative replica. The etched coats-of-arms have no counterpart on the original. Denix makes a decent wallhanger, which comes with a scabbard which bears no resemblance to the original. The only functional quality reproduction of the sword is the Del Tin 2120.
Del Tin's "Sword of Charlemagne" (#2120)
Length: 1000 mm (39.4")
Blade length: 840 mm (33")
Blade width: 54 mm (2.1")
Cross span: 235 mm (9.25")
Weight: c. 1750 grams (3.85 lbs.)
This is a good replica of the sword. It differs from the original mainly in not having the inscription and lapis azuli beads on the hilt, as well as sporting a longer cross and a shorter blade. The pommel is riveted in place, just like the medieval counterpart. It is rather heavy for a one-hander, but handles pretty well if you like swords with a punch. The POB is c. 160 mm (6.3") in front of the cross, but the weight makes it a second to swords like the Del Tin 2130.
I would like to thank David Counts for his help with Laking's text, as well as Ann Snow, Patrick Kelly and Fulvio Del Tin of Del Tin Armi Antiche for providing valuable information and comments during the writing of this article. Thanks to Paul Kilmartin for the proofreading.
Conway, Sir W. Martin: The Abbey of Saint-Denis and its Ancient Treasures,
Archaeologica, 1915
Cope, Anne (editor): Swords and Hilt Weapons, Multimedia Books, London 1989
Edge, David and Paddock, John M.: Arms & Armor of the Medieval Knight, Bison
Books, Greenwich 1988
Laking, Sir Guy Francis: A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven
Centuries, G. Bell and Sons Ltd., London 1920
Oakeshott, Ewart: The Sword in the Age of Chivalry, Boydell & Brewer,
Woodbridge 1964, 1994
Picture link to the sword.
http://mistral.culture.fr/louvre/img/photos/collec/oa/grande/ms0084.jpg
The Louvre's website.
http://mistral.culture.fr/louvre/louvrea.htm
Interesting site on the sword and the other regalia.
http://vrlab.fa.pitt.edu/medart/menufrance/sdenis/treasure/Treasuremain.html
© 2001 Björn Hellqvist, picture © Del Tin Armi Antiche
