Medieval Weapons

Piracy has been an iconic event since the beginning of time.  Romans  suffered  attacks from pirates whenthey traveled by sea.   The Vikings were some of the most fierce pirates that ever sailed the seas.  They looted Europe with wreckless abandon in their powerful sailers.  One of the most renown pirates was a looter of the American seas and shore.  

His favorite haunt was  the waters of Tampa Bay, Florida.    His name was Gaspar and he was a native of Spain.   He was one of the most successful pirates; Gaspar is credited with capturing over 400 ships from 1789 to 1821. Adopting the nickname Gasparilla, he buried treasure in numerous places throughout the west coast of Florida.

Known as the “Last Buccaneer”, Gasparilla was planning on retiring from a life of piracy. Ironically, on the day he was dividing his treasure among his crew. he spied a fat British merchant ship passing offshore.  Gaspar couldn’t resist one last plunder and gave chase.  Unfortunately, the merchant ship was really the disguised USS Enterprise - a U.S. Navy warship on a pirate-hunting mission.

Jose Gaspar pulled in close to the ship before realizing, too late, that it was a trap.  A spirited battle between pirate and pirate-hunter ensued.  Gaspar’s ship caught fire and was about to be boarded.  Rather than give up and be hanged for piracy, Gasparilla wrapped a heavy chain around his waist and jumped off the bow of his ship.

While Gaspar disappeared beneath the waves, he was not forgotten, nor was his treasure.  Gaspar had left it on shore with some of his trusted crew as he went to attack what he thought was the merchant ship.

After the battle, the crew that remained onshore took the treasure inland and buried it in different places along the coast.  None of Jose Gaspar’s treasure has ever been recovered.

For over one hundred years, Tampa Bay has celebrated the memory of Jose Gaspar with a massive parade and festival called the Gasparilla Pirate Fest or Gasparillafest.  Over half a million people attend annually.  The world’s only fully-rigged pirate ship, the “Jose Gasparilla“, sails up into Tampa Bay accompanied by hundred of small boats.  The ship is loaded with pirates, firing cannons, intent on capturing the city.

Each year, the city surrenders and the pirates take to the streets and lead a huge parade with over 120 krewes and their floats winding through downtown Tampa.

Now a reincarnation of Jose Gaspar and his crew have returned and continue to hide more  treasure in the Tampa Bay area.  Finally, you have the opportunity to find some of his treasure for yourself… 

Enjoy a unique family vacation by attending the Gasparilla Festival.  It is an exciting and colorful event.  Dress as a pirate and enjoy the party.  It occurs during the month of January.  We appreciate the many Gaspar sites which contributed to this post.

Today children and adults alike are resistant to learning history, and TV and film are often the only ways that they are exposed to the events of the past. The film 300 documents the legend of a particular group of Spartan warriors. The Spartans defended their country, and their people, against the stronger and more numerous Persians. The movie proved that the Davids can beat the Goliaths through sheer determination, skill and bravery.

While many people had heard of the Spartans before the movie, the film rekindled an appreciation for the warriors in their Spartan war helmet and armor. Spartan attire has come to symbolize heroism and courage at its finest. Every kid, or kid at heart, wants to own their own set of armor and wanted to be a Spartan warrior, even if it was just in their imagination.

Exotic and historical items intrigue certain people.  They comb shops big and small and near and far to find unique mementos from the past or simply extraordinary pieces.  There are those who collect war relics and memorabilia such as soldier hats, dog tags, uniforms, boots and personal accounts of past battles. Others are into medieval weapons and armor.  Some have a fascination for glass figurines with their smooth sparkle and see-through simplicity. The privileged few who have the resources—and the means to do so—acquire and restore antique works of art and ornate furniture.
 
The Internet is a great place to find one-of-a-kind items.  Shops with their matching merchandise are plentiful, and can be accessed at your convenience, anytime of the day. The fun lies in the hunt.  Get started by typing in the item you covet in the search box, press enter, and presto!  A list of sites greets you right away and invites you to explore.

Imaginations have been stimulated for years by the Arthurian legend—a young boy who removed a beautiful sword from a stone and became a magical king.  Numerous novels and poetry have been penned about this exciting story.  Some of the most well know writings are LeMorte de Arthur, The Once and Future King, and The Idyls of the King.

In the present day many movies have been presented about the legend.  Some of the most recent are First Knight, The Mists of Avalon and perhaps the most well known movie of all, Camelot.  There are many more movies based on this legend spanning back many years.

What is so inspirational about this early myth?  Is it perhaps the belief that there is something bigger and better than our present situation?  Or does the myth continue to inspire because the story is magical for everyone?  The history includes an honorable leader, a beautiful queen, a magical right hand man and a cabinet of fearless knights.

Merlin, Arthur’s advisor, mentor and Vice President coached him so well that he was so advanced that he could pull a magical sword from a heavy stone.  Merlin naturally became King Arthur’s major advisor because the magician made Arthur the King.  As his closest advisor, Merlin was capable of turning anyone who disagreed with his King into a frog or even worse–a slimy snake.  With Excalibur, Merlin and his band of mighty knights or generals, Arthur could defeat any enemy.

Eventually all good things come to an end.  Camelot fell due to corruption from within.  Arthur was defeated and the kingdom disintegrated.  Although Arthur died and the perfect nation was no more,  lore instills the hope that Arthur will someday return. 

I certainly would like to live under Arthur’s leadership.  If I hear of an individual that pulls a sword from a stone,  it would get my attention. I do not think that will ever happen, but if I became aware of any leader who put his nation’s interest above his own political ambitions that act alone will be about as close to Arhur’s leadership as we will ever get.

Like most kids from Generation Y, my conception of medieval and fantasy themes is derived from my video gaming experiences. Growing up there were two distinct sects when it came to the realm of video games; Nintendo kids and Playstation kids. Depending on which side of the divide you fell on, you were probably either a fan of the Zelda series or the Final Fantasy series.

My loyalties were always with Nintendo, and as such I was a devout Zelda fan. I can vividly recall playing the Ocarina of Time video game for the first time and earning the first of the medieval fantasy swords in the game, the Kokiri Sword. While these reminiscences may seem trivial to many, video games are a fond memory for most of Generation Y.

Does your child hate history and think that its study is a waste of time?  Most young children cannot understand the reasoning behind studying something that occurred many years ago.

All children seem to love a particular movie or game that has a historical significance, such as The Lord of the Rings, Excalibur, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, or whatever holds your child’s attention.  My first venture into attempting to teach my child the value of history was the story of King Arthur and his great sword, Excalibur.

Although this is an allegory and a legend that owes its birth to a poet who wrote the story for Eleanor of Aquitaine, an early Queen of England, it certainly has relevance in this day and time.  The magic of an ordinary young boy, Arthur, possessing the power to pull a beautiful jeweled sword from a stone, and in doing so, becoming the King of his country will hold a young child’s attention.

To make the story more entertaining, I bought a replica Excalibur sword.  It was made of a material that was safe for a child.  The name of the maker of this sword type of sword is Denix.  Now latex swords, shields and even helmets are available for purchase.

There are many lessons that a child can take from the story of Camelot.  However, there are some lessons that are too mature for a youngster.  I read to my son selected stories from Sir Thomas Malory’s edition of Le Morte D’Arthur.  There are now many volumes that are directed toward a child.

The longsword is a European sword used during the medieval and Renaissance eras.  Longswords are also sometimes called bastard swords, greatswords or hand-and-a-half swords. The Scottish claymore is sometimes referred to as a longsword.   The longsword was developed because plate armor replaced chainmail, so a longer and heavier sword was needed to penetrate the armor.  The longsword is usually held in both hands although sometimes it may be used single-handed.  This sword is used for striking, cutting and thrusting. This sword was not used as often in medieval combat as the lighter swords  were much easier to handle. 

The longest of these swords was the zweihander whose length was up to 6 feet. This sword was used by the landsknechts who came from the Holy Roman Empire or an area that is now modern-day Germany.  These swords were also used to break up infantry formations by attacking pikes and halberds. Today the longsword is the most popular weapon used by European martial artists.  If you are interested in obtaining further information on medieval martial arts, I suggest that you visit the Tinker Swords website.  Michael Tinker Smith has also published a book which has a very thorough description of medieval swords. You can download this book from this website.