A longsword of Oakeshott’s Type XIIA classification, marked with the legendary ‘running wolf’ — the guild mark of the master swordsmiths of Passau, Germany, whose blades were so prized that customers came to believe they carried magical protective properties.
Passau, a town on the Danube where it meets the River Inn, was home to one of Medieval Europe’s most renowned communities of swordsmiths. Their blades carried a distinctive ‘running wolf’ mark, inlaid in copper or brass and borrowed from the local prince-bishop’s own heraldic emblem — a trademark so valuable that in 1368, Prince-Bishop Albrecht von Winkel issued a formal document protecting it from imitation. Passau blades became prized trade goods across Europe, and a popular belief grew up around them that the wolf mark itself conferred magical protection on its owner — a piece of Medieval marketing mythology that helped cement the ‘Wolfsklingen’ (‘wolf blades’) reputation for centuries. So sought-after was the mark that rival smiths, including those of Solingen, later imitated it themselves.
Deepeeka’s reproduction carries this legendary mark as part of our Medieval heritage range.
Use for:
- Medieval knightly living history and one/two-hand sword technique practice
- HEMA study of period longsword technique
- Museum-style display on a wall mount or stand
- Medieval-themed home decor and collections
- Historical events and Medieval fairs
- Collectors of Oakeshott-typology and museum-referenced Medieval swords
