Material Object
This sword has only a hilt; the blade has completely deteriorated. Although from the little stub remaining on the blade, it appears to be silverish or grayish. There are four circles around the grip of the hilt, equally spaced, formed with three thin strips of some sort of dark material. The hilt is dark, almost black. It could be made of metal, a likely material for a sword. On two sides of it, near the top, three flat pieces are on both sides of the hilt. There is some sort of creature sculpted between these two sides. A small ring-shaped item is attached to the base of the hilt below the grip area. Lastly, small circular marks are carved into the framing surrounding the creature on the top middle part of the hilt.
“Stylistic and technical evidence indicates that this hilt must have been made before 1025”. “Compositional analysis of the hilt revealed proportional amounts of arsenic, zinc, lead, cobalt, nickel, copper and tin. The high proportion of lead suggests Southeastern Bulgaria as the source of the lead”. Overall, there is strong evidence that this sword came from Bulgaria. The ring-shaped item is a “lanyard ring”; its presence indicates association with mounted troops and, in this case, reveals the rank and occupation of the owner, or a design for sea service. The hilt is made of bronze. The “remains of the wooden scabbard lining indicates the sword was double-edged.” The creature is “a fantastic bird, the Indian hamsa.”
A sword similar to this was used in Kallimachos and Chrysorroi to kill the dragon. The source of the hilt form of the sword with no blade is unclear. However, similar forms of it have been depicted with famous figures such as Archangel Michael, al-Malik ibn al-Mansūr and the death of Hazor(Bass et al. 363-398). This consolidates the idea that the lotus-hilted sword is extraordinary and mysterious, just like the ruby-hilted sword used to kill the dragon.
In contrast, the sword of St. Mauritius can be imagined as Kallimachos’ sword. It is very plain and has no decorations, just smooth and silver. Since there is nothing special about it, it lacks the ability to slay the dragon. A page from the Rabanus Maurus manuscript can be imagined as the process of making the first sword Kallimachos used. A blacksmith raises his hammer in his right hand above the objects held in tongs on an anvil(The Index of Medieval Art). It looks like a simple process; no heat oven exists on the page. Further marking the mundaneness of Kallimachos’s sword.