The sidesword of Grand Master Jean de Valette is more than a time-worn weapon. It is a relic that embodies Malta’s resilience, and the legacy of the Great Siege of 1565.
Our long connection with Malta’s rich martial history through the Maltese Historical Fencing Association inspired us to undertake an extraordinary project: creating the most accurate existing replica of this iconic artefact. Our journey of discovery, craftsmanship, and homage to history was as rewarding as it was challenging, bringing together artisans, historians, and fencers to celebrate Malta's heritage and hospitality.
The Maltese Connection
For ten years in Chris’s case and seven in mine, we have made an annual pilgrimage to Malta to participate in the Malta Historical Fencing Association (MHFA) International Event. Held at the iconic Fort St Angelo, this gathering of historical fencers has become a cornerstone of our professional and personal lives. Over time, the event hosts have become friends and family, and their hospitality has granted us extraordinary opportunities, such as the privilege to conduct research at the Grand Master’s Palace Armoury.
Our time spent fencing and learning at Fort St Angelo, the beating heart of the Great Siege of 1565, has also been a wellspring of inspiration for us. The siege, in which the Knights Hospitaller withstood Suleiman the Magnificent’s Ottoman forces, was led by Grand Master Jean de Valette. De Valette, a figure of great faith and resolve, famously placed his hat and battle sword on the altar of his church, Our Lady of Damascus, as an ex voto offering to God on the last night of the siege. The sword remains in the church, now a museum, as a relic of national significance, cherished for its history and symbolic connection to the island’s resilience.
Over our years at the MHFA International Event, Chris and I became increasingly aware of the sword’s history and its significance to the fencers of the MHFA. In 2012, the association was granted permission to measure and handle the sword, working with Chris’s master Marco Danelli to create a fencing-safe version for use in their classes. While these iconic fencing tools are still cherished by the MHFA, our wider understanding of how to accurately measure, document and recreate historical weapons has improved dramatically in the past decade. So when Franco Davies, an MHFA fencer author of Swords of the Religion, offered us the chance to handle and measure the sword for ourselves, we knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Measuring A Knightly Relic
In 2022, we made our own journey to the Church of Our Lady of Damascus, now the St Lawrence Parish Museum, to examine the legendary sword. Guided by George Agius of the museum, and accompanied by our friends Franco Davies, Noel Demicoli, and Christopher Connah, we saw the sword carefully removed from its grand display case, and placed on the altar for us to examine.
With only a couple of hours to gain as much information as possible, we started by tracing the sword’s outline onto a long roll of paper and meticulously documenting its measurements.
I captured detailed photographs of the blade and hilt from every angle, while Chris took extensive notes on the sword’s handling. The sword’s slender distal taper, which causes the blade to flex slightly under its own weight, was duly noted, as were the distinctive blade markings—a rosary and a crescent moon. We discovered that these crescent moons were symbols of the Virgin Mary, to whom both the church itself and de Valette were strongly devoted.
Two hours later we stumbled out of the church with our friends, awed and honoured by the opportunity to touch such an iconic historic artefact, and full of ideas about how we could use the information we’d gleaned.
The Balefire Guide
Armed with the data and imagery collected from the church, we wrote The Balefire Guide to the Sword of Jean de Valette, a comprehensive pamphlet about the sword for historians, collectors, and swordsmiths. Our mission was to make a resource that would be of both passing interest to the general public and more specific usefulness to fellow smiths.
The publication combines my high-definition photos from the visit, hand-illustrated diagrams, tables of precise measurements, and Chris’s insights into the sword’s unique features, including historical damage and repairs.
The self-published guide was a success, selling online in our shop and on our stall at the following year’s MHFA event. George Agius arranged to publish further copies in Malta, for sale in the Parish Museum itself.
Forging a Sister Sword
The culmination of our endeavour was Chris’s creation of the most accurate replica of Jean de Valette’s sword to date. While his expertise lies in crafting fencing-safe blades, Chris made an exception to produce a butter-knife-edged replica that represented the original’s mass and distal taper while still remaining safe for the public to touch. The process was painstaking, requiring close attention to the sword’s proportions and methods of manufacture.
Chris corrected a few of time’s ravages by straightening the quillons and omitting damage-induced imperfections. The replica’s final weight slightly exceeded the original, reflecting material lost to corrosion and a probable void within the pommel. Chris also replicated the intricate wire wrap and brass finials of the grip, despite being fairly certain that this was a later 19th Century replacement. He added a final authentic touch by hand-engraving the rosary and crescent moon markings and filling them with pitch to replicate the time-tarnished look of the original.
Chris added a few sentimental touches to the fabric of the sword, heightening its connection to Maltese history. Our friend Noel Demicoli, an MHFA fencer and talented woodworker, donated a piece of Maltese olive wood for the grip, offcut from his restoration of a historic Luzzu boat. Noel also collected limestone dust from key sites of the Great Siege: the knights’ chapel at Fort St Angelo where de Valette worked and fought, Fort St Elmo, which was the first fort to fall to the Ottoman forces, and the city of Valletta, named for de Valette himself, which he dreamed of building but did not live to see completed. Chris mixed this powder into the resin that holds the grip together, along with a sprinkling of South Downs chalk dust to link the replica to the place of its making.
Coming Full-Circle
Once Chris had completed the replica, we packed it carefully and travelled with it to Malta, where we were due to present it as a gift to the St Lawrence Parish Museum. While Grand Master Jean de Valette offered up the original sword as an offering of thanks to God, our gift of gratitude was to the country of Malta for the years of hospitality we have found there, and in particular to the Parish Museum for granting us the amazing opportunity to handle the original.
We displayed the sword on our stall at Fort St Angelo for the first days of the MHFA International Event, offering attendees a chance to handle and photograph it, and to learn about the presentation ceremony, which they were all invited to attend.
On the Sunday of the event, we took the story full circle, retracing de Valette’s path from Fort St Angelo to the Church of Our Lady of Damascus. Walking solemnly with our friends at our side, we reflected on how the Grand Master would have felt centuries before, walking this same route with the sound of cannon fire in his ears and a profound faith in his heart.
At the church, we were met by George Agius, members of the Parish Museum Trust, local dignitaries and press, and our friends from the International Event, including MHFA members who had supported our project from the beginning.
In the museum's intimate side chapel we reunited with the original sword, having not seen it since we took our original measures two years ago. To our immense relief the replica stood up as a close sister to it, mirroring its shape and proportions.
The presentation ceremony included speeches from the archpriest of the parish, from George Agius of the Parish Museum, and from Andrei Xuereb of the MHFA, celebrating Maltese history, fencing and craftsmanship. Chris gave a few words of his own, including a much-practiced sentence of Maltese, before the replica was unveiled.
We passed Chris’s sword to the archpriest of the Parish, who received it with thanks to God, before placing it in its beautiful handmade display case. This was crafted by Noel from walnut wood, lined with deep red velvet and adorned with a brass plaque bearing the Balefire crest.
The replica sword will remain in the church beside the original, allowing museum visitors to feel the weight of a 16th-century knightly sidesword, and imagine themselves in Jean de Valette’s shoes. It will also serve as a stand-in ceremonial sword for the Maltese Church, travelling to other parishes for Saints Days and historical commemorations while the original remains safely in the church where it was placed by the Grand Master centuries ago.
A Journey of Discovery and Gratitude
This project has been an extraordinary journey through history, craftsmanship and friendship. From our initial inspiration at the MHFA event, through years of compiling research and creating the replica, to returning our replica to its spiritual homeland of Malta, every step deepened our appreciation for historical swordsmithing techniques and the stories carried by antique swords.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our friends from the MHFA, especially Franco Davies, Noel Demicoli, and Andrei Xuereb, for making this opportunity possible. We also want to thank George Agius and the St Lawrence Parish Museum for allowing us to access the original sword, and for all the support they've offered along the way.
Chris is excited to return to his primary purpose of crafting fencing blades, but he will certainly use the lessons he learned during this unique project to craft fencing tools with renewed historical insight. He is eager to explore future collaborations with museums and trusts, bringing the past to life as a tangible experience for visitors.
We look forward to visiting the sword and its illustrious forebear in future years, as we return to Malta for the MHFA International meeting. This endeavour has been a great challenge and learning opportunity, as well as a testament to the bonds forged through a shared love of history, craft, and community.
