THE LONG SWORD № I–418 FROM THE TIVADAR LEHOCZKY MUSEUM OF TRANSCARPATHIAN LOCAL STUDIES IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF JOHANNES LIECHTENAUER`S «RECITAL» AND ITS INTERPRETERS

The article's main objective is to study the functional and constructive features of the long sword No. I-418 from the collection of the Tivadar Lehotskyi Museum of Transcarpathian Local Studies. According to the book of museum acquisitions, the sword I-418 was found in 1956 in Uzhhorod on Sobranetska Street in house number 9. The object is corroded, most likely in the ground for some time, so it is possible to make a cautious assumption about its local usage. The total length of the object is 122.7 cm, and the weight is 1745 g. The sword I-418 is a so-called long sword of type XVIa, according to the typology of Evart Oakeshott. This type of sword appeared in Western and Central-Eastern Europe in the first third of the fourteenth century as a product of the reaction of military technologies of that time to the emergence of armour, the improvement and spread of tactics of foot armored combat, and the crisis of knightly tactics of mounted combat. Numerous constructive analogies of the sword I-418, originating from the Kingdom of Bohemia during the Luxembourgish rule, allow us to date the sword to the second half of the 14th to the first half of the 15th century, and to assume its German or Bohemian origin. The analysis of the functional features of the sword I-418, based on the Starhemberg fencing book (Cod . 44. A. 8) or the so-called ‘Peter of Danzig's codex’, leads to the conclusion that it was multifunctional and capable of performing a wide range of fencing techniques for both foot and mounted combat. Despite its considerable size and weight, the sword is perfectly balanced—its relatively large width with a subtle cross-section allowed for effective slashing and cutting blows. The distinctive point of the I-418 sword ensured effectiveness in stabbing attacks. Due to the lenticular sharpening of both blades, the primary purpose of the I-418 sword was to penetrate cotton-padded and mail armour, which was still popular among the lower strata of the military community in late medieval Central-Eastern Europe. However, the I-418 sword could also be used effectively counter an enemy wearing “coat of plate” or full plate armour, as the balance and configuration of the blade allows for precise stabbing attacks in the weak points of such armour (the helmet's openings, shoulder cuts of the cuirass, palms, groin, etc.). Due to this multipurposeness, swords of type XVIa, such as the sword I-418, were widespread among Central and Eastern European military communities in the Late Middle Ages.