This scabbard has a poplar core, covered in tooled leather dyed green. The brass fittings were made by myself, and the bronze chape and belt buckles were made by Tod Cutler. The leather tooling designs come directly from an Irish artifact known as the “Armagh Satchel”.
The client had initially asked me if it were possible to have a scabbard made that had older Druidic or Irish styled decorations while still preserving the historical accuracy of the period of the sword (an Albion Landgraf). Since the sword style is of the late 14th/early 15th century, and since it has a very clear Jerusalem Cross engraved on the pommel, I looked to the Armagh Satchel for inspiration to pull all of these elements together. It holds the 9th century Book of Armagh, a book containing texts directly relating to the Christian religion (connecting it to the cross of the pommel), but the satchel itself is believed to have been made much later, possibly the 15th century. The satchel is decorated with leather tooling relating to much earlier Irish traditions despite the fact that it was likely created around the period contemporary to the sword. All of this made the decorations perfect for what the client wanted for the scabbard.
Historical Handcrafts 