“Capulet. What is the noise here? Give me my long sword!
Signora Capulet. Crutch, crutch! Why do you need your sword?
Capulet. A sword, they say! Look, old man Montague
As if in spite of me, he was waving a sword like that."
(William Shakespeare "Romeo and Juliet")
Museum collections of knightly armor and weapons. Today we continue the story about the weapons and armor of the Tudors. But today we will consider armor not English, but for comparison with them … German. Belonging to Emperor Ferdinand I (1503-1564), which were made for him in 1549 by the famous gunsmith from Nuremberg Kunz Lochner. And we will continue the story about the edged weapons of this time …
And it so happened that by the end of the 15th century, the sword, which until then was worn mainly with armor, now more and more often began to be combined with a civilian suit, so that it was even called a "costume sword", and after about 1530, carrying weapons for nobles in everyday life has already become a must. The reason was that duels began to gain more and more popularity, and the sword had to be constantly carried with you. He had previously been a tool for resolving any disputes, but nobles and people with a position for this put on armor and certainly went out to fight on the lists.
But now everything is different. Fights between gentlemen in ordinary civilian clothes became fashionable. And it turned out that this way of settling differences that have arisen without expensive equipment and unnecessary ceremonies is much more convenient. The sword for such a duel might not be as strong as the "weapon for the field", because it was now used against the enemy devoid of metal armor. And if so, now his blade has become much lighter, but additional guards on the hilt were required to protect the hand.
This is how the rapier appeared. At an early stage of its development, it represented a long "civilian" sword, in which the sharpened blade was, however, wider than the blade of the "estok". And already in the middle of the 16th century, the word "rapier" began to be understood as a sword intended exclusively for thrusting blows. Instead of chopping down, a popular way to incapacitate the enemy was a lunge. It was this fighting technique that was used by Italian fencing masters, and it was from Italy that the fashion for dueling came to the countries of northern Europe. Well, those who wanted to learn the skill of using a new weapon turned to reading the instructions that came out from under the lively feathers of the Italian fencing masters, who were immediately followed on the heels of their colleagues from Spain.
In contrast to the military sword, the "civilian" weapon received a sophisticated hilt, borrowed in England from the continent. Ephesus was made of simple "white" steel, but there were samples with both blackening and gilding. Engraved silver plates were used to decorate the crosshairs. Steel could also be decorated with a chased pattern. In the first half of the 16th century, twisted decorative elements of protection, as well as metal carving, became popular. The technique of incrustation, including precious stones, first appeared on chased hilts in the middle of the century, and by 1600 it had become the most widespread method of decoration. Enamel was used periodically.
Along with new types of weapons, its masters appeared, and, accordingly, schools. The first such school of fencing was the Italian one. And, for example, a certain Londoner George Silver became a famous fencing master in England in the 16th century, in 1599 he published the treatise "Paradoxes of Defense" (Paradoxes of Defense). In it, he wrote that among the Italian fencers there is an opinion that the British do not put their index finger across the cross of the guard and the thumb on the blade, but their hand on the head of the hilt, since the English hilts do not have protective thimbles, and if so, then they (the British) cannot make a direct attack. And, probably, they can really bend the index finger at the crosshair only when they use a weapon with an Italian hilt. That is, the battle within the framework of the Italian school took place like this: the fencers stood up against each other and with their right hand struck with a rapier, and with their left they took a blow either on the forearm wrapped in a cloak, or parried it with a special dagger.
During the reign of Henry VIII, daggers in the Swiss style of Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), who was his court painter and lived in London, became especially popular. Ephesus had the shape of the letter "H" made of cast metal and an intricate interlacing pattern on the scabbard. This was the era of the Renaissance, in this case the Northern Renaissance. Therefore, antique figures and ornaments were in fashion. The sheath of Holbein's daggers was very richly decorated with embossed and carved images. Although, technically, it was still the same medieval evolved baselard. And at that time no one called such daggers by the name of the artist. This fame came to him already in the 19th century.
Then, around 1550, Scottish daggers became widespread. It has become fashionable again to order headsets: a sword and a dagger in the same style. Moreover, the dagger could have a very simple guard with a crosshair and a ring, or, already in the second half of the 16th century, a guard with a shield on the outside. The daggers were worn in a scabbard on the side on the right, attaching the scabbard to a waist belt with two staples on their metal mouth. After about 1560, the dagger was worn closer to the back. It was fashionable at the mouth of the scabbard on each side to have a ring through which a cord with tassels was passed - “Venetian silk tassel”. The cords were both silver and gold, black and gold, and crimson silk with tassels of the appropriate colors. They were decorated with chains, ribbons and even large bows. Also, some scabbards had containers for a knife and an awl.
Today we will get acquainted with the armor of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I (1503-1564). Dated to 1549. Master Kunz Lochner from Nuremberg. Ferdinand I's ownership of this armor is indicated by heraldic emblems on the socks of the Sabatons: an imperial double-headed eagle crowned with a crown, emphasizing Ferdinand's status. The image of the Virgin with the baby on the breastplate was also used on his armor by his older brother, Emperor Charles V. In addition, the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece, an elite knightly society of which Ferdinand was a member, can be seen on the armor. It is also on display at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, it was made at about the same time as the armor of Henry XIII, so this is a very good object for comparing the two schools - German and Greenwich.
As always, the new weapon in England had supporters and opponents who stood up for the "good English sword". In 1591 Sir John Smythe wrote the Instructions. Observations and Orders Mylitarie, which went out of print four years later. And so he wrote that the rapier is too long for an infantryman in the cramped battle, that it is difficult to grab it in real conditions, and it is completely impossible for a horseman, because for this he will have to throw the reins! That is, it is not suitable for war. It will also break when hitting the armor. Although, on the other hand, he noted the successful use of "estoks", or "such", which had quadrangular blades, by horsemen. That is, with the desire and training, it was always possible to achieve the desired result. It's just that people are very traditional creatures and do not like to retrain.
George Silver, by the way, also disliked rapiers and called them "bird skewers."In his opinion, they were only good for piercing the Corcelles (brinandina), for cutting off the strings and buckles of the helmet from the straps of the armor. For a chopping blow, in his opinion, they are too long and have the wrong hilt. However, despite all these scriptures, the rapier became an increasingly fashionable weapon, and with civilian clothing it was worn more and more often. And if so, teachers were needed to train foil fencers. So fencing schools appeared in England, which were opened first by Italians, and then by the most talented and successful of their own students.
The "sword and a half hands" or "sword-bastard" in England was still in use, but the rapier supplanted it in the most active way. The intimidating two-handed swords of the infantry, with which it could hack through the ranks of pikemen, were also used, but increasingly for ceremonial purposes. In the continental armies, they were much more in demand than in the British.
The rider's war hammer or "raven beak" was now supplied with a metal shaft so that it could not be chopped off, and the butt of the hammer received another diamond-shaped cut. Six-pins were used, but rarely. There are rich designs adorned with silver or gold notching on blued or reddish-brown colored metal surfaces. But they were not the mass weapons of the Tudor-era English cavalry.
Warriors of two detachments of the royal guard: "Gentlemen at Arms" and the Yeomen Guard stood on guard during state celebrations, armed with berdysh and protazans. But we will tell you about this weapon separately …
