Medieval Weapons

On the parched ground of the Middle East in early fall, 1096, a lone European knight walked among thousands of dead bodies.   He had been away from his post for days searching for  20,000  Crusaders  who had been called to accept the crusader’s cross by Pope Urban to rescue the Holy Land from the Saracens.   What he found in the desert sickened him.  The stench from the thousands of dead bodies was so nauseating  that he threw up. 

He walked among the dead and to his dismay found not one man alive.  He determined from the decaying bodies that this was the army on which so many hopes had been placed.  He was surprised that the weapons that were lying beside the dead were mostly sling shots, flails and maces.  There were a few Crusader shields among the bodies, and a few Medieval battle swords of that time.  He wondered why there were so few weapons, and he quickly realized why they were doomed.  He wondered if the rag-tag crew lying in the hot desert sun was the best that Europe would offer to save Jerusalem. 

He continued to trudge through the bodies, and he suddenly viewed the cloak of a Monk, and beside the holy man’s decaying body, there lay a scroll.  He unrolled the document, and began to read of the disastrous crusade of Peter the Hermit. 

“I joined Peter, a fellow monk who spoke with such inspiration that I knew that we could save this land for God.  Pope Urban issued the call to crusade and we answered.  Our recruits were not the rich knights with mighty arms; our crusaders were the poor and disadvantaged who desired to escape their sordid existence and do the Lord’s work.  They had few arms, but what they could make themselves or their flails which they used as farm implements.  But what we lacked in wealth and arms we made up for in devotion.  We knew that God would bless us.  I must admit that some of our recruits did not come here with the best intentions, because they have stolen and murdered even from their comrades.   I must say however, that for the most part our band of farmers, peasants and the disadvantaged have attempted to fight like the devoted Christians that they are.   We did well until we reached Nicaea; we sacked the city of the Seljuk, one of the major cities of the Turks.  We moved a few miles from the city in the hopes of securing a castle for a headquarters.  Then we saw a large contingent of troops in the distance.  We determined that they were Saracens with their mighty swords and swift horses.  I fear we will die soon.  We are no match for them.  They have surrounded us, and we have been here for days.  We are starving to death and there is no hope.  God wills that we die here.”

The knight wondered if ever again Christian pilgrims would subject themselves to such a disastrous result.  Would Crusaders ever free the Holy Land? 

I’ve always fancied myself a bit of a crusader, though I could never match the sacrifice that those knights of old made for their beliefs.  There are a lot of great films that make reference to crusaders; films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Kingdom of Heaven, and even Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  Crusading knights were a common part of life in ancient times, wielding their crusader sword and shield with an insignia of their kingdom, they represented all that was devout.  I think it’s possible to maintain the ideals of a knight without taking up a sword and shield; just being passionate about your beliefs, and being willing to go beyond words and take action. 

While it’s unlikely you’ll ever find me mounted on horseback charging through the plains on my noble steed, it’s sure fun to think about.  Even though I don’t believe you need a sword and shield to be a modern day crusader, I do have them just for the sake of novelty!

On Tuesday the world will celebrate the most famous of the Irish holidays.  Most will wear green, party with green beer and feast on corned beef and cabbage.  The airways will be filled with the exotic music of Enya, Clannad, and the many other Irish musicians that produce the unique flowing sound that screams Ireland.  Most everyone is aware of where Ireland is today, and what the country encompasses, but from where did this spirited, talented and renown people evolve?

Several Celtic burial sites have been excavated that reveal something of these hardy people.  A rich princely grave was found in Hochdorf in Baden-Wurttemberg.  This Celtic chieftain was found with a gold band around his neck, a gold armlet, a belt and shoes embellished with gold and an exquisite gold dagger.  The couch he rested on was made of bronze, embossed with ritual dance figures, some of them wielding swords.   Another Celtic settlement was unearthed at La Tene on the edge of Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland.  The settlement was typical of a rich civilization which probably lasted from about 500 B.C. until the first century B.C.  Some of the weapons that were found there related the Celtic genius for sophisticated curvilinear design and fantastic abstraction on natural themes.  These Celtic swords were some of the most elegant weapons of any age.  The sword often had a human head on the pommel, and sophisticated carving on the handle.  Further attesting to the imagination and creative genius of these early Celts, the scabbard for these early swords was brilliantly decorated with dragons, bird pairs, triskele and other geometric designs, floral and animal motifs. 

These were the swords that carried the Celts north into Britain and Belgium.  In 390 Celts from Gaul invaded Italy and sacked Rome,  the capital of the fledgling Roman Republic.    The Greek historian Polybius, described the Celts at the battle of Telamon in 225  BC,  says: ‘Very terrifying too were the appearance and the gestures of the naked warriors in front, all in the prime of life, and finely built men, and all in the leading companies richly adorned with gold torques and armlets.’    Another Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus spoke of the fighting style of the Celts, ‘they would raise their swords aloft and smite after the manner of wild boars, throwing the whole weight of their bodies into the blow like hewers of wood or men digging with mattocks, and again they would deliver crosswise blows aimed at no target, as if they intended to cut to pieces the entire bodies of their adversaries, protective armour and all……’ Celtic society was heroic and tribal, and the exploits of these great warriors were celebrated in poetry and song, echoes of which survive in epics, such as the Ulster Cycle,  Tain Bo Cuailgne (The Cattle Raid of Cooley).

The Celts annihilated the Roman army of the Latin League.  The complete defeat of the Latins forced the Romans to adapt or go under.  The Celts with their superior swords and better conditioning led to the major changes that Rome made that resulted in the Empire.  They copied the short sword of the Celts( gladius), developed the pilium (pole arm) and scutum (body shield). Some historians have asserted that the Celts were paid to leave Rome.  Had the Celts not willingly left the Republic, then perhaps the Tiber would run green tomorrow.

Claymore is a term derived from the Gaelic “claidheamohmor,” meaning “great sword.” It was first used to describe the large cross-hilted broadsword used in the Scottish Highlands and by Scottish mercenaries in Ireland from the late 15th century to the early 17th century.  In its classic form, the claymore consisted of a straight, broad, double-edged blade, long, diamond-section quillons angling towrd the blade and terminating in quatrefoils, a quillon block extending to form a long spur on each side, and a tubular section leather-covered grip with a wheel-shaped pommel.  The blade was generally shorter than blades of Continental two-handed swords of the same period.

The claymore almost certainly developed from a late medieval cross-hilted sword that can be seen on some effigies and tomb slabs in the West Highlands and the Isles.  This sword exhibited two of the characteristics found on the claymore, namely, the long, downward-angled quillons and the central part of the quillon block extending in a long spur.  The dating of claymores is a complex and imprecise, although there is a claymore of classic form depicted on a grave slab from Oronsay dated 1539.  In the latter part of the 16th century, although retaining the characteristic form of quillon and blade, claymores sometimes had large spherical pommels.

A sword related to the claymore is known as the “Lowland” form because of the fact that several examples came from southern Scotland.  Lowland swords had angular, round-section quillons, the terminals arranged as turned knobs set at right angles; some have open rings affixed to the center of the quillons on each side.  They retained the feature of the quillon block extending to a spur on each side but, unlike the claymore’s, this spur was small and pointed.  The pommels of these swords were large and spherical, the long tubular-section grips being of wood covered with leather.  One form of the Lowland sword had quillons in the form of an arched cross, and in the center a solid oval plate bent down as an extra guard for the hands.  Although Lowland swords have been dated to the second half of the 16th century and those with arched quillons and plate have been dated to the early 17th, little evidence is at present available that would lead to a more precise dating.

Most of the blades of both the Highland and the Lowland claymores appear to be of German origin, whereas the hilts were made by Scottish craftsmen. These craftsmen were very creative in developing a hilt that could be handled effectively with a large blade, as well as protecting the hand.

In 1884 Sir Richard F. Burton’s The Book of the Sword was published by Chatto and Windus in London.  The volume was republished in 1987 by Dover.  For those who are drawn to the past and its more civilized lifestyle will appreciate some of Sir Richard’s reflections on the most honorable of weapons.  Keep in mind while reading some of the excerpts of his reflections on the sword that the words were written prior to 1884.  If you are an avid fan of the past and its traditions, this is an excellent read.  I found it at my local library. Here are a few of the relections of Sir Richard.

“The history of the sword is the history of humanity.  The ‘White Arm’ means something more than the oldest, the most universal, the most varied of weapons, the only one which has lived through all time.’

He, she, or it–for the gender of the Sword varies–has been worshipped with priestly sacrifices as a present god.  Hebrew revelation represents the sharp and two edged sword going out of the mouth of the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.  We read of a ‘Sword of God, a holy Sword,’ the ‘Sword of the Lord and of Gideon’; and ‘I came not to send peace but a Sword, ‘meaning the warfare and martyrdom of man.

Uniformly and persistently personal, the Sword became no longer an abstraction but a Personage, endowed with human as well as superhuman qualities.  He was a sentient being who spoke, and sang and joyed and grieved.  Identified with his wearer he was an object of affection, and was pompously named as a well-beloved son and heir.  To surrender the Sword was submission; to break the Sword was degradation.  To kiss the Sword was, and in places still is the highest form of oath and homage. 

The Sword killed and cured; the hero when hopless fell upon his Sword; and the heroine, like Lucreita and Calphurnia, used the blade standing.  The Sword cut the Gordian knot of every difficulty.  The Sword was the symbol of justice and of martydrom and accompanied the wearer to the tomb as well as to the feast and the fight.  ”

The significance of the Sword has survived for many ages.  Today the same words can be used in reference to this magnificent weapon; it is a weapon that is deeply entrenched in art,  literature, religion, history and humanity.  There will never be a weapon that can ever again attain this affluence.  The firearm is a weapon that requires a little skill, aim-fire-kill or maim.  The Sword is graceful but vigorous.  Sword-play is an exercise that requires a skill that few are able to master. 

Swords still play a big role in modern society.  There are a few of us who still appreciate and love the images of the knight in shining armor, the armed knight bearing a crusader shield and a cross hilt sword, or  the Renaissance knight battling with a rapier.  History is repeated on weekends all across the world–the reenactor, the collector, the fantasy gamer, and the skilled sword maker keep the myth alive. 

If your child is interested in participating in unique sports, it can be hard to find options outside the more traditional sports. While football, baseball, soccer, and other sports are by far better known, not every child who is interested in sports is interested in participating in these activities. If your child is clamoring for a sport to play but they are reluctant to participate in team sports like football or individual sports like swimming, offer a slightly different solution.

If you think it is right for your kid, consider the unique and different sport of fencing. While many equate this complicated sword work with fancy, private colleges and well-to-do families, the sport is actually growing in overall popularity. If you want to offer your kid a sport where they can hone a unique skill set, don’t throw them a football for their birthday. Rather, purchase them a rapier sword, and let them try out the often forgotten skill of fencing.

This was a question I asked throughout my school time.  As a matter of fact in my Senior year, I almost did not graduate because I could see no earthly use in learning anything about Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  To me it was the most absurd of all the tons of absurdities I was forced to learn.  I forced myself to spend enough time with the tragic prince to squeak by with a passing grade.  History was also a “bummer” for me, too.

Later that summer a friend forced me to go to a Civil War Reenactment with “her” to watch her brother.  At that event I finally saw someone having a ”hoot” of a time with history.  I was fascinated with the pretend fight.  Always being a shy dude I was never really in with any special highschool group of kids.  But I saw these guys behaving like it was a football game, and they were winning the state playoff game or something.   They performed a simulated battle with cavalry, foot soldiers, cannons, rifles and swords.  I went to their battles a number of times that summer, but never joined the group.  I did learn that they were very adamant about how their clothing, and weapons had to be as realistic as possible. I did carry a sword to one of the Sunday battles with the thought that I would be one of the foot soldiers.  The sword was a cheap thing that I picked up at a flea market.  The pommel was a naked lady.  Needless to say, they did not let me march, because a college was filming the battle to show in an American History class. .  I was embarrassed about that silly sword, so I bought a cheap sabre, but I didn’t go back there for a few years.

I had a few jobs like helping a skilled automobile mechanic with menial tasks that I was able to do without taxing my brain too much.  I needed to keep up my old pickup. I had a lot of spare time so I played a lot of video games.  I played war on a computer and was really good at it.  I tinkered with my cheap sword; bought a scabbard and escaped my hum-drum existence by pretending I was some kind of Medieval war hero.

Then an event occurred that shocked me enough to do something with my life.  I enlisted and no longer played at war; it was the real thing.  The experience did a lot for my ego.  For the first time in my life I was proud of myself.  I walked many a mile with a rifle in my hand,  at the front of the troops  like the Pikesmen of old. 

I have seen a lot of the world and learned that good people are the same everywhere.  Like a lot of country boys I didn’t know the difference between “Iraq and Iran”.  Now I do.  I also know why the study of the past is so important.  I learned that there were Crusades that began more than a thousand years ago.  This conflict is overwhelming with no simple solution.

I do not know what happened to my “naked lady” sword.  I replaced it with a several battle swords.  I was taught swordsmanship by a wonderful Middle Eastern master and sage.  He helped me because I asked.   I practice regularly like the Medieval knights and Samurai warriors did years ago. 

History repeats itself many times over.  I found this out the hard way.  Now many people are engaged in reliving historical events, i.e. Civil War, Medieval, Renaissance, Roman, Viking, Celtic and on and on.  It is a great thing and a good way to build comraderie even if you are not the top jock.  Get into the past; it will help you with your future.

Tonight on NBC another movie will appear similar in nature to The DaVinci Code.  It is based on the book, The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury.  The movie obviously will contribute to the  questions surrounding the ancient military order. Many fictional and factual books have been published attempting to explain the mysteries of these crusading knights.  One of the most popular studies of the Templars is Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. 

The book by Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln asks the question on which the mysterious legend is based: 

“Who and what were the Knights Templar? Were they merely what they appeared to be, or were they something else? Were they simple soldiers onto whom an aura of legend and mystification was subsequently based?”

The Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon was founded in 1118.  Its founder was Hugues de Payen, a nobleman from Champagne.  The objective of the Templars was to keep the roads safe for the pilgrims visiting Jerusalem which at the time was in control of Christians.  At the time there were nine knights and for a long period of time they admitted no one to their order. 

They moved into lavish quarters in the palace of the King of Jerusalem.  According to tradition their quarters were over the remains of King Solomon’s Temple and from their living place they derived their name.  Because they resided over the remains of this rich, elaborate temple, caused many to question whether they truly were impoverished, chaste and humble warriors for Christ when in fact to many they appeared arrogant and rich.  In fact they were rich, because they owned estates in most European countries, although when entering the order they were obliged to relinquish all their wealth and land holdings. 

Although their behavior and chaste commitment were questionable, they played a major role when the west was forced to try to recapture the Holy Land from the Saracens.  They were the most organized and disciplined of all the knights and foot soldiers who fought to recapture the land.  They wore white surcoats and cloaks, and later a red cross was emblazoned on their garments. The white clad Templars could be seen protecting the rearguard and van of all Crusader marches.  They were efficient and powerful soldiers–the best of fighters with the sword and lance.  They sacrificed their lives for the cause.  300 Templars were executed at Hattin by Saladin, the well known Saracen leader.

Were they the best of the Medieval knights or the worst?  Perhaps they were both.  Regardless, they have aroused a curiosity regarding their past. Replica Knights Templar swords, shields and clothing are some of the most popular among Medieval collectors and reenactors.
 

The linked-sword dances of of north-eastern England are performed by five, six or eight men.  Traditionally they appear only during the Christmas season, usually on Plough Monday, which is January 12 this year.

The ceremony begins with the dancers walking round in a circle, in some versions clashing their swords together.  Then they place the sword over the shoulder and each man grasps the point of the sword in front of him with one hand, while keeping hold of his own hilt with the other hand.  Next the swords are lowered to waist-level, so that the dancers form a ring, linked with hilt and point by their weapons.  This link is normally maintained throughout the dance.

Always mintaining their grip on their own and their neighbor’s swords, the dancers then perform a series of complicated figures–  each following the other, they jump over and pass under the weapons, either singly or in pairs, so that the whole set turns itself inside-out and right-way-about many times.  As a culmination, the swords are ingeniously woven togher into a pentagonal, hexagonal or octagonal star (variously called the Lock, Rose, Knot or Nut) which is held aloft for display.

Both forms of sword dance share these basic characteristics.  The Longsword dances of Yorkshire are performed by six or eight men, who use semi-rigid swords made from wood or metal, about three feet long, with a simple hilt at one end.  After the Lock has been made - and sometimes passed from hand to hand round the marching ring of dancers–it is dropped over the head of a jester or clown so that it rests about his neck.  Then at a given signal the dancers suddenly withdraw their swords and the pretend victime falls “dead” to the ground.

This dramatic feature is not included in the Rapier dances of Northumberland and Durham.  These five-man dances are performed with short two-foot rapiers of flexible sprung steel, having both a fixed hilt and a swivelling point-guard.  The pentagular Nut is so small that sudden withdrawal could really result in a beheading.  The Nut is symbolically rested around the victim’s neck or used to knock off his hat.  Often it is simply held up while the sword team performs clog dance in line or perform athletic feats like back somersaults over the swords.

Where did this sword dance originate?  It is possible that this ritual dates to prehistoric times.  It is also feasible that the dance originally represented the sacrifice of either a man or woman or totem beast.  In some places the victims or jesters still wear animal skin caps whose resurrection were vital to the survival of the community.  In prehistory the animal was the human source of food, clothing and weapons.

However it originated, it is a unique and skillful representation of the way of the sword.  The sword dancers who still perform today are preserving a  link to the past. 

Happy Plough Day! 

The definition   of The Hand and a Half or Bastard Sword according to A Glossary of the Construction, Definition and Use of Arms and Armor,  is a long, straight blade of the 15th century with a plain cross guard, long grip and rounded pommel.  This sword was ordinarily used with one hand, but the grip was long enough to allow it to be grasped with two to three fingers of the left hand if it was desired to give extra weight to the blow.

Actually according to Swords and Hilt Weapons this Bastard Sword made its appearance in the mid twelfth century.  Perhaps these early Hand and a Half Swords were produced for the Plantaganet family, or a well known family who always desired a little extra power on the blade. 

One of the most famous Bastard Swords that is preserved belonged to Henry IV of England.  It was made for him by Herman van Cleve, a goldsmith.  This Medieval Sword was obviously ceremonial in nature, because of its rich detail of gold forget-me-nots, which was Henry’s symbol before he ascended the throne.  If you are interested in an entertaining  description of Henry IV, Shakespeare provides a lively account  in his plays, HenryIV, parts I and II.  If you desire to be a Renaissance man with a sword and combat skills, try adding a little literacy to the mix also.

Speaking of the Renaissance, this is the period that saw the greatest popularity of the Bastard Sword.  Plate armour became very sophisticated with metal of various sizes being attached to a reinforced heavy fabric  jacket.  In combat against this type of armor, the thrusting sword was favored over the cutting sword.  The mounted knight of the early Renaissance  was armed with two swords, one on the front or side of his saddle and the other on his hip.  Both of these weapons were Bastard or Hand and a Half Swords.

These swords were used extensively in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.  Their use continued until the seventeenth century.

If you are interested in a Bastard Sword in your LARP or historical reenactment, there are many different price ranges of these replica swords.  If you have the big bucks, why not have a custom Hand and a Half weapon made especially for you.  One of the most talented swordsmiths  is Michael “Tinker” Pearce.  Also, Pearce has done design work for CAS/Hanwei, and if you can’t afford a custom sword, the CAS/Hanwei “Tinker” Sword is an outstanding well balanced weapon.  Who doesn’t need a little extra power in the blade?