Espada ancha

[Robert]

Hi Jim,
Here are a couple daggers and a couple of swords that I think might fall into what you are talking about. These have all been previously discussed on the forum but if anyone is interested I will post links to them.


Robert

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Robert,
Thank you so much for responding!
These very nice examples you have posted indeed represent the types of weapons I had mentioned in the Phillipines, and though not directly 'espada anchas', they do illustrate the Spanish influence on these weapons.
The example with the interesting finger ring is typically identified as a 'Central American dirk' and as part of the Spanish Colonial influence sphere ( Levines, revised 4th Ed.1997, p.461, A.8).

The Spanish Colonial heading covers a vast part of the globe, and thier colonization and trade naturally accounts for the diffusion and influence of weapons of many forms throughout the 17th-19th centuries. It seems that a great deal of misconception and misidentification is relatively common due to the often shallow understanding of the dynamics of this important history.

I am hoping that others here might join in this discussion so that we can learn more on this topic, not only on the espada ancha, which is associated primarily with New Spain and Mexico, but Spanish Colonial weapons which were often influenced by them.

Thank you so much for your very pertinant examples!

All the best,
Jim

[M ELEY]

Jim, you mention "Levine". I'm unfamiliar with most books on espada aside from Brinkerhoff/Chanberlain's book. Could you possibly list some good references from your past experiences, like the volume by Levine or others? Always looking to add to my lil' library. BTW, any luck finding that Adams article? I did several general searches, but didn't come up with anything solid. Part of the problem being, whenever I use 'espada' as a search word, many articles come up in Spanish.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

Jim, you mention "Levine". I'm unfamiliar with most books on espada aside from Brinkerhoff/Chanberlain's book. Could you possibly list some good references from your past experiences, like the volume by Levine or others? Always looking to add to my lil' library. BTW, any luck finding that Adams article? I did several general searches, but didn't come up with anything solid. Part of the problem being, whenever I use 'espada' as a search word, many articles come up in Spanish.

Hi Mark,
I'm sorry I didn't give the full reference, the book is "Levine's Guide to Knives and Their Values", by Bernard Levine, 4th edition, 1997. Actually the book is a great reference for sort of a catch all on knife esoterica, and really has nothing on the espada ancha.
I did find the Adams article online, on Therion Arms site, where Hal has placed some very helpful material. I once tried to get the Adams article through the publisher, but it was pretty complicated. Its four pages, and pretty useful.
Literature on these is pretty scant, as can be seen, so my thoughts were that maybe there might be others out there with either examples or interest in these.

All the best,
Jim

[M ELEY]

Great! I'll check out Therion's site, as I was also interested in this article you mentioned. Thanks!

[fernando]

Hi Jim,
... Just for the record
This is a (lousy ) picture of the (apparently) only specimen of Espada Ancha at the Montjuic Military Museum of Barcelona.
Fernando

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you so much Fernando!!!
What an excellent example of these distinct swords, and its great to know that they are indeed represented in the museums in the Peninsula.
I'm glad to see this thread revived, as I think there is a great deal more that can be included. Recent activity for example has revealed the Brazilian form of these weapons, and until now, to the best of my knowledge, the South American forms have not been included in resources on these weapons.

All the best,
Jim