On the 'kaskara'

Jim McDougall · 9th May 2005, 05:11 PM

Thank you so much Jeff! I know that you have put some time in on kaskara study as well, as we have discussed many times over these years !

Thank you Lee for coming in on this as I had hoped. Your outstanding article has been one of the only focused attention works on the kaskara since Briggs (1965) and Reed (1987) and actually I wanted to detach the 'revisionist' stigma. It would seem that serious academic perspective on these swords has long since left the romantic notions of Victorian narration associating these swords with the crusaders, despite the colorful perspective. As you have noted, the Islamic broadsword blades were well established already in these regions by the time of the crusades, so looking to European swords for influence for kaskara ancestry would seem redundant. The later influx of trade blades was the key to development, and the simple but distinct crossguard typically reflected more European influence, also possibly from earlier fully mounted swords that likely came in earlier trade.

I really look forward to seeing these earlier blades of 17th-18th century, as most of what we see these days of kaskaras are late 19th century of course, and many are of the early 20th century. I recall your work on examining blades to distinguish the native blades from European trade examples also which was excellent! The blades from native armourers actually became quite well made, so such determination became increasingly more difficult.

All best regards,
Jim

9th May 2005, 05:11 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	Thank you so much Jeff! I know that you have put some time in on kaskara study as well, as we have discussed many times over these years ! Thank you Lee for coming in on this as I had hoped. Your outstanding article has been one of the only focused attention works on the kaskara since Briggs (1965) and Reed (1987) and actually I wanted to detach the 'revisionist' stigma. It would seem that serious academic perspective on these swords has long since left the romantic notions of Victorian narration associating these swords with the crusaders, despite the colorful perspective. As you have noted, the Islamic broadsword blades were well established already in these regions by the time of the crusades, so looking to European swords for influence for kaskara ancestry would seem redundant. The later influx of trade blades was the key to development, and the simple but distinct crossguard typically reflected more European influence, also possibly from earlier fully mounted swords that likely came in earlier trade. I really look forward to seeing these earlier blades of 17th-18th century, as most of what we see these days of kaskaras are late 19th century of course, and many are of the early 20th century. I recall your work on examining blades to distinguish the native blades from European trade examples also which was excellent! The blades from native armourers actually became quite well made, so such determination became increasingly more difficult. All best regards, Jim Last edited by Jim McDougall; 9th May 2005 at 05:21 PM.