Sword with blade decorations from an other period?

[Matchlock]

Originally Posted by Matchlock

I am sure that this kind of tessak (German/Austrian Dusägge) is no longer of the 2nd half of the 16th century when most of those were made in Styria/Austria. The pommels then were larger, the blade of somewhat different shape, and as Lee has pointed out, the blade decoration comprising sun, moon and stars - though of late Gothic (15th c.) origin - usually shows up on Baroque blades of the 17th and 18th centuries. The style of engraving on this sample, especially the sword arm emerging from a cloud, are characeristic of German/Solingen blades of the late Thirty Years War, ca. 1640's.
Michael

I am convinced that this piece is of Scandinavian provenance, mid-17th c., and belongs together, with no later additions. As I tried to point out, second half 16th c. Dusäggen were quite different, with larger pagoda shaped pommels and slightly different forms of hilts and saber blades, the latter often punched with a series of eyelash shaped or 'toothed' bows.

They originated from 15th c. Hussite army side weapons with curved blades and were called TESAK (a Czech term).

Since the 1560's, we know of a very similar type of cavalry as well as foot soldiers' sabers, called Dusägge or Säbel auf Teutsch gefasst (German hilted saber) in contemporary Styrian inventories.

Thru large purchases in Germany by Christian IV of Denmark in 1617/18, the Dusägge found its way in considerable numbers to both Denmark and Norway, where it saw homemade production and in thisack or tesack, finally recovered its original Czech name as weapon of the Nowegian rural population. The heart shaped open work on the guard is characteristic of the style of the 1640's. For an earlier 1580's dusagge with a different style open work please see images below.

In both Norway and England, it is also colloquially known as Sinclair sabre. Rumor has it that some Sottish troops had attained many dusagges, which were taken from them by order of - amongst others - Captain George Sinclair.

For comparison, I attach images of a characteristic late 16th c. Styrian (Austrian) Dusägge, its iron mounted scabbard missing.
Overall length 105.3 cm
weight 1,340 g
single edged blade, the back grinded for its lower quarter and double edged at the tip, length 90.2 cm, maximum width 3.9 cm

Marks:
Passau running wolf inlaid in coper
unidentifiable maker's mark, perhaps an Italian barbuta helmet, struck two times in a shield, together with 'S'
a characteristic line of oval 'toothed' bows running down the blade till the back grinding
wooden grip plates, the original cord or iron wire binding missing
the hilt originally blackened.

Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

In the collection of a friend of mine, purchased Christie's, 24 May 2006.

The grip covered with leather, the hilt ca. 1575, the rapier blade ca. 1630 and inscribed FRA?NSISCO RUYS in the Spanish manner, together with an orb and cross.

Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

For deeper discussions of these marks, please confer


http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=eyelash+marks

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=eyelash+marks

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=eyelash+marks

BTW, we realize that the term eyelash is not anatominally correct as the lashes on these bows are on the wrong side.

'Sawtooth waveform' might be more fitting ...


Best wishes,
Michael

[Trond]

Originally Posted by Matchlock

Thru large purchases in Germany by Christian IV of Denmark in 1617/18, the Dusägge found its way in considerable numbers to both Denmark and Norway, where it saw homemade production and in thisack or tesack, finally recovered its original Czech name as weapon of the Nowegian rural population. The heart shaped open work on the guard is characteristic of the style of the 1640's. For an earlier 1580's dusagge with a different style open work please see images below.

In both Norway and England, it is also colloquially known as Sinclair sabre. Rumor has it that some Sottish troops had attained many dusagges, which were taken from them by order of - amongst others - Captain George Sinclair.

The name Sinclair saber is based on a misunderstanding. In 1612 some 3-400 Scottish mercenary soldiers were landed on Norway's West coast. They marched through Norway, but when they came to Kringen in Gudbandsdalen, they were more or less murdered by the Norwegian farmers. As the tessaks were fairly similar to the Scottish broadswords of the time, Norwegians believed them to be spoils from the battle - thereby the name Sinclair sabers.

The Norwegian Wikipedia is here way better than the English version (translate.google.com).

Trond

[Matchlock]

My sources of research were

- an article by the Swiss arms historian Jürg Meier:

http://www.waffensammlung-beck.ch/waffe2.html,
see attachment quote in German, which I translated to English in my former post,

and

Per Terje Norheim: Vapen i Norge, 2000, pp. 78-82

So I did not claim that there was no murder involved on the side of the Norwegian rural population, I just stated the essential fact how the Dusägge came to Norway and made its way there after during the 17th c.

Best,
Michael

[cornelistromp]

a styermark dussage ex my collection. (unfortunately not anymore).
Can be dated 1570-1580 (dated by JP Puype.)

[Trond]

Very interesting! I have something that must be fairly closely related to your sword, but with a straight (secondary?) blade.







Trond

[Atlantia]

With so few people in Norway, it appears we now know who owns ALL the good swords!

Beautiful examples both Trond.

[Trond]

I have a fairly good DkN long-gun collection, but a modest sword collection compared to other specialized collectors. Here is a picture of some of the tessaks belonging to a friend who mainly collects swords.



Trond

[cornelistromp]

Originally Posted by Trond

Very interesting! I have something that must be fairly closely related to your sword, but with a straight (secondary?) blade.

[Trond

Hi TRond,

do you mean with secondary that your Dussage started with a curved blade?
I also had some dussages with a straight however single edged blade, with the same type of etching at the 'ricasso' showing on which side the cutting edge is.

best,

[Trond]

I still call them tessaks - no I'm aware that almost 16 % av the tessaks had straight blades and that the one on the previous tessak probably is a tessak blade, I'm just not sure that this is the blade that has followed the grip since new. The "wear & tear" seems too different.

My friend with the serious sword collection is not to friendly with computers.

Trond