early 1500s
Steel, wood and leather
Overall: 156.6 cm (61 5/8 in.); Blade: 125.3 cm (49 5/16 in.); Quillions: 26.2 cm (10 5/16 in.); Grip: 30 cm (11 13/16 in.)
Weight: 1.6 kg (3.53 lbs.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.686
Swords like this one were developed to counteract and pierce the increasingly heavy armor and sophisticated plates that nearly covered a knight.
The French word estoc means "thrust" and therefore was adopted as the name for this long thrusting sword. It has a fairly long grip and simple cross-shaped hilt. The rigid blade, designed for thrusting at armored opponents, is three-sided for strength. The estoc was sometimes carried from the saddle. From the early 1300s, it was used by cavalrymen as an auxiliary side arm when a horseman had dismounted.
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