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Source Description
The French word <em>estoc</em> means "thrust" and therefore was adopted as the name for this long thrusting sword. It has a fairly long grip and simple cross-shaped hilt. The rigid blade, designed for thrusting at armored opponents, is three-sided for strength. The estoc was sometimes carried from the saddle. From the early 1300s, it was used by cavalrymen as an auxiliary side arm when a horseman had dismounted.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
97033
label
Estoc
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
97033
contentType
object
title
Estoc
description
The French word <em>estoc</em> means "thrust" and therefore was adopted as the name for this long thrusting sword. It has a fairly long grip and simple cross-shaped hilt. The rigid blade, designed for thrusting at armored opponents, is three-sided for strength. The estoc was sometimes carried from the saddle. From the early 1300s, it was used by cavalrymen as an auxiliary side arm when a horseman had dismounted.
date
early 1500s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60747226
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 156.6 cm (61 5/8 in.); Blade: 125.3 cm (49 5/16 in.); Quillions: 26.2 cm (10 5/16 in.); Grip: 30 cm (11 13/16 in.)
cul
Germany, early 16th Century
accession
1916.686
Source extras
tec
steel, wood and leather
tombstone
Estoc, early 1500s. Germany, early 16th Century. Steel, wood and leather; overall: 156.6 cm (61 5/8 in.); blade: 125.3 cm (49 5/16 in.); quillions: 26.2 cm (10 5/16 in.); grip: 30 cm (11 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.686
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
didYouKnow
Swords like this one were developed to counteract and pierce the increasingly heavy armor and sophisticated plates that nearly covered a knight.
citations
citation
<em>Catalogue of Arms and Armour.</em> Vol. 1, <em>14th & 15th centuries. </em>[Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915].
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: No. 34 [31]
citation
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. "Swords from the Severance Collection." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 10, no. 1 (1923).
page_number
pp. 2, 6-8, fig. D
citation
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. <em>A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923</em>. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 86, E5; Reproduced: Plate XX, E5
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>[Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
page_number
p. 111, 168, cat. no.125
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>[Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
cat. no. 152, p. 190
citation
Eikelmann, Renate, Holger A. Klein, Stephen N. Fliegel, and Virginia Brilliant. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art: Meisterwerke von 300 bis 1550.</em> München: Hirmer, 2007.
page_number
pp. 278-9, no. 104
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein.<em> Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
cat. 110, p. 290
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:13:39.320000
sourceId
97033
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
steel, wood and leather
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
ebf60545d3b3611f