A Békés Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 35. (Békéscsaba, 2012)
Medgyesi Pál: 13-14. századi kétélű kard Köröstarcsa-Ürmös-hátról, a Kettős-Körös medréből
13-14. századi kétélű kard Köröstarcsa-Ürmös-hátról, a Kettős-Körös medréből A 13lh or 14“' century double-edged sword from Köröstarcsa-Ürmös-hát, from the Kettős-Körös river-bed- Pál Medgyesi - Resume On 9* August, 2003, László Nyíri, an inhabitant of Köröstarcsa, donated a double-edged steel sword to the Munkácsy Mihály Museum. The object had been found by another local, Mihály Bakó, who came on the gun in November 2000. The site where the sword had been found, is located in the outskirts of Köröstarcsa called Űrmös-hát, north of the inner area, in the bed of the river Kettős-Körös. At the time, water level was low, this is how the person who found the weapon, could perceive it under the water. As László Nyíri said, the sword began to rust heavily with time. The Köröstarcsa sword fits nicely into the systems established on medieval swords. The sword can be categorized into No XII of E. Oakshelott’s typological groups, the crossbar may be sorted into type II, while the hilt into type No I. The era of these weapons is dated back by E. Oakshelott to the second half of the 13th century, early 14th century. By A. Ruttkay, the hilt button can be sorted into types XVI and XVII of his system established on Slovakian swords. Ruttkay dates back the era of these swords to the end of the 13* century. Z-K. Pinter classified the swords equipped with this type of hilt button into subtype Villa of his own system. He supposes swords belonging to this type were made at late 13* century or early 14* century. In the typology developed by A. N. Kirpicnikov, our sword belongs to type VI. A. N. Kirpicnikov dates the era of these swords back to the 12th to 14* centuries. Zs. L. Bordi dates back swords of this type drscribed in his articles to the second half of the 13* century, to early 14* century. This is underpinned by the fact that on both sides of the blade of a weapon found in Poznan, an exact replica of the decoration (trade-mark?) of the Köröstarcsa sword was found. The era of the Oakshlott type XII sword can be dated back to the 13* century or the first decades of the 14* century. Considering all the above, the time of the making of the Köröstarcsa sword dates likely back to the second half of the 13* century or the first decades of the 14* century. The sword may have found its way into the water in several ways. At peacetime, an accident may have happened when crossing the river. It is also possible that, at wartime, while crossing the river or on the river bank, a military clash broke out and this is how the sword sank into the depth of the river Körös. Medgyesi Pál Békés Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága H-5600 Békéscsaba, Gyulai út 1. E-mail: medgyesi@bmmi.hu 71
