Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Two-Handed Great Sword

Matt Easton · 23rd December 2012, 08:04 AM

A very interesting sword. At first sight I also thought it was a later processional weapon, but I think that given the balance of evidence and some of the details of the design, it may very well be an honest 17thC weapon. Perhaps with a later replacement grip (this is not uncommon - most 17th century weapons in museums have replacement grips!).

I have to throw in a bit of correction as to people's views of these weapons - these were guards' weapons at this time and in fact the use of the greatsword was still very widespread in Italian, Spanish and Portugese fencing schools right up until the end of the 17th century - the 'spadone' (Italian greatsword) is covered by Alfieri's teachings in the 1640's for example, and various 'montante' (Spanish greatsword) texts have come to light in recent years. The Iberian treatises make it very clear that the primary purpose of these swords was so that one guard could defend a bridge, street or doorway from a number of opponents, presumably whilst support was called or his prince made a speedy exit! Whilst they were apparently opposed to pikes on the battlefield in some cases, this does not seem to have been their primary purpose.

The next point I want to make is about the projecting spikes on the ricasso - these were NOT primarily to allow halfswording. You can halfsword with any sword and it is shown in numerous earlier treatises dealing with longswords, messers and even rapiers. What these projections were for was to give added protection to the hands when binding against an opponent's blade - the extra length and force of two-handed sword blades puts the hands at terrible risk (Henry VIII's officials noted that no gauntlets could properly protect from them) and so these projections are forged on the blade to help prevent the opponent's blade sliding down and taking a chunk out of your hand. There are many examples of greatswords with these projections near the hilt, not least those swords shown in Marozzo's treatise of 1536:

Anyway, I hope this is helpful and thanks for sharing the photos of that sword. It's a very interesting piece.

23rd December 2012, 08:04 AM	#14
Matt Easton Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Surrey, Great Britain. Posts: 53	A very interesting sword. At first sight I also thought it was a later processional weapon, but I think that given the balance of evidence and some of the details of the design, it may very well be an honest 17thC weapon. Perhaps with a later replacement grip (this is not uncommon - most 17th century weapons in museums have replacement grips!). I have to throw in a bit of correction as to people's views of these weapons - these were guards' weapons at this time and in fact the use of the greatsword was still very widespread in Italian, Spanish and Portugese fencing schools right up until the end of the 17th century - the 'spadone' (Italian greatsword) is covered by Alfieri's teachings in the 1640's for example, and various 'montante' (Spanish greatsword) texts have come to light in recent years. The Iberian treatises make it very clear that the primary purpose of these swords was so that one guard could defend a bridge, street or doorway from a number of opponents, presumably whilst support was called or his prince made a speedy exit! Whilst they were apparently opposed to pikes on the battlefield in some cases, this does not seem to have been their primary purpose. The next point I want to make is about the projecting spikes on the ricasso - these were NOT primarily to allow halfswording. You can halfsword with any sword and it is shown in numerous earlier treatises dealing with longswords, messers and even rapiers. What these projections were for was to give added protection to the hands when binding against an opponent's blade - the extra length and force of two-handed sword blades puts the hands at terrible risk (Henry VIII's officials noted that no gauntlets could properly protect from them) and so these projections are forged on the blade to help prevent the opponent's blade sliding down and taking a chunk out of your hand. There are many examples of greatswords with these projections near the hilt, not least those swords shown in Marozzo's treatise of 1536: Anyway, I hope this is helpful and thanks for sharing the photos of that sword. It's a very interesting piece.