Quote:
Originally Posted by fernando
Sorry to bring this up again, guys.
Alright with the 18th century assessment but, the origin being French or German, you say ?
Isn't it also a German (hirshfanger) fashion to have a scallop shell guard ?
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In my view, many forms of swords in the European sphere end up being classed as 'Continental' as there was so much diffusion in influence as well as the cutlers/artisans themselves.
When it comes to France and Germany, these countries were then largely principalities, kingdoms and states (not wishing to delve into differences of these terms)so it would be hard to define French vs. German.
However the German 'hirschfanger' and the French 'cuttoe de chasse' were basically similar, and most seem to have had the downturned shell from the crossguard. As always, there are no hard and fast rules so of course there were exceptions and variations.
This downturned shell became notable not only on these hunting swords but on court swords as well (as Dean, 1928 shows). It would seem that these shells, rather than having a combative purpose naturally, offered a larger field of surface for the ornamentation typically afforded these weapons.
France and Germany often had great commonality in many things, and the great blade center in Klingenthal had a large component of smiths from Solingen. Alsace-Lorraine has been either French or German so often over time that both languages are spoken as are the shared cultural characters.