An unusual cavalry schiavona of early 19th c.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Victrix

Jim, thank you for posting this most interesting sword. The hilt looks like what Ewart Oakeshott describes as a Type 2 schiavona in “European Weapons and Armour” (1989). I therefore wonder if the hilt might be older than the blade? I’m under the impression that the second half of the 18thC is more associated with Types 2a and 2b schiavonas, which also tend to have bronze cat’s head pommels.

Do you think that the sword was used by Slavic/Slavonian mercenaries in employ of the King of Naples/Two Sicilies, or do you think that the schiavona hilt by then simply had become a widespread fashionable hilt style on the European continent and used by varied nationalities?

Oakeshott mentions Slavic/Slavonian mercenaries in employ by the Italians, called Stradioti, and Spanish (Naples) called Estradiotas in the 15thC. I think these were probably more of Greek/Albanian origin, but later in the 17thC Venice employed Slavic mercenaries from Dalmatia and Montenegro who were presumably the main users of the schiavona sword. Not sure what type of swords the Stradioti would have used.

Thank you so much for this response, and definitely very plausible possibilities. I have tried to wade through these complex theaters of the Napoleonic period campaigns, and European history of these times is pretty daunting. It seems like 'world wars' are hardly a 20th century phenomenon, and the dynamic participation in Napoleonic campaigns is remarkable.

It is known that the Doge of Venice used guards from Croatia as a long standing diplomatic arrangement, so it seems quite plausible that there were Croatians/Dalmatians were in broader service.

I agree this hilt is quite possibly older than the blade but certainly in 18th c.
I have not quite understood whether the brass catsheads were of a period or other specified use.

While the schiavona hilt is known to have been in use in other European regions and situations, I think it was more a matter of Italian based forces either on campaign or allied with other principalities in that presence.
For some time it was suggested that the schiavona was aligned with the Scottish basket hilt, but this was disproved in the late 19th c. by the comparison of the hilt construction, entirely different.