Masonic Knight Templar Swords

Masonic Knight Templar Swords

The Order of the Templars is perhaps the most famous of the knightly orders, a kind of symbol of the mystery and romanticism of the Middle Ages, surrounded by a thick layer of myths, legends, and mystification. The Templar sword has always stood out among other weapons. The Knight Templar swords for sale you can always find in our Knights Templar online stores.

What kind of swords did the Knights Templar use? 

Today we will not delve into the mythology and even the history of the Templars, we will talk about our favorite: the swords with which the Templars paved their way to glory. The phrase “Templar sword” is often perceived as something separate that stands out against other weapons of the same type. But, despite the temptation to romanticize the weapons of such an outstanding Order, the reality is always easier. The weapons of the Knights Templar were quite ordinary for their time blades, not structurally different from the swords of other knights and nobles.

What swords did Templar Knights use? 

How long were Templar broad swords? It is also important to understand that the history of the Order stretched for a good two hundred years, from 1119 to 1312, during which the sword, although it remained essentially the same, still somewhat evolved and overgrown with new types of internal classification. 

Description of swords 

The era in which the Knights Templar lived and fought is often referred to as the High or Advanced Middle Ages. The need for weapons for martial law at that time could not be underestimated, and to buy a Templar sword was first and foremost. Turning to the blades of the XII century, we can immediately distinguish the existence at that time of the knight’s sword of the X type. This is an echo of the Early Middle Ages, a direct descendant of the swords of the Charles type, their transitional stage. At the dawn of the Templar era, he was already outliving his age, but the founders and the first members of the Order could well meet. Gradually, the XII type of knight’s sword spread throughout Europe. 

This variant can be considered the most classic of all the swords of the High Middle Ages, it is associated with the image of a knight of that era. And what about two-handed swords? Huge, scary, like shown in movies and drawn in illustrations? The spread of two-year-old swords happened later, in the era of the Templars, the armor was mostly chain mail, which made the shield the most important element of equipment. It was only later, in the late Middle Ages, that thick armor allowed one to take up arms and worry less about defense than about an attack. And in the XII-XIV centuries to use the power of two hands, just beginning to think. In the XIII century appeared and spread a sword and a half type XII. Templar swords were, in general, ordinary blades of their time. However, they could be different from other weapons. The question often arises: Did they break knights Templar swords when they buried them? But we cannot know the exact answer due to the secrecy of the order.

Pommel 

A characteristic feature, related to antique knights Templar swords of the X type with earlier Carolingians, was often a figured pommel. The pommel of XII swords has lost its complex curly shapes, turning, as a rule, into a simple circle. Because of this, the sword did not lose its beauty, since now the pommel could be conveniently used for etching, that is, patterns of various shapes.

Grip 

The grip of the XII sword was often applied to the pommel, and since we are talking about the Templars, it was perfectly possible to place the symbols of the Order, a Catholic cross, or the traditional two riders sitting on one horse, the coat of arms of the Templars. The grip of the bastard sword was about 20-25 centimeters, which made it possible to hold it with both one and two palms. 

Knuckle Guard 

The X-type sword has a wide cross knuckle guard. XII on Okosh type has a straight and a forward curved guard. The XII-type sword is a simple, but extremely effective and beautiful sword with a narrow, straight guard. Since the fight with a bastard sword differed from fencing by its younger brother, the knuckle guard was also made wider for better protection of the fighter’s hands, up to a difference of one and a half to two times. 

Blade 

Blades of X-type swords are tapers evenly towards the point.  Almost along the entire length of the blade, there is a dol, a deepened core, designed to lighten the weight of the sword. XII sword blade, like its predecessors, evenly tapering to the point. The dol is markedly pronounced and extends for about two-thirds of the entire length of the blade. The dol of XII sword on Okosh became even shorter, and on average had a length up to the middle of the blade. The blade of the bastard sword type XII became larger, developing to ninety centimeters versus the usual eighty for a one-handed sword. The dol was sharpened two-thirds of the blade to further facilitate its use with one hand. As a result, the weight of the sword turned out to be quite acceptable, about 1.6-1.8 kilograms.

Sheath 

Templar swords were, in general, ordinary blades of their time. However, they could be different from other weapons. First of all, this applies to jewelry. So, with the above-mentioned etching on the pommel, a knight could order a sword individually, with etching on the blade, or make an unusual sheath containing an inscription. The Order’s motto, for example, or a short prayer. Also, often in the hilt of decorative knights Templar swords, quite usual for itself, particles of relics were put in: chips from the cross of the Savior, dust from Golgotha, and other shrines. Of course, most of them were fake, but the religious consciousness of the warrior of the Temple attached special importance to such weapons, which could help a lot in the battle because victory is a fruit of will.