Editing Hilt (section)

== Pommel ==
[[File:Visayan tenegre horn hilt closeup.JPG|thumb|A Visayan ''tenegre'' horn hilt from the [[Philippines]], depicting the moon-engulfing sea serpent deity, [[Bakunawa]], a prominent figure in [[Philippine mythology]].]]
The '''pommel''' ([[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] {{lang|fro|pomel}} "little apple"<ref>
In Old French of an ornamental knob from the late 11th century, attested for the pommel of a sword in the late 12th century, of the pommel of a saddle in the mid-15th century.
Compare Middle Latin {{lang|la|pomellum, pomellus}} "knob, boss" (12th century).</ref>) is an enlarged fitting at the top of the handle. They were originally developed to prevent the sword from slipping from the hand. From around the 11th century in Europe, they became heavy enough to be a counterweight to the blade.<ref name=pom>{{cite book|last=Loades|first=Mike|title=Swords and Swordsmen|year=2010|publisher=Pen & Sword Books|location=Great Britain|isbn=978-1-84884-133-8}}</ref> This gave the sword a point of balance not too far from the hilt, allowing a more fluid fighting style. Depending on sword design and swordsmanship style, the pommel may also be used to strike the opponent (e.g. using the [[Mordhau (weaponry)|Mordhau]] technique).

Pommels have appeared in a wide variety of shapes, including oblate spheroids, crescents, disks, wheels, and animal or bird heads. They are often [[Engraving|engraved]] or [[inlay]]ed with various designs and occasionally [[Gilding|gilt]] and mounted with jewels.
{{anchor|Oakeshott}}
[[Ewart Oakeshott]] introduced a system of classification of medieval pommel forms in his ''The Sword in the Age of Chivalry'' (1964) to stand alongside [[Oakeshott typology|his blade typology]].<ref>See also [http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_oakeshott3.html myarmoury.com] for an online summary.</ref> Oakeshott pommel types are enumerated with capital letters A–Z, with subtypes indicated by numerals.

{{ordered list
 | list_style=list-style-type:upper-alpha;
 | the "Brazil-nut" pommel derived from the classical [[Viking sword]] 
 | a more rounded and shorter form of A. B1 is the variant with a straight lower edge, known as "mushroom" or "tea-cosy"
 | "cocked-hat" form, derived from the Viking sword
 | a bulkier and slightly later variant of C
 | a  variant of D with an angular top
 | a more angular variant of E
 | a plain disk. G1 and G2 are disk pommels ornamented with flower-shaped or shell-like ornaments, respectively, both particular to Italy
 | a disk with the edges [[chamfer]]ed off. One of the most common forms, found throughout the 10th to 15th centuries. H1 is an oval variant
 | a disk with wide chamfered edges, the inner disk being much smaller than in H. I1 is a hexagonal variant
 | as I, but with the chamfered edges deeply hollowed out. J1 is an elaborated form of the classic wheel-pommel
 | a very wide and flat variant of J, popular in the late medieval period
 | a tall type of trefoil shape; rare and probably limited to Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries
 | a late derivation of the multi-lobed Viking pommel type, found frequently on tomb effigies during 1250–1350 in southern Scotland and northern England, but with few surviving examples; see [[Cawood sword]]
 | boat-shaped, rare both in art and in surviving specimens
 | a rare type of crescent-shape
 | a rare shield-shaped form only known from a statue at Nuremberg cathedral
 | flower-shaped pommels, only known from artistic depictions of swords
 | rare spherical pommel, mostly seen in the 9th and 10th centuries
 | a rare type in the form of a cube with the corners cut off
 | the "fig" or "pear" or "scent-stopper" (for its resemblance to the stopper on a bottle of scent) shape, first found in the early 14th century, but seen with any frequency only after 1360, with numerous derived forms well into the 16th century. T1 to T5 are variants of this basic type
 | "key-shaped" type of the later half of the 15th century
 | the "fish-tail" pommel of the 15th century, with variants V1 and V2
 | a "misshapen wheel" shape
 | item24_value=26
 | square shape, with its sub-types used to closely define the area and age, Z1 and Z2b (most common in south-eastern Europe), Z3 ("cat's head", typical for Venetian swords), Z4 (typical for Serbia and Bosnia)
}}