Code EU22 (Replica)
This is a sword manufactured by the famous Bermejo swordsmiths in Toledo, Spain. It is an exact replica of one of the two swords used by the most reknowned conquistador in Spanish history: El Cid. The other is named Colada. Tizona was carried by El Cid when he fought the Moors in Spain.
Tizona was taken in battle from a Moorish chief named Malik Bucar. The sword was given to his daughter's husband as marriage gift, but some time later, due to his daughter's poor treatment at the hands of her husband, Tizona was taken back and given to his nephew Pedro Bermudez. The sword is 103 cm long and weighs 1.1 kg. Tizona was supposedly forged in Cordoba, though considerable amounts of Damascus steel can be found in its blade.
The original is now one of Spain's most cherished relics and can be found at the Museo del Ejército (Army Museum) in Madrid. Soon after his death, it became one of the most precious possessions of the Castilian royal family. And in 1999, a small sample of the blade underwent metallurgical analysis which partially confirmed that it was made in Moorish Cordoba in the eleventh century, although the report does not specify whether the larger-scale composition of the blade identifies it as Damascus steel.
There are two inscriptions on the sword:
YO SOY LA TIZONA FUE ECHA EN LA ERA DE MILLE QUARENTA
In medieval Castilian (Spanish): "I am "La Tizona", made in the year 1040", but in Spanish medieval sources, "era" implies Hispanic Era, by which the History of Spain starts in 38 BC, so the date of the sword has to be 1002.
AVE MARIA ~ GRATIA PLENA ~ DOMINUS TECUM
In Latin: "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you" (from the Catholic prayer Ave Maria, "Hail Mary")
On the sword the "U" characters appear similar to the modern "X."