If the date of 1072 AD is accurate, Discerner, The Lindsay Sword, is a paradox. Most experts would dispute the date based on blade profile and hilt fittings, though the experts have been wrong before (as in the case of the Sword of Charlemagne in the Louvre, Paris.)

~~~ This sword also presents some difficulty in blade classification ~~~

The 1072 date given for the blade's forging would most likely place it in the period of an Oakeshott Type Xa, yet the strong taper at the base of the blade is more common on the later period Type XIV.

"Sub-type Xa characteristics: This type is similar to the type X, with a fuller running almost the whole length of the blade before fading out about an inch before the point. The point itself can be acute, but is usually rounded but the fuller is more narrow. The blade is a little longer than the average type X (which is around 31 inches). It was in use from c. 1000 AD to about 1300." (text and image from Oakeshott's typology - An Introduction by Björn Hellqvist and Peter Johnsson.)

In Ewart Oakeshott's Records of the Medieval Sword, there is a type Xa sword (Xa.4, dated between 1050 and 1120 AD) that has a similar blade length and a slight swelling at the base. Another contemporary sword (Xa.4, plate IV) from Finland, has a faceted wheel pommel, a feature previously thought to solely belong to the late 14th/early 15th century swords. Another blade in Records (Xa.17) also shares the tapering fuller that does not extend up into the tang.

Peter Johnsson, noted swordsmith and researcher from Sweden, gave us this opinion on the sword design:

"If I try my best to see a historical sword behind this design I would say it is a hybrid of a type XI or Xa, because of the narrowish fuller, and a type XII because of the outline of the blade. The shape of the point and widening of the blade at the base is very type XII-ish. Long fullers like this will be found on earlier sword types with less acute distal taper, such as type X, and some type Xa and XI swords. What happens with swords from type XII and onwards is that the blade gets an accelerated distal taper in the outer third of the blade that voids the necessity of a fuller in this part of the blade. To suggest a type XII type blade shape with a full length fuller makes me suspicious. There is something strange in such a setup. The size of the sword suggests war sword size, which is atypical for both XI and XII, so it should be a XI/XIIa. Again, not according to any typical historical sword [that I have seen]. All this said, I think a very handsome sword could be made based on this sketch...There is a splendid sword in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (Xa.4 photo above) that has many of the features of this sword. It is smaller, with a shorter grip and does not have the patterned mid panel of the pommel, but still, the general outline and character is quite similar...It has the same cross, a long fuller, a wheel pommel and a graceful widening of the blade at its base."

The "sketch" referred to by Peter Johnsson ... A highly size-reduced photostatic reprint 11x17 (with the blade tip retouched) of the original 1958 vellum tracing (seen below) that was taken from the original 1654 painting.

The hilt components, as they exist in the painting, would also seem to indicate a much later period. The heart of the sword has always been considered the blade, and hilt fittings were often changed to suit the fashion of the time. Though Lindsay/Lindsey family tradition holds that the hilt fittings are original to the 9th century sword (see the History section), we do know that at least by 1653, Discerner was outfitted as it appears in the painting.

However, it is also possible that some of the seemingly anachronistic characteristics of the sword may have represented the personal preferences of its original owner/designer, Macsen ap MacGhille Fhionntaig - a man who family legends would credit as being far ahead of his time.