Towton Sword

Description of the Product

In the winter of 1461 Edward IV had just had himself proclaimed king of England, and was leading his large Yorkist army to the north towards the army of the Lancasters, ie. that of the reigning king Henry VI and his queen Margaret of Anjou. The father of Henry VI was Henry V, the renowned warrior king from the 100 year war. His grandfather Henry IV in turn had seized the crown from his cousin Richard II. But as often is the case with kingship that passes to the eldest male heir, the genetic lottery did not produce a winning ticket, and Henry VI was far from the decisiveness and competence of his forebears. He had acceded to the throne of England (and France) while still an infant, but during his long and weak kingship England lost nearly all of their lands over in France. In adulthood he suffered from great bouts of mental illness. The fight over who got to control the king, unable to control even himself, turned eventually to civil war. The civil war escalated to a fight not only over the king, but the kingship itself; who was best related to their great-grandfather Edward III, and became known as the Wars of the Roses.

Only weeks previously the White Roses of the Duke of York had suffered a devastating loss to the army of  the Lancaster king Henry VI (or actually that of his wife Margaret) in the battle of Wakefield, where the duke of York Richard Platagenet got killed. His eldest surviving son Edward did not waste time, but had himself declared king and continued with the campaign against the Red Roses of the Lancasters.

A decisive battle was fought between the troops of two kings, both in their view the legal ruler, near a stronghold of the Lancasters on the fields near Towton, on Palm Sunday. As with most historical battles, an exact number of combatants is impossible to know, but even the most conservative estimates place the number at over 50000 men, about 1-3% of the population of England at the time. Some estimate the number at over 100 000. The Yorkist troops were outnumbered, but as the blizzard turned they were able to shoot volleys of arrows into the blinded lines of Lancasters. The Yorkist longbow men were aided by the strong wind behind their backs, which helped their arrows to fly far into the Lancaster troops, who could not retaliate against the strong blizzard. It has been estimated that Edward IV’s troops sent approximately 120 000 arrows per minute into the Lancaster lines. The troops of Henry VI decided to storm down to hill and rather chance a hand to hand combat. The battle was fought over the next six hours and left behind thousands, some sources claim even tens of thousands, dead. The battle of Towton is still one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on English soil.

Even though the Lancasters lost the battle, and Edward became the first Yorkist king, the Wars of the Roses were not yet over. Even Henry VI was reinstated for a short while, as the last Lancaster king. Edwards brother Richard III was the last Yorkist king, so neither rose remained in power for too long, and the long reign of the Platagenets on the English throne was over.

We have named this fast and light sword in memory of the giant battle of Towton. The point of the blade is excellent for stabbing, and the fuller runs through almost the entire length, making it light for lightning fast cuts. On foot it can be used as a two hand sword, but due to its lightness and excellent balance it is equally efficient on horseback with one hand. In short the sword excelled against the lightly armored infantry of the time.

• Includes wooden scabbard eith leather finish
• Steel pommel and guard
• Hand forged carbon steel blade
• Overall length:112,9 cm
• Blade length:91 cm
• Handle length:11,4 cm
• Pommel length:9,6 cm
• Weight:1440 g
• PoB (from guard): 8,8 cm
• Blade width at guard: 4,94 cm
• Blade width 40mm from point: 1,25 cm
• Blade thickness at guard: 4,28 mm
• Blade thickness 40mm from tip: 3 mm
• Blade material:1075 carbon steel
• Made by Windlass Steelcrafts
• Sharpness:Sharp

Signature Series by Windlass

Some of our all-time favorite swords have been re-issued with several upgrades!

The blade has improved distal taper, making the sword livelier and quicker. The scabbard has a wooden core underneath the leather exterior.

The grip has a leather wrap that is ribbed using a historically accurate wet-wrap process, during which a fine cord is tightly wrapped around a wet leather grip. When dry, the cord is removed leaving the leather attractively indented and providing improved texture and grip.