The Signature Blade of Geralt: The Witcher Silver Sword

One of the most iconic fantasy characters in recent years has to be Geralt of Rivia. Whether you’re a fan of the Witcher book series, or a video game connoisseur, both the character and the world he resides in have captured our imaginations.

If you’re planning on Cosplaying as Geralt, one of the most recognisable parts of his character has to be his Witcher silver sword. Specifically, you may be looking for the Witcher 3 silver sword replica, as that design is the one that most are familiar with. In that case, we’ve got some good news for you.

The Witcher Silver Sword for sale here at Medieval Ware follows the Witcher 3 design closely, as we can immediately see when we look at its distinctive pommel. It is intricately carved in the form of double headed wolves, each facing opposite directions. If you look at the box art, you’ll see this pommel in Geralt’s own hands.

If we move down to the grip, we can see that it has been wrapped in a black waxed cotton cord, which makes the sword easier to hold on to. The Witcher Silver Sword is a longsword, so there’s enough room on the grip for you to comfortably wield it with both hands.

The guard also mirrors the iconic Y-shaped guard of the Witcher Silver Sword, where the two arms, or quillons, are set at an angle which point towards the blade. The angled guard is effective at parrying and protecting the hands of the wielder, but also helps the Witcher to quickly differentiate between this sword and his more mundane steel variant. It wouldn’t do to get his swords mixed up in the heat of battle.

Unlike Geralt’s silver sword, this sword blade is actually made from steel. Now, this will make it less effective against supernatural creatures, but should work for your purposes. Steel is obviously much cheaper than silver, and is a harder metal, meaning that it holds an edge much better and will last longer.

The Witcher Silver Sword has a double edged straight blade, as you’d expect from a longsword. It has three fullers that run down the blade, which is yet another detail that you may have spotted in the box art of the Witcher 3 game.

Finally, the whole thing can be kept safe in a smart black wooden scabbard with steel accents. The scabbard also has a back strap, reflecting Geralt’s own propensity for carrying his two swords on his back.

The Cosplay possibilities for this sword are obvious, as it’s such an important part of Geralt’s character, especially when paired with the Witcher Steel Sword. You could either Cosplay as Geralt himself, or another Witcher.

However, this sword is not only a recognisable part of Witcher lore, but it’s an attractive weapon in its own right. It would make a wonderful addition to any fantasy sword collection and can even be used as part of a LARP character. The wolf emblem on the pommel can fit all kinds of characters, so you can use it with your own player character.

The World and the People of the Witcher

First of all, we’ll get a few technical details of the way. The Witcher first came into being at the behest of a Polish author called Andrzej Sapkowski, in the form of the Witcher Saga, a series of novels following Geralt’s adventures as a Witcher.

The Witcher Series was further popularised in the 2000s when the Witcher trilogy of video games were released, generally to critical and public acclaim. The Witcher 3, especially, was incredibly popular and well received. The video games are set some years after the events of the books, but this doesn’t mean that the games spoil the books.

You’ll be familiar with the setting and some of the names, but the developers of the games were quite careful in making sure that you’ll still enjoy the Saga’s narrative. So, if you enjoyed the world and characters that the games introduced you to, and want to spend more time there, then you can quite happily jump into the Witcher Saga.

More recently, a recent TV series starring Henry Cavill as Geralt himself brought the world of the Witcher even further into the public eye. This series actually follows the plot of some short stories written by Sapkowski which are set before the Witcher Saga, meaning that you can comfortably watch the series, then move onto the books, if you’re so inclined.  

While our visualisation of this world may be heavily based on the later video games, it’s important to note that everything started with Sapkowski. Many of the iconic characters and the stunning world can be attributed to him, although the excellent interpretation presented by the games can’t be ignored.

Now that we’ve got all that mixed media sorted out, let’s dive into the world of the Witcher.

The Geography of the Witcher Saga: The World and the Continent

If you’ve noticed a lack of actual names, then good for you. While other fantasy settings are kind enough to name their worlds, Sapkowski only ever referred to his world as “the World”, “the Globe”, or “the Earth”. He, or his characters, didn’t deign to give this planet an actual name, it seems.

Before you presume that the Witcher Saga is simply set on Earth, note that there are some topographical differences between our planet and Sapkowski’s world. While it orbits a single star (the Sun, or Feainn) and has one moon, this planet has an elliptic orbit. This means that, at some point in the distant future, an Ice Age will threaten the Northern Hemisphere.

While we’re talking about Hemispheres, we see another difference between this Globe and our world. The vast majority of the landmass (about 90%) is located in the Northern Hemisphere, while the Southern Hemisphere is primarily covered by a massive ocean.

One of these northern landmasses is known as the Continent, which is where the story of the Witcher is set. Once more, we see Sapkowski’s familiar naming conventions. Thankfully, he does get more specific as we zero in on smaller areas within the setting, otherwise things would get incredibly confusing.

The Setting of the Witcher Saga: Legends Made Alive

The Witcher Saga is officially a high fantasy setting, which means that magic and all the wonders it encompasses run riot. Strange creatures, both mundane and otherwise, roam the land, and elves, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes alike rub shoulders with humankind.

However, this doesn’t mean that everything is all sunshine and roses. Rather, much of this setting is depressingly realistic, at least when it comes to the characters and societies that populate the Continent. So, it could also be accurately described as dark fantasy.

So, let’s dive into these fantastical elements. We’ll break them down into two parts: the humanoid species, and the supernatural creatures.

Humans and Nonhumans: The Clash of the Continent

First of all, we have humans. The humans that populate the Continent aren’t too dissimilar biologically to humans that populate our world. There’s a simple reason for this, of course. You see, humans are from Earth.

We’ve established that the Globe is a different planet to our Earth, and it seems that humans arrived there centuries before the Witcher Saga takes place. After humanity destroyed their own home, they turned up on the Globe and settled on the Continent.

Unfortunately, the Continent was already occupied by the Elder Races. The oldest of these were the gnomes, who were pushed out of their former homes along with the others. These gnomes are fairly typical in design, being short, slender, and fairly weak. They also have very long noses, along with pointed teeth and ears.

The gnomes live in their own communities, either away from humans or within human cities. This is common for the Elder Races, who were either forced to live alongside humanity, or to abandon their lands entirely. They are renowned smiths and jewellers, with quick minds and clever hands. Unfortunately, they also make good burglars.

The dwarves are the next oldest sentient race on the Continent and have a kinship to the gnomes, as well as a generally good relationship. They are slightly taller and stockier than gnomes, and stronger to boot. Dwarves were also known to be stronger and tougher than the taller humans.

As to be expected, dwarves are known for their very impressive beards. They are fearsome in combat but are also known as skilled smiths and craftsmen. To begin with, dwarves coexisted with humanity, but racial prejudice led to hatred on both sides.

The elves, known as Aen Seidhe, arrived at the continent later than the gnomes and the dwarves, on their “white ships”. Physically, they’re much like other fantasy elf depictions, being tall, beautiful, and lithe. Elves are also long-lived but reproduce very slowly.

When the humans arrived, the elven way of life on the continent changed forever. The humans dominated, thanks to their superior numbers. In the war that ensued, the elves destroyed their own beautiful cities, believing the humans unworthy of occupying them.

Many elves retreated to the wilds, and became known as Wood Elves, living a simple lifestyle and cultivating incredible martial skills. Other elves remain in the human cities, but are often looked down upon by humanity, along with other nonhumans.

Still, elf-human pairings are common enough that half-elves and quarter-elves are regular occurrences. These people have traits from both parents, and their appearance can range from being clearly elvish or almost indistinguishable from humans.

Another group of elves, called the Aen Elle, make up those elves who didn’t arrive at the Continent on the white ships. Rather, they went to another world, and so are very culturally distinct to the elves that we’re more familiar with. Specifically, where the Aen Seidhe were largely dominated by humanity, the Aen Elle are far more warlike and even successfully wiped out the humans on other worlds.

The final Elder Race that we’ll discuss are the halflings. Unlike the gnomes and dwarves, the halflings don’t have any of their own lands to speak of. Nor have they retreated into nature like many elves. Rather, the halflings populate human lands.

As to be expected, halflings are short and a little chubby. They have slightly pointed ears and large, hairy feet. Halflings are known to be peaceful and genial folk but shouldn’t be discounted. Interestingly, they are resistant to most magic, and have proven to be agile, quick, and deadly accurate with their throwing arms.  

There are, of course, other sentient species that make up the Continent, but these are the ones we encounter most of all.

Monsters and Beasts: The Dangers of the Continent

Famously, Geralt of Rivia is what’s known as a Witcher. This means that he’s gone through all kinds of enhancements, including mundane training and magical rituals. The purpose of this rigorous regime is to turn an ordinary man into someone capable of handling monsters.

One invaluable tool in Geralt’s arsenal is his Witcher Silver Sword, which is designed specifically for supernatural beings, or monsters. They are actually mainly made with meteoric iron, which is then coated with silver and inscribed with magical runes. An entirely silver sword would make an awful sword, but the silver coating is enough to handle monsters.

The Witcher bestiary is immense, but some creatures are so memorable. Werewolves, for example, are vulnerable to silver. Lycanthropy can be either genetic (and so incurable) or due to a curse. These beings have both a human form, which is unaware of their bestial actions, and a werewolf form, which is immensely dangerous.

Ghouls are less memorable for their difficulty, and more because of how often they show up in the games. These creatures hunger for human flesh, and can travel in packs. They are, however, very vulnerable to Geralt’s whirling silver blade.

With his twin swords, a degree of preparation, and his great skill, Geralt can handle pretty much any threat that the Continent throws at him.

Tech Specs

The technical specifications of the Witcher Silver Sword for sale are as follows:

•         Overall Length: 45.75 Inches
•         Blade Length: 35.25 Inches
•         Blade Material: Stainless Steel
•         Handle Length: 10.50 Inches
•         Cross Guard Length: 4.62 Inches