12th-late 13th century AD. A long Western European, double-cutting sword with a broad tapering blade, the edges bearing a lot of evidence of its use on the battlefield, both sides of the fullers decorated with inlay: on one side a geometric design of cross-in-ring and scrolled tendrils; on the other side an inlaid brass inscription 'SXS BENEDICAT IUS' with curlicues; the blade has a shallow pointed tip, and to the other face a long lower guard with rounded ends and a broad but short grip, the tang is very stout ending with the usual plain walnut style pommel, substantially D-shaped with slightly curved lower edge. See Oakeshott, E., Sword in hand, London, 2001; Peirce, I., Swords of the Viking Age, Suffolk, 2002; Wagner, T., Worley, J., Holst Blennow, A., Beckholmen, G. Medieval Christian invocation inscriptions on sword blades in Waffen- und Kostümkunde, 2009, 51(1): 11-52; G?osek M., Makiewicz T. Two Encrusted Swords from Zb?szyn, Lubusz Voivodship, in Gladius 27, 2007, pp.137-148; Marek, L., The Blessing of Swords. A new look into inscriptions of the Benedictus, in Acta Militaria Mediaevalia, tom X, 2014, pp.9-20. 1.3 kg, 90cm (35 1/2"). Property of a Suffolk collector; formerly acquired on the European art market in the 1990-2000s; accompanied by an academic report by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This sword has good parallels with a sword published by Peirce, from a private collection (Peirce, 2002, pp.124-125"). Also inscribed, with the usual mark of the workshop, +ULFBERHT+. The current example with religious inscription, a blessing formulation, comparable with the swords showing the inscription BENEDICTUS (Marek, 2014, pp.10ff."). The sword's inscription is most intriguing, and it will help to date the sword in a more precise way. The origin of the inscriptions of this sword is very old. This was a ritual, probably of Germanic origin, in which the father handed down the sword to his grown-up son as a sign that he can defend himself and the tribe. During the Middle Ages the 'sword presentation ceremony', performed by the liege lord or a cleric, put the warrior into service of the former, as a vassal in the first case or as a 'miles Christi ad servitium Iesu Christi' ('soldier of Christ in service of Christ') in the second (Wagner, Worley, Holst Blennow, Beckholmen, 2009, p. 12ff."). Unfortunately, so far it has not been possible to identify such a traditional type of ceremonial dicta latina that was carved on a sword blade. However, quite conversely, the inscriptions (even though sometimes showing a constancy of letters) are extremely variable and appear to be very personal, maybe the individual secret of every sword bearer. It must have been a special dictum so obvious and so self-evident to him, that it was not necessary to spell out its significant meaning. In Germanic tribes runic inscriptions on swords, axes or even pieces of armour were considered to endow the items with magical powers, and it is imaginable that this traditional thinking (after an ambivalent period of transition) was transferred to Christian times. Hence the dicta on the sword blades were probably supposed to invoke God’s holy name and his grace to gain support and protection in battle. Religious rituals or prayers for divine assistance before combat, must have been prevalent, particularly in the age of the crusades throughout the 12th and 13th centuries. In our specimen the inscription is linked with the presence of nomina sacra, typical of specimens from the 11th -13th centuries, where they were written in full length: SXS (SANCTUS) BENEDICAT ('he may bless') IUS meaning 'He (the Holy God) may bless the right one or the law or the right cause'. SXC is the substitution of the original Latin formulation SCS (Sanctus) with SXS, where the Greek letter X (chi) is used at the place of the Latin letter C. IUS can be read the law, the right, or a short formulation for IUSTUM (the right one"). The C was also used in charters as a form 'symbol of Christ', comparable to a chrismon (usually consisting of X and P, but also as capital C), to invoke God’s grace for an act of legal significance. Indeed the use of the X is linked with the initials, in Greek, of the name of Jesus Christ (???????"). A such sword is in the Danish National Museum (inv. nr. D8801, Oakeshott, 2001, pp.48-49, figs.47-48; Peirce, 2002, p.136), with the inscription on the obverse: SCSPETRNNS; and on the reverse BENEDICATNTIUSETMAT. More notably a sword found on the island of Saaremaa (Estonia), dated by A. Anteins to the 13th century, and by D. A. Drboglav to the beginning of this century, where the letters SXS appear. Considering that on another artefact, from Lake Zbaszynskie, the letters ScS appear in place of SXS, this last abbreviation can be read as 's(an)c(tu)S'. However, if we assume that a dot in the inscription on the sword after the letter 'c' is separating the words, we can also develop the inscription as 'S(an)c(tus) S(alvator)' or 'S(an)c(tus) S(anctus)' (G?osek, Makiewicz 2007 p.141"). The dots in the inscription are not always placed according to a rhythm of the words and may even appear in the middle of the letter. Thus a second possible interpretation of the inscription in our sword can be SANCTUS XRISTUS SALVATOR BENEDICAT IUS meaning 'The Holy Saviour Christus may bless the right one or the law or the right cause.' The monogram cross preceding the inscription, is visible on various swords, like the Karlstad sword, in Värmlands Museum (Wagner, Worley, Holst Blennow, Beckholmen, 2009, p.24, figs.12-13), dated to sometime in the 12th or early 13th centuries. Most probably our specimen is from a battlefield, a river find or from a grave. The piece is in excellent condition notwithstanding the corrosion on the blade where signs of battlefield are visible. Many swords of similar type can be classified as German manufacture, and we know that the kind of pommels were in use until the 13th century. The straight guard with thick straight quillons are typical of the style Xa (and XI) of Oakeshott, that, with its double-edged blade, combined the cutting and the cut-and-thrust styles. The fullers, like in this case, are very marked and form not less than two thirds of the length, what makes such sword one of those presenting those elegant proportions which prevail when the blade is almost parallel for some seventy percent of its length before tapering began.