In the wardrobe account for the year 1483, are "iij swerdes, whereof
oon with a flat poynte, {365} called _curtana_, and ij other swords,
all iij swords covered in a yerde di of crymysym tisshue cloth of
gold."
The name of _curtana_ for many ages continued to be given to the first
royal sword in England. It existed as long ago as the reign of Henry
III., at whose coronation (A.D. 1236) it was carried by the Earl of
Chester. We find it at the coronations of Edward II. and Richard II.;
also in the time of Henry IV., Richard III., and Henry VII.; and among
the royal arms of Edward VI. we read of "a swerde called _curtana_."
Can any of your readers explain the origin of the name _curtana_,
a sword so famous that it carries us back to the days of ancient
chivalry, when it was wielded by the Dane _Uggiero_, or by the still
more famed _Orlando_.
Edward F. Rimbault.
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