14th century AD. A western European long two handed sword of German manufacture, Oakeshott type XIIa with an unual pommel of type G, crossguard variant of style 7; double-edged cut-and-thrt blade with shallow fullers, a damascened brass decoration on the blade representing the Passau Wolf incised to both sides of the fuller; the round pommel decorated with a vertical groove. Cf. Oakeshott, E., Records of the Medieval Sword, Woodbridge, 1991, pp.89ff.; Oakeshott, E., The sword in the Age of the Chivalry, Woodbridge, 1964 (1994), pp.37ff. 1.62 kg, 1.11m (43 3/4"). From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister; from her collection formed early 1960s-1990s. The overall design of this sword places it in type XII, although it is of greater proportions than the typical sword of that category. In his sword classification, Oakeshott created the XIIa sub-type to the type XII, becae the blades of swords such as our specimen tapered too strongly for the other classifications. The profile of this sword seems to suggest a demand for a more effective sword, capable of keeping pace with the improvements in armour production occurring in the period 1275-1325, creating a class of sword which lasted well into the 15th century. Oakeshott described the type as 'having a broad, flat, evenly tapering blade, generally with a good sharp point and tending to widen perceptibly below the hilt'. More specifically, this sub-type falls into the category of Great Swords of War - two handed swords designed to wreak havoc on the medieval battlefield and the beginnings of the medieval Longsword.