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Originally Posted by Gonzalo G
Hi, Jim. Now you have introduced a very important morphological distinction, which I had not taken on account. Yes, there is a difference among a straight blade with ondulated edges, and an ondulated blade. I think maybe we (or I) were puting them in the same bag, as they are usually both called flammard in the equivalent word in spanish as far as I understand, which is "flamígera", from "flame". Maybe the rapiers referred by Dueñaz Beraiz were from this latter kind. When I spoke of fighting wepons on this style, I was thinking in this latter style of flammard blade, more discrete. Thank you for pointing to this detail, Jim.
Regards
Gonzalo
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You bet Gonzalo!
It seems like semantics and transliteration sometimes really create havoc in understanding historical detail, many words change meaning entirely, or fall entirely out of use. These 'flame' blades which were basically straight, maintained the integrity of their intended purpose for cut or thrust, and the serration probably was in degree quite effective. Perhaps the reason they were not more common was due to the added difficulty in fashioning them?
Thank you for the Beraiz reference! The 'Gladius' publications are truly valuable resources, though I have never actually had access to them, and remain quite elusive as far as I know.
I understand well your reference to the keris. It is truly a weapon with fascinating and complex history and actually a profound element of the cultures it represents. There is tremendous knowledge in these forums on these weapons, which I too can only claim elementary knowledge, and honestly hope to learn more on them.
All the very best,
Jim