Scottish basket hilt elements

[urbanspaceman]

Hi Jim. Thanks for your help here, I am much obliged.
The leather patch in my hilt will have been a working repair as the original linings were traditionally deerskin. I don't know how much of the basket was covered by the skin, the later Victorian complete covers may not have echoed the early ones.
Has anyone heard of the - much regarded as myth - story that the division of the pommel was not always into four and this was supposed to mean "No Quarter". Sounds Victorian to me, but you never know.
I might endeavor to persuade the Tyneside 'Powers that Be' to establish a section of our "Discovery Museum" devoted to the arms and armour of the area and get some of the 200+ swords they have archived and essentially never seen, apart from the five Shotley Bridge swords donated by Lord Gort of Hamsterly (adjacent to SB) and featured in my book.
You would not believe the hoops I had to jump through and the persistence required to gain access to them: it took me four months! The problem is that all those 200 swords are stored in the archives of our Laing Art Gallery as initially the Discovery Museum did not have adequate security to store armaments. Consequently, the people working at the gallery are Art enthusiasts; guns and swords are anathema to them and best forgotten. I can see their point but that is not why we pay them; and WE do pay them.
NB 216 swords have been catalogued with brief descriptions but I was told there are 900+ in total.
Loquacious you may be Jim, but garrulous am I.

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you Keith! It would seem we are peas in a pod! garrulous, I had not heard that one...but add it to my resume'
Your work on the Shotley mysteries is to me, almost legendary! and your tenacity prevails.....your quest never stops.

It would be great to include the Shotley factor into the Scottish swords discussed here, as we know that these blades indeed entered into that sphere.

Norman, found something more on the 'S' element:
From George Nuemann ("Swords and Blades of the American Revolution", 1973, p.140, 236.S):
one variation of Glasgow hilt using reversed S in place of side plates seems to have been innovated by John Allen in 1700-1707 period.

This reference, for those reading, is one of the absolutely best. most comprehensive references for virtually most European swords forms of late 17th through 18th century. Mr. Neumanns astounding knowledge is added to each photographed example and with text that reads like footnotes, loaded with details one would spend searching for in the standard literature. He adds concise details pertinent to each weapon, instantly answering the questions one would ask if just seeing the weapon.
I once had the honor of talking with him years ago, and the over an hour or more went by in seconds, as the exchange was remarkable! It was easy to see how he wrote this!!!

[Battara]

It is a fantastic book (I have a copy )!

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Battara

It is a fantastic book (I have a copy )!

It really is Jose! Ive had mine since about '74, its worn to tatters but its my most valuable go to reference!

[Jim McDougall]

It is well established that the basket hilt (close hilt) form had already evolved in the Continent and in England long before the form evolved as the Highland hilt in Scotland. In this early form in England, it seems that arming swords with simple hilts were in use c.1530s with more half basket. However around the 1570s more bars and structure was added creating this form termed British 'globe hilt'. This example from 1570-80.

It seems that the Border Reivers of northern regions of England may well have been instrumental in the evolution of what became the Highland basket hilt.
Naturally it would be hard to declare this situation as monumental, but it was certainly a factor, likely of key importance.

In these hilts there seem to have been certain decorative features practiced, especially as the Scots began following the practice of more developed hilts.
While the Border Reivers were understandably neither exclusively Scottish nor English as their domains were on the diaphanous borders between the two.

The stylized decoration on the junction plate is believed to pertain to the pine cone which has to do with long life and resurrection.

This scalloping or notching seen in the next image is deemed profoundly Scottish, this from an example c. 1530-40, and seems to be applied in varied fashion on the shields serving as junction plates on the Glasgow hilts as they evolved in latter 17th century. It is unclear how often or instanced these occurred in the interim evolution, but illustrates the traditional symbolism that became notably used in the established Highland forms.

In the example of a junction plate shown, the highly stylized decoration (center illustration)is referred to as a representing the pine cone (termed cone and pouch in design), which symbolically has to do with long life and resurrection. Tenuously of course we might consider the affinity of Scots for the cone shape in pommels.

[Jim McDougall]

One of the fundamental pierced designs seen in shields of the Glasgow hilts has been the familiar heart shape, which according to Wallace (1970, #26), "the heart decoration was used extensively on the structured basket hilt from the late 17th c. and afterwards".

I have tried to discover what possible tradition, symbolism or convention might have prompted this shape for many years, even contacting certain well known authorities on these topics, but thoughts toward such matters are typically avoided. While the pierced shields on Glasgow hilts use various geometric designs and circles in the pierced configurations, I often wondered if perhaps this familiar design in this context might be one of the number of secret Jacobite symbols.

The Scots, well known often as mercenary soldiers fighting in other lands, fought Turks in Poland and Austria. In these places arms and armor often used pierced heart designs as seen often in Catholic themed blade motif. I thought possibly the Stuart/Catholic association might be at hand....obviously tenuously speculated, but we are dealing with highly subjective matters.

I have seen heart shapes in Victorian Scottish furniture, and Im sure it occurs in other material culture as well, but I am curious about this context.

[jezcott]

Jim, many thanks for starting this excellent thread on a topic of interest to so many.

This is an example of a composite Scottish Stirling hilt, I believe 2nd quarter 18thC, with an English dragoon backsword blade by Drury.

The screenshot below is of an almost identical basket-hilt sold at Christie's in 2001, signed by Walter Allan of Stirling. Mine isn't signed, but seems likely to have come from the same workshop, same period.

The blade is most like 3rd quarter 18thC when Dru Drury was supplying blades for munitions grade basket hilts for highland regiments and for officer's swords.

It seems likely that this hilt would originally have been fitted with an Andrea Ferara blade from Germany. Interesting to speculate on the rehilting with an English blade, could this have been for an officer in a Highland dragoon regiment in the post-Culloden era? Rehilting does seem to have been a common practice with favoured hilts or blades refitted.

Jim - you mentioned the imagery on these Scottish hilts. On this hilt there are hearts, but also unmistakable fleur-de-lys which presumably celebrate the Auld Alliance of pre-Culloden Scotland. Hard to imagine this being popular down South, but maybe you could get away with it in a highland regiment!

Jerry