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Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
That is absolutely wonderful and detailed information Victrix! Thank you so much, and for listing the reference source. I know that Seitz is an excellent source for weapons from these regions but unfortunately do not have it.
I think your suggestion that the term 'Swedish sword' or 'saber' might be from the image of Gustavus Adolphus on the blade is quite plausible. In the case of Polish swords, certain forms are known by images of the contemporary rulers on the blades (I cannot think of the examples offhand, but the analogy was relevant).
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Jim it seems it’s mainly in Germany they were called “Swedish swords” (Schwedendegen) and they were mostly produced on the European continent (i.e. not locally in Sweden). Most of Gustavus Adolphus’s army consisted of foreign mercenaries (many famous Scotsmen included) and Germans who were his allieds. It’s possible that these German troops and mercenaries were issued with or were using Walloon type swords produced locally in Germany or nearby Netherlands.
Seitz’s book is excellent. It’s mostly in Swedish but has some captions in English. Its English sub-title is
The History of the Swedish Army Sword 1500-1860. It’s occasionally available in local second hand bookshops.
Only a couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend a viewing of the armoury at Skokloster castle which is one of the largest arms collections in Europe dating from around the 30-year war. I was then able to see some of the swords in the book first hand. The collection belonged to Carl Gustaf Wrangel, one of the Swedish commanders in that war who amassed war booty and became fabulously wealthy.