Early 17th Century swept hilt rapier with ovoid pommel

[Cerjak]

Originally Posted by Philip

Hilt appears to be a variation of AVB Norman's Type 61, pommel is his Type 29 and he does note that these two types tend to appear together on many rapiers. His chronology of 1600-40 for the hilt seems to match what we have here, and he notes several variants on the essential Type 61 theme on a large body of surviving examples -- including the C-shaped terminus of the knuckleguard.

What is interesting to me about this example is that the position of the guard seems to be reversed, i.e. designed to protect the left hand. If so it might explain the shortness of the blade. Could this not have been designed for an unusual fencing system that employed a shorter sword in the left hand, as opposed to a main-gauche dagger? There were schools of rapier fencing that called for identical rapiers in each hand (spada da lato gemelle), analogous to the Chinese technique of fighting with shuangjian, or a matched pair of swords. (see Boccia/Coelho, ARMI BIANCHE ITALIANE, 555/556 for an example in the Odescalchi Collection). So here, we may have the surviving weapon of a set of rapiers using a shorter blade for the left hand, which again has a Far Eastern counterpart in the combined use of katana and wakizashi in the "niten-no-ryu" technique.


In fact, there is a woodcut illustration of a fencer with two rapiers, the one in his left hand being visibly shorter albeit with the same blade width and taper, from Marozzo's OPERA NOVA (Venice, 1550) showing the technique of combat "alla due Spada" (published in LIVRUSTKAMMAREN, Vol. XIII:5, 1974, p 193, fig. 13

Dear Philip,
Thank you very much for your very interesting and instructive answer about this sword.
Also looking again to the tip and the blade shape I don’t see any sign who could confirm tha the blade had been shortened
best

Cerjak

[fernando]

Hi Jean-Luc,
I guess Philip was referring to the blade shortness as a fencing option and not blade shortened accidently or incidently. .

[Cerjak]

Originally Posted by fernando

Hi Jean-Luc,
I guess Philip was referring to the blade shortness as a fencing option and not blade shortened accidently or incidently. .

Yes Fernando,
My first guess was that is was shortened and after I have read Philips comment I have watch again the tip and the blade geometry in order to confirm this point.
The only point who still puzzle me : A somewhat big pommel with a short blade affect the balance.

Best

Jean-Luc

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Cerjak

Yes Fernando,
My first guess was that is was shortened and after I have read Philips comment I have watch again the tip and the blade geometry in order to confirm this point.
The only point who still puzzle me : A somewhat big pommel with a short blade affect the balance.

Best

Jean-Luc

Do you think, Jean-Luc, that this may have been intentional from a functional standpoint? In other words, a sword-fighter might see an advantage in having his left-hand weapon having a livelier (lighter-at-the-tip) balance because he would not necessarily be deploying both swords to exactly the same effect.

Referring to my prior post, the use of identical swords in the Chinese shuangjian technique, or twin batons (sometimes bolo knives) of the same size in some Philippine escrima systems, is feasible and practical since none of these weapons has the great length of a typical rapier (the Chinese swords being cut-thrust weapons are about a meter long at most, the Filipino knives much shorter). Now, there are the twin matched rapiers in the Italian tradition (the "spada da lato gemelle" that I mentioned), but I do not know how the technique accommodated two equally long rapiers simultaneously since I've never watched anybody practice it.

I would think that a system that called for a shorter rapier in the left hand, using a weapon like yours, must have been created as a practical compromise between the rather esoteric spada da lato gemelle and the more familiar rapier-plus-dagger combo.

Finally, I agree that this sword was made to be short. The proportions and profile do not convincingly show that it was a long blade cut down.