Helmet of Skanderbeg

Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg was a prominent figure in the history of Albania. His weapons have been subjects of mythical adoration. According to legends his sword was so heavy that only his arm could wield it. Also it was said to be so sharp that it could slice a man vertically from head to waist with little effort and cut a huge boulder in half with a single blow.

Of all of Skanderbeg's belongings, but four objects remain: two swords, a helmet, and a prayer book. Currently the weapons (helmet and swords) are on display in the Collection of Arms and Armour at the Neue Burg (affiliated with the Kunsthistorisches Museum) in Vienna after having passed though the hands of countless noblemen since the 15th century when they were first brought over to Italy from Albania by Skanderbeg’s wife, Donika Kastrioti. The prayer book is archived at the Shelley Publishing House in Chelsea, London in England.

According to Dhimitër Frëngu, Skanderbeg's scribe and one of his biographers, the first sword was curved (In the original Italian: una schimitarra storta), with a sharp edge and elegantly made of Damascened steel. There are also accounts which report that at one point he kept two swords sheathed in the same scabbard. Frengu then adds, rather colourfully, that Skanderbeg brought a master sword-maker over from Italy, who produced three better swords for him. One of them, "that could cut through steel," he sent it as a present to the Ottoman Sultan. It is also known that in Skanderbeg's last visit to the Holy See, Pope Paul II presented the Albanian hero with a sword and a cap (It: una spada ed un elmo).

The straight sword, which lies at the Museum of Ambras along with the helmet, is double-edged. The blade is dressed in gold. It is 85.5 centimeters long, 5.7 cm wide, and weighs 1.3 kilograms. Its scabbard is made of leather. According to Faik Konica, who viewed the sword at the beginning of the 20th century, there were still stains of blood on the blade.

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Wikipedia