Schiavonesca

Not to be confused with Schiavona.

Drawing of 15th-century specimen found in Italy.

Schiavonesca (or Italian language: 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. The oldest specimens are estimated to date to the last decades of the 14th century, a period when Serbia was in constant conflict, while the oldest mention is from the will of blacksmith Dobrič Bunisalić dating to 1391, held at the Ragusan Archives (...doe spade schiavonesche...). The name originated from the Balkan Slavs who used such swords in Venetian service. The term Sclavonia was the common Ragusan name for Serbia, for the most part of history its neighbouring state. 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. In Hungary, the Serbian population was very active in defending the southern border against the Ottomans. The production of this type of sword became more typologically uniform in Hungary and Venice.

Sources

• Aleksić, Marko (2007). "Mediaeval Swords from Southeastern Europe. Material from 12th to 15th Century". Belgrade: Dedraplast. https://www.academia.edu/496513. 
• Aleksić, Marko (2011). "Some Types of Hilts of Medieval Swords from Southeastern Europe". In P. Kucypera, P. Pudło. Cum arma per aeva. Uzbrojenie indywidualne na przestrzeni dziejów. Łódź. https://www.academia.edu/2006029. 
• Fonseca, Cosimo Damiano (1979). Le aree omogenee della civiltà rupestre nell'ambito dell'impero bizantino - la Serbia: atti del quarto convegno internazionale di studio sulla civiltà rupestre medioevale nel mezzogiorno d'Italia. Congedo. https://books.google.com/books?id=fkpLAAAAYAAJ.