View Single Post
Old 8th October 2021, 10:40 PM   #9
Jim McDougall
Arms Historian
 
Jim McDougall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
Posts: 9,738
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by toaster5sqn View Post
Jim,
I'm referring to how the side bars meet the pommel so as not to conflict with the wrist as seen in the attached photo. Traditionally they came in horizontally as per the left hand sketch but the basket I was commenting on they were dropped below the horizontal as per the right hand sketch. Hope this makes it clearer.

Yes I was refering to Charles Roworth's "Art of Defence" and John Taylor and Henery Angelo(senior)'s work from the end of the 18thC and start of the 19th sorry for contracting it all to Rowarth etc. The 'a' was a simple spelling oops and their work is such a baseline in the HEMA community that it's easy to forget that it's virtually unknown once you move beyond it.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my query.

Robert
Thank you Robert, and for the additional explanation. Quite honestly the swordsmanship and HEMA factors are quite unknown to me overall, though I have a degree of familiarity. I find it all quite fascinating of course, so by looking further into this myself I wanted to understand more to continue at least somewhat lucid questions

While I have, as noted, never thought of any basket hilt in a thrusting capacity, it seems certainly there were such occasions. In the case of Rob Roy, in this time in Scotland (early 18th c) there was a popularity in dueling events, and surely a more refined system and style of fencing was in place.
In battle, the broadsword was of course, much more free style, actually probably pretty wild.

Your question though brought to mind the fact, as noted, these basket hilts were remounted with curved blades. Though I am not sure of the structural element as far as fencing.............what I do find interesting is that at this time (1804) when this work was presented, they were trying to join the fencing methods with broadswords into use of the saber.

I have always wondering WHY would they put a curved cavalry blade on this basket hilt......as noted mine is not the only example..
But this perspective seems to suggest a possible physical aspect of this period and employing these theories.
Jim McDougall is offline   Reply With Quote