Schiavonesca

Schiavonesca (in Italian: spada schiavonesca, "Slavic sword") was a type of longsword characterized by a S-shaped crossguard that originated in late 14th-century Serbia and was used by knights in the Kingdom of Hungary and Republic of Venice during the 15th and 16th centuries.[1]

Drawing of 15th-century specimen found in Italy.

The Ottoman expansion and conquests saw north- and westward migrations of Serbs, initially within the Serbian state (the Serbian Despotate) and then to the neighbouring Hungary and Venetian Dalmatia.[2] In Hungary, the Serbian population was very active in defending the southern border against the Ottomans.[2] The production of this type of sword became more typologically uniform in Hungary and Venice.[2]

The oldest specimens are estimated to date to the last decades of the 14th century, a period when Serbia was in constant conflict.[2] The oldest mention is from the will of blacksmith Dobrič Bunisalić dating to 1391, held at the Ragusan Archives: "...doe spade schiavonesche...".[3]

The name originated from the Balkan Slavs who used such swords in Venetian service.[3] The term Sclavonia was the common Ragusan name for Serbia, for the most part of history its neighbouring state.[3]