Hi Jim, thank you my friend,
As allways, a treatise on the weapon focused on the topic.
Do i well understand your words when you say that Norman is not aware of cuphilts being used by military ? If so, that would be a bit confusing to me
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I would like to quote a Portuguese specialist, Eduardo Nobre, who mentions is has made a comparison study on several hundred cuphilted swords, both in public as in private collections, having concluded that the fixation of the knuckleguard to the pommel, was more common in military swords. In the case of cuphilted swords with a narrow blade, the so called rapiers, this fixation was rather unvulgar, as even in some cases, resulted from later adaptations.
Also in my humble conclusion, despite this sword has a very plain aspect, its blade length and narrowness, apart from the knucklebow fixation problematic, indicates that this is certainly a civilian sword, a rapier designed for fencing.
I am still expecting the seller to explain his point of view on what concerns this being a Portuguese or a Spanish production sword. If it were made in an earlier period, it could easy be Spanish or in the least be called a Peninsular sword, for what matters. However having been made after the 1640 revolution, and with that kind of nationalist inscription on the balde, it has serious possibilities of being indeed Portuguese. But the seller is surely more qualified in these things than me, so let's see what the man says.
I also wish Marc came around, to drop a line on this subject
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Fernando