Proto Mortuary Sword

[urbanspaceman]

All through the 1600s we had the wide variation on rapier hilts; although the blades of the Cavaliers were predominantly narrow (am I right?) and often Toledo sourced.
Those rapiers persisted via diminishing forms into the Smallsword.
Then their was the Hounslow Hangars, apparently favoured by naval officers.
There is actually both a Mortuary hilt (in the Royal Armouries in Leeds; although it is displayed on a Cavalier manikin which is - given the date of the blade - anachronistic)) and a typical mushroom cap Hounslow hangar style hilt (in our local museum; both featured in my book) fitted onto those Shotley Bridge blades of 1687. Both those examples are obviously retro-fitted heirloom hilts needing good new blades at the end of the 1600s.
See below, sorry they are not to scale:
NB. I must look into the history of the Green Man to see if there is any connection with Islay.
I must also find where was the brass foundry that was making the hilts for the SB blades. Up till now I have seen no evidence of one in the Derwent Valley, but it will not have been such a big deal and may have simply slipped under the radar; or they will have been hilted in Newcastle which is much more likely.
The London Cutlers Guild were not happy with Benjamin Stone fitting his swords with brass hilts which were obviously far cheaper than the Hounslow Mortuary hilts and hangar hilts previously made in iron.