The wooden fighting sword-sticks of Crete

fearn · 5th October 2009, 05:16 PM

That helps Marc. The english-language web references to Guanche weapons are confused (unsurprising), and it's nice to know what those weapons are.

As for the makila/magado thing, I'm pretty sure you were right. I was speculating based on three grounds:

1. If one believes Wikipedia, the mejido wooden swords were inspired by European swords.

2. G and K (hard G as in english) are closely related letters. A great example is my Korean partner's name. Her name is spelled with a K in English and a G equivalent in Hangul. L to D seems to be an occasional shift in Berber languages, which include Guanche It's a muddled argument (and I'm NOT a linguist), but I could see someone introducing a sword-like stick called a Makila, and the name being blurred by translation and use.

3. The Basques started hunting Right Whales in the Bay of Biscay in the 1200s, and were sailing to Newfoundland by 1530, and they pioneered whaling. Right whales were found in small numbers around the Canaries. The Spanish started conquering the Canary Islands in 1402. That leaves about a 200 year window when Basque whaleboats could have been visiting the Canary Islands. What I don't know is when the Basques stopped shore whaling and started deep-sea hunting. However, they were Atlantic ocean pioneers, and I'd expect them to be among the first to visit the Canary Islands in Medieval times.

As I said, speculation, and unless there's good linguistic or historical evidence, it's idle speculation, although it makes for fun reading.

As for Peek? Must be annoying to hear that story over and over again.

Best,

F

Marc · 6th October 2009, 03:19 PM

Regarding the etymology of the word, I'm not a linguist, neither, I just repeat what some linguists do claim, that's all

Oh, and don't worry about the Peek thing. I practise historical fencing, based on the Spanish 17th c. fencing tradition, so you can easily guess this episode gets tossed around a lot, specially in international meetings. After all this time, I ended up developing a certain sympathy for Mr. Peek. Sort of.

fearn · 8th October 2009, 02:47 AM

But no pics of the Mejido or magado...

5th October 2009, 05:16 PM	#1
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	That helps Marc. The english-language web references to Guanche weapons are confused (unsurprising), and it's nice to know what those weapons are. As for the makila/magado thing, I'm pretty sure you were right. I was speculating based on three grounds: 1. If one believes Wikipedia, the mejido wooden swords were inspired by European swords. 2. G and K (hard G as in english) are closely related letters. A great example is my Korean partner's name. Her name is spelled with a K in English and a G equivalent in Hangul. L to D seems to be an occasional shift in Berber languages, which include Guanche It's a muddled argument (and I'm NOT a linguist), but I could see someone introducing a sword-like stick called a Makila, and the name being blurred by translation and use. 3. The Basques started hunting Right Whales in the Bay of Biscay in the 1200s, and were sailing to Newfoundland by 1530, and they pioneered whaling. Right whales were found in small numbers around the Canaries. The Spanish started conquering the Canary Islands in 1402. That leaves about a 200 year window when Basque whaleboats could have been visiting the Canary Islands. What I don't know is when the Basques stopped shore whaling and started deep-sea hunting. However, they were Atlantic ocean pioneers, and I'd expect them to be among the first to visit the Canary Islands in Medieval times. As I said, speculation, and unless there's good linguistic or historical evidence, it's idle speculation, although it makes for fun reading. As for Peek? Must be annoying to hear that story over and over again. Best, F Last edited by fearn; 5th October 2009 at 05:28 PM.

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6th October 2009, 03:19 PM	#2
Marc Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Madrid / Barcelona Posts: 256	Regarding the etymology of the word, I'm not a linguist, neither, I just repeat what some linguists do claim, that's all Oh, and don't worry about the Peek thing. I practise historical fencing, based on the Spanish 17th c. fencing tradition, so you can easily guess this episode gets tossed around a lot, specially in international meetings. After all this time, I ended up developing a certain sympathy for Mr. Peek. Sort of.

8th October 2009, 02:47 AM	#3
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	But no pics of the Mejido or magado...