Elephant Sword

fernando · 2nd March 2008, 11:35 PM

Also the various Portuguese chronists and travellers from the discoveries period, Castanheda, Barbosa, Manrique, Costa, cited the war elephants in their works. The famous jewish phisician Garcia de Horta wrote that war elephants carried hooks and bisarms, and even lately half cradles ( small breechloading cannons ) and gunpowder pans, and were armoured, specially in their head fronts and chest; had bells pending on their flanks and were blanketed like horses. Also they were equiped with encased arms in their tusks, with the shape of plough irons. None of them mentions weapons on their trunks. Within my uncultured limitations, i can easily assimilate that war elephants were equiped for battle with thrusting devices in their tusks, but i can't see them going to special training to be able to do actual swording with their trunks. A sword is a specific weapon, requiring fencing notions. But what do you know?
The watercolour i post here belongs to a codice that was painted by a Portuguese anonimous in the XVI century ... one of or maybe the earliest in loco work ever available from the period. The elephant is not "personnaly" armed, but the picture is worth to see ... the hanging bells are there, though
Fernando

josh stout · 3rd March 2008, 06:19 PM

I think armoured tusks were not uncommon, but a weapon in the trunk goes against elephant nature. They fight other elephants with their tusks, but tend to keep their trunks out of the way. I have seen video of a circus master getting repeatedly whacked by an elephant, so they can use the trunk to hit soft and juicy things or pulling up treas and such, but they would be much more likely to use tusks against dangerous looking sharp spiky creatures.

Elephants were notorious for being dangerous for both sides in a battle. They tended to be too smart to get into obviously dangerous situations and would end up running over their own forces. Even well trained horses will balk given enough impetus. If you really need an animal to pull a wagon load of gunpowder into a burning castle, use oxen.

A tangent on the elephant smarts tangent, I was once successfully extorted by an elephant. I offered it a peanut from a bag, and it took the hand holding the peanut in its trunk, rolled the arm until it was completely locked in a submission hold, and then gently placed my hand between two of its molars. I gave it the rest of the bag, and it let go of my arm having made its point. Definitely not an animal I would like to see with PTSD

Anyway, sorry to hear about the sword, and I would love to hear more on the topic of elephants with weapons.
Josh

2nd March 2008, 11:35 PM	#1
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Also the various Portuguese chronists and travellers from the discoveries period, Castanheda, Barbosa, Manrique, Costa, cited the war elephants in their works. The famous jewish phisician Garcia de Horta wrote that war elephants carried hooks and bisarms, and even lately half cradles ( small breechloading cannons ) and gunpowder pans, and were armoured, specially in their head fronts and chest; had bells pending on their flanks and were blanketed like horses. Also they were equiped with encased arms in their tusks, with the shape of plough irons. None of them mentions weapons on their trunks. Within my uncultured limitations, i can easily assimilate that war elephants were equiped for battle with thrusting devices in their tusks, but i can't see them going to special training to be able to do actual swording with their trunks. A sword is a specific weapon, requiring fencing notions. But what do you know? The watercolour i post here belongs to a codice that was painted by a Portuguese anonimous in the XVI century ... one of or maybe the earliest in loco work ever available from the period. The elephant is not "personnaly" armed, but the picture is worth to see ... the hanging bells are there, though Fernando Attached Images

3rd March 2008, 06:19 PM	#2
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	I think armoured tusks were not uncommon, but a weapon in the trunk goes against elephant nature. They fight other elephants with their tusks, but tend to keep their trunks out of the way. I have seen video of a circus master getting repeatedly whacked by an elephant, so they can use the trunk to hit soft and juicy things or pulling up treas and such, but they would be much more likely to use tusks against dangerous looking sharp spiky creatures. Elephants were notorious for being dangerous for both sides in a battle. They tended to be too smart to get into obviously dangerous situations and would end up running over their own forces. Even well trained horses will balk given enough impetus. If you really need an animal to pull a wagon load of gunpowder into a burning castle, use oxen. A tangent on the elephant smarts tangent, I was once successfully extorted by an elephant. I offered it a peanut from a bag, and it took the hand holding the peanut in its trunk, rolled the arm until it was completely locked in a submission hold, and then gently placed my hand between two of its molars. I gave it the rest of the bag, and it let go of my arm having made its point. Definitely not an animal I would like to see with PTSD Anyway, sorry to hear about the sword, and I would love to hear more on the topic of elephants with weapons. Josh