The Hospitaller

(Type XI)

The Knights Hospitaller (the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century. Originally based in the Holy Land, it soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care and defence of pilgrims. The knights built and manned a hospital at Jerusalem for pilgrims in A. D. 1042. Following the loss of Christian territory in the Holy Land, the Order operated from Rhodes, of which it was sovereign, and later from Malta as a vassal. The medieval Order was driven from Malta by Napoleon in 1798. The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta is still in existence, with 12,500 knights and dames serving as hospitallers around the world. Like the Red Cross, they are first-responders to humanitarian crises around the globe. They are headquartered in Rome. Our Hospitaller is loosely based on a sword in the Royal Armoury at Leeds (#1027), and is a classic sword for a mounted knight of the Crusading era. Oakeshott describes a Type XI as having a long narrow blade, sharply contrasting with the short broad blades of Type X., the edges running almost parallel for about two-thirds of the blade’s length. The fuller is narrow, often shallow, and runs for four-fifths of the blade length. The Hospitaller has a long and handsome blade with a short point section, clearly dedicated to the cut. The grip is of moderate length, making this a single hand sword despite its great size.

Specifications
Total length: 40″ (102 cm)
Blade length: 33.75″ (86 cm)
Blade width: 1.88″ (4.8 cm)
CoG: 5.25″ (13 cm)
CoP: 22″ (56 cm)
Weight: 2 lbs 10.2 oz (1.2 kilos)

This sword is offered in a limited edition of 500 swords worldwide