Flame sword

The Split City Museum collection of arms also holds a special type of wavy-bladed sword known as the flambard (flammard) – a flame sword. In this area it was sometimes called an ognjul and ognjulac in the Chakavian dialect referring to the blade’s similarity to a burning flame.

This unusual sword type was popular with officers and the upper classes in the 16th century because they wanted the effect of appearing simultaneously modern and fear-inspiring, and the shape of its blade was designed more to inspire fear than to serve any practical purpose. Wavy blades were more useful for hacking at spears with wooden poles thus rendering the enemy’s weapon unusable.