Artist: Brendan Olszowy

Email: brendan@fableblades.com

Benger, Western Australia 6223

Mobile (Australia): 0411 470 663

A tribute to the maid of Orléans; Sainte Jeanne d'Arc (St Joan of Arc).

In a time of great strife and oppression, the people prayed for deliverance, hoping one day their children would grow up in an age of enlightenment and peace.  The young Dauphin, denied his rightful throne, could only stand by and watch in sorrow as his armies, too weak and dispirited, failed in their efforts to dislodge the occupying forces.  Hope languished in their hearts.

The powers that be heard the longings of the people.  They searched far and wide for someone whose spirit embodied the talents necessary to unify and embolden the Dauphin’s forces.  In a tiny eastern village, a place known as Domremy, a little girl’s light shined above the rest.  The courage, strength and determination she carried within were far more than they could have ever imagined.  They sent their messengers, and under the warm, midday sun, in a small fertile garden, they appeared before her.  The Archangel Michael, with his wisdom and strength, Catherine of Alexandria, with her courage, unyielding determination and chastity, and Margaret of Antioch, with her faith and foresight, told of her destiny.  They spent the next several seasons helping her to understand her place in the events to come, and in her seventeenth year, sent her forth.

She was presented to the Dauphin, who was quickly taken with her.  After consulting with religious leaders, who concluded that her heart was pure, he granted her a military command.  With her banner bounding off the breezes, she quickly proved her worth, leading the charge in the successful liberation of Orleans from the oppressors.  Other victories quickly followed, and even under the most trying of times, including one siege wherein she was wounded by a crossbow bolt in the neck, she valiantly led her forces.  Within months, she and her armies had driven back the forces of oppression and restored the House of Valois to its throne.

'Jehanne la Pucelle came to me in a vision and showed me the sword she would have had crafted had she lived to see the expulsion of the oppressors, a noble’s sword.  She told me to use all of the resources available to find a person of great artistic talent to bring it into the world, and I have most certainly found that person.  And, thus, here lies before you the sword of The Maiden of Orleans.' - A. Lonigan, USA

Specification:

Sword:
Weight: 1160g (2lb 9oz)
Length Overall: 997mm (39.25”)
Length of Blade: 805mm (31.7”)
Length of Grip: 128mm (5.04”) inc. ferrules
Blade Width: 38mm (1.5”) @ base -> 35mm(1.4”) @ flare -> 21mm(0.83”) @ 4” from tip
Blade Thickness: 6mm (0.236”) @ ricasso -> 3.05mm (0.12”) @ 2” from tip
Point Of Balance: 8cm (3.2”) from guard
Centre of Percussion: ~52cm (20.5”) from guard
Hilt Node of Percussion: 65mm (2.6”) behind guard.
Materials:
Blade: 9260 steel oil quenched and then tempered twice to hardness ~ 52Rc
Grip: Sheepskin over poplar core with brass wire wrap.
Gem Inset: Lab Corundum Ruby
Hilt Components: Brass
Engravings:
Pommel: Cross of Lorraine / Coat of Arms: King Charles VII
Guard: “la Pucelle”
Blade: Fleur deLys