Instead of another black-tie affair, my friend is hosting a costume gala on New Year’s Eve. Rather than a free-for-all like Halloween, my friend has put forth a theme of “Knights and Damsels.” Each person is requested to come in a costume with some variation on the theme.
For fun, my husband is going to dress as the damsel and I will play the knight. We modeled our costumes last night and I could not stop laughing at my husband’s attempts to wiggle into his pink gown. I, on the other hand, looked quite dashing holding my crusader sword aloft.
There are several types of rapier swords that gained prominence in the Renaissance period of history. No gentleman’s education was complete without an intense study of swordplay with these popular swords. The Italians were pre-eminent in teaching the art of dueling or fencing. Every court in Europe felt that they should have an Italian fencing master, and most did.
The narrow pointed blades of the rapier were designed as thrusting weapons. One of the best known rapiers of the Renaissance era was the swept hilt rapier, which had elaborate curves. This blade was popular in almost every country. Very often these swords were very decorated with jewels set in a hilt of gold, silver and brass. They were a symbol of the wealth of the carrier. Often the swept hilt rapiers had two quillons rather than the single one of the earlier Renaissance.
Early in the seventeenth century the cup hilt rapier appeared. The plate-like cup provided additional protection for the hand. This type of sword is often seen in Hollywood films, such as Captain Blood and Robin Hood. It is often referred to as the “Spanish” rapier. This sword is the forerunner of the modern fencing weapons of today.
A cruder form of the cup hilt rapier was called the Spanish bilbo. These weapons were used by pirates in the Caribbean; a replica of such weapons can be seen in the movie of the same name, Pirates of the Caribbean.