I've always looked for balance. I can move inside a stroke/poke. Coming from a batojutsu background with a lot of taijutsu. lol I've got two blades on me as well as a pistol. Real sword less than 7 paces away. It's cool to know at poking range, well beyond my katana poking range. The odachi is very blade heavy, I'm sure not as nimble at a rapier. Test cutting with it though, doubt a rapier could even handle it. You going to do anything on "backswords"? Just a thought. Hella more ridged and straight. Kinda like a ninjato.
Hello Sir, I was wondering if you can give me some info on the swords of the Ancient Sarmatians. It is said in a paper the one of their sword in particular had a 135cm long.
I'd like a video on fencing that discusses how a shorter person deals with a tall opponent. When I was foil fencing, the guys who did best were built like Matt, long arms and legs, over six feet in height, but the long limbs were their big advantage (all other things being equal, as they say). As a 5'10" chap with much shorter arms and legs than many of my opponents, I found the only way to stand a chance against an opponent with a significantly longer reach (our foils were all regulation length, 'natch) was to get in close, inside his reach, so as to make it difficult for him to bring his point to bear on my torso (the only legal target in foil fencing, so no, not at all like combat). This worked, occasionally, but I'd love a video about how the manuals dealt with the issue in life-or-death swordd fighting. I think my 'inside' attack method would work, but I'm certainly not a HEMA fencer (HEMA didn't exist when I was waving pointy things around). So tell us midgets how to kill you whopping great giants, eh?
I do Broadsword in my club and don't generally notice it making much of a difference. Just get to whatever distance you feel safe at and then work out what your targets are from there. IE: Go for their arms. This is for general HEMA sparring without rulesets of judging. If you want MOF help, you're on your own.
@@jackrice2770 yeah. I had a buddy in a Taekwondo match get brutalized in terms of points because his opponent was a good 6 inches taller than him and could kick from further away. He lost on points even though his skills were better
I have been practicing rapier with a 45" rapier since 2009, can't recall how many people have been complaning that I'm only bettering them because of the lengh of my rapier. I usually ask them to switch weapons, for them to realize how hard the added length makes a sword to move. It adds reach, but you have to train quite a lot to be able to use it well. Small change in lengh, huge change in inertia etc. Also as you stated, most long rapier are way heavier than most people realize Anyway thanks for your take on this, glad to see this !
"Everyone should have his weapons sized proportionally to their own person. Thus the size of the Sword should be such that the length of the blade from the tip to the crosspiece is equal to half the Diameter, that is to say, if the tip is placed on the ground between the feet, the crosspiece of the handguard will come up to the navel, just as explained in Circle No 1, and the more exactly one can achieve this, the better, for many reasons. " Thibault 1630, translation by Bruce G. Hearns Everyone's proportions are different (i.e. length of the legs etc), but quickly measuring myself with the above shows my 5"9 height would want a 110 cm blade. If you're 6"1 Matt, and if we halve the extra 4 inches, you come out at a 120 cm blade (47 inch). So, sounds like your current practice rapier is spot on according to old Thibault.
I get a somewhat shorter length of around 44in for Matt with Thibault's measure, but it's still quite close. & Thibault was explicitly recommended this as a moderate length in comparison to the under-at-arm method that was popular in some systems (such as from Ridolfo Capo Ferro).
@@morriganmhor5078 Robert Childs the curret #1 Ranked rapier fencer in HEMA says in his book Revelations of Rapier that having a sword that's too long for your body type makes defending harder. It slows down your parries and beats. The extra length may let you get in the first strike but if the opponent's counter strike kills you in return you can't exactly call that winning.
@@morriganmhor5078 Shorter arms trying to lever a longer blade would make for a much less efficient (effective) wielding; the moment arm would be too short for the resistance lever. Some engineer help me out with the right words.
@@morriganmhor5078 In addition to being less agile, long blades are easier to displace (they're a longer lever for the opponent to push against) and more awkward to use at close range (the arm has to retract far enough to bring the point in front of the opponent, and the longer the blade, the greater the retraction required). These three disadvantages compound each other, with the additional leverage making it easier for the opponent to control your weapon and the reduced agility making it more difficult for you to recover, which makes it easier for the them to close and more difficult for you to threaten them if they do.
Just left a video about Italian Renaissance music to watch Matt's video about Italian (and other nationalities) Renaissance swords! From the composer Vincenzo Galilei (father of the scientist), to Ridolfo Capo Ferro, much ink was being spent by masters in both disciplines in Italy at this time!
"It's very confusing." Yeah, Canadian here, and we do the same. Starts to get confusing when you kinda use both, but it also makes more sense to me than fractioning inches. Like if you say something is 1/8th of an inch, I don't know what that looks like, but 5 mm I can picture it. But like 10cm vs 10 inches, it's the reverse. Some of those blades seem so impractical, can you imagine trying to get that thing through a door with any grace lol. Pretty cool though.
Main reason I love rapiers in general is those beautiful swept hilts! ☺️ Seeing that you’ve recently made a video with Tod about his (absolutely AWESOME!) reproduction of a Swiss sabre; perhaps you would consider doing a video on the early, complex swept-hilts that were sometimes mounted on later longswords; specifically ‘bastard swords’ / ‘hand-and-a-half swords’, from about the second half of the 16th century? 🙂 These hilts seem to have evolved in parallel with - perhaps they were even (co-) influential in the development of - complex swept hilts of side-swords and rapiers. Yet they are (perhaps not surprisingly) much less known. 🗡️🤓
They're all nice in their own ways of course, but the rapier at 16:42 is just gorgeous. Funny that it's said people think stereotypically of Spanish rapiers being cup hilts, but I've long associated that swept style as being Spanish. It's always been my favorite. I remember many years ago watching Antiques Roadshow, if anyone's familiar with that show. Someone had brought in a rapier to get some info on it, since they had no idea, it'd just been in the family. It looked practically identical to this one, and it was even pointed out that the blade was 48 inches. Obviously not literally the same, it was no doubt a relatively common style. The weapons appraiser said it should be insured for $800 at the time (2005ish maybe?), since it was nice but not fancy, just regular steel.
Once again very happy to see your vídeo, especially as a student of 'La verdadera destreza', and as a spaniard. Wonderful your videos, and your love for History. Thanks to videos like yours, and I have seen many of them, I started in the world of HEMA. Greetings from 'Academia da espada' in A Coruña.
45" (114cm) is proportionately correct for a 6'1" (185cm) individual if you go by the recommendations in Fabris or Capoferro's texts. I'm a bit smaller, I use a 42" blade because it fits me. Yes, the difference in reach is an imbalance. So is the difference in leverage at debole, it evens out. Many of the high status examples at the Doge's palace in Venice are ~48" (121cm) blades. I doubt very highly they were used by 6'6" (198cm) individuals, and were instead just oversized because they were a status symbol.
Incidentally, one of the reasons that modern production line rapiers (In the U.S. at least) are typically limited to 45" blades is that's the maximum length that can be batch heat treated and keep the prices attainable.
114cm blade at 185cm height is bit short by Capo Ferro's measure according to my interpretation, which is based on the detailed proportions Girard Thibault provided. Of course, bodies vary & it's unclear exactly how Capo Ferro & company defined the armpit.
This video would benefit from mention of the detailed instructions about rapier sizing that appear in various period texts. They support such long blade lengths. Ridolfo Capo Ferro recommended a sword "twice as long as the arm, or as long as the extended step" & that this was "the same as that between the sole of my foot and just under the armpit." Other rapiers mentioned the measure of the sword coming under the arm. Girard Thibault criticized this measure as overly long, instead writing that the cross should come up to the navel if the sword is placed with point on the ground. Thibault provided an illustration showing a man of his ideal proportions. Based on this, the under-the-arm measure comes to about 77% of height. By contrast, Thibault's measure gives a blade with 60-61% of height. Of course, everyone proportions differ somewhat. This just gives us a general sense. So, for your height of 185.4cm, the under-the-arm measure would give an overall length of 142.8cm (56.2in). This suggests a blade of approximately 127cm (50in). Thibault's measure, on the other hand, gives a blade length of roughly 112cm (44.2in). So your sparring rapier isn't even super long for your height, but rather a fairly moderate length. George Silver's complaints about the excessive length of rapiers likewise support the notion that rapiers got quite long. He recommended 37-40in blades, depending on height, & wrote that rapiers were often a half a foot or more too long. This suggests 43-46+in blades. Swetnam wrote that a rapier should be at least four feet, but wasn't clear whether this was blade length or overall length.
@@PJDAltamirus0425 56in would be the overall length at a height of 6'1", with the blade around 50in. Thibault indeed criticized such long rapiers because of their inconvenience in wearing & drawing.
U.S. tape measures and rulers use Imperial and metric as well, but as an American I always appreciate it when you state both. I can do the switch in my head but it takes me a second and then i miss the next thing you say, lol.
I had the luck to go to the Musée Renaissance in the Écouen Castle (France) to mesure and handle historical rapiers. They have an absolute monster of a rapier, with a 135cm (about 53 inches) blade. It seem to come from Germany in the 1590s, total length was 149cm and weight around 1,4kg. I never saw a rapier with such a long blade. It was an incredible experience to handle it for a moment and mesure it. Those are beautiful exceptions, but the 110-115cm length for the blade seem to have been quite average at the time, even when you look at Fabris or Giganti treatises they show very long bladed rapiers in the engravings. It is sad to see them banned in some HEMA competitions for being too long, as they are totally legit and not so rare in fact - in addition, you don't fight the same with such a piece of a blade than with a 90 to 100cm blade. Many replicas tend to have "too short" blades. Roland Warzecha did speak of this issue in some of his work and loves to fence with some longer blades now, and I also talked with Dr. Fab Cognot about the same problem on katzbalger. Today they are presented as short swords, but according to him there is a whole bunch of historicals with 80 to 90cm blades, and a quantity of them with blades shortened more or less recently. I was also seeing this issue on some tessak/dussacks: presented as short sabers, often historicals have pretty long blades exceeding 80 or even 90cm.
There is rapier I saw discussed in a paper by Northern Arizona university that has a 50 inch (127 cm) blade and another in the art institute of Chicago with an overall length of 5 and a half feet (which means the blade alone is probably in the 150 cm range). Both dated to the early 1600s.
If a tape measure is in german a , Rollbandmaß', also many german ones are marked both with metric and imperial system. But with calipers switching accidently from metric to Imperial, this nerves.
@@brittakriep2938 i always found it odd that most germans can calculate quite accuratly in imperial for the most part.. But italians and spanish bont seem to have this skill.. Seems odd though. Where do germans learn it
@@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367 : Excuse me , wrong button. I can' t give you an answer. An Inch, in Germany often called , Englisches Zoll' ( we once had in Germany also the measure unit Zoll, but of course not english one. An Inch is ( over the thumb) 2,5 cm ,a bit more, so this is not to difficult. An english Pound is about 455 Gramm, a german Pfund ( since 1871 oficially no more existing) is 500 Gramm. So an english Pfund is 0,9 of a german Pfund. A mile is 1, 609 Kilometers, so over the thumb 1 Mile - 1,5 km. Pipe diameters are mostly the same after EN and Ansi, exeptions are EN 76, 1/ Ansi 73, (?) or EN 139,7 and Ansi 141,3 Millimeter, but in last case, pipes and ellbows, reducers mostly have large tolerances. Only Problem for me are the rare cases, when in Germany Inch based Threads (?)/Gewinde are necessary.
There is something about the swept hilt that is so inexpressibly beautiful. The cup hilts and basket hits we often see seem so very... Clumsy. Lacking in grace and lyricism--although no doubt offering a great deal of protection!
Funny enough I popped in on Sunday as was passing, no matter how often I go I never cease to be amazed at how long some rapiers were. Going back about 40 years ( oh God) I had a book with some drawing form a treatise on rapier / dagger and the sword lengths well over half the height to the fencers.
Greetings from the Colonies! Back in my 30s, I used to fence foil & epee, with a little bit of saber thrown in. These rapiers are making my younger self have impure thoughts! 😊
@scholagladiatoria At the Leeds Armoury there is displayed a rapier designed, it seems, to circumvent sword-length laws. It has a telescoping blade that looks like it functions like a drop-blade or gravity knife, so thatbit meets legal requirements in the scabbard but gives a more advantageous reach in a fight. Would you do a presentation on this?
It sounds like a Market-day Ninja kind of weapon. Although I suppose if the plan is to just thrust and not cut or parry hard blows, the telescoping nature might not make it too structurally compromised.
I do have seem a few examples online. Interesting design indeed, though I would imagine that their durability is a big problem (otherwise they should be more popular).
So many followup questions spring to mind. If you're taking recommendations for topics: what can we tell about the kinds of people who selected shorter or longer rapiers, based on quality, decoration, etc?; what differences go into the thought process when fighting a rapier-to-rapier duel against an opponent with inches more reach?; how does the long rapier blade change the way one approaches controlling the range or which maneuvers are selected -- does it change how the weapon is used in a taught fencing style?; and the obvious question of how wearing of the blade changes based upon its length, since nobody wants bruised shins nor wants to wind up in a duel over bashing someone else in the leg at court or in the pub.
Regarding the way of measuring on the website (to the guard or crossguard) - you have the total length given too. You can compare the ratios of lengths given, to the pixel counts from the images, and you'll know. I've checked one example, and it seems that they indeed measure it from the crossguard. You're safe :).
I've heard people say good things about the fencing in Alatriste with Viggo Mortensen. I saw it recently, pretty decent overall, and I enjoyed the fights/battles.
Swordplay was popular at that time. The Curtain was also used for fencing contests and demonstrations, when not staging plays. Perhaps, long rapiers helped bring the punters in?
I noticed in the description of the English rapier at about 10 mins that one of the mediums listed was “damascaned.” Is that referring to a pattern welded and etched blade or is it to do with the hilt decoration?
Great as usual Matt. As everyone is saying - proportionality! I'm 6 3" and pretty strong - I can realistically wield a bigger and heavier sword (badly) than the average person.
Another data point: I have an early to mid 17th century dueling rapier here (probably German) with a blade of 113 cm from the cross to the tip (not quite the renaissance, of course). 128cm total. It has a kind of basket hilt not unlike that of the cavalier rapier (without a knuckle bow but with an early style of pierced guard plate). Weight 810 grams; width at forte 13 mm.; thickness 8 mm.
Matt, I have a question I hope you can answer or touch on. How did Swordsmiths or artisans pierce and chisel extremely intricate designs like vines, strawberries, leaves and etc into the cup? They were doing this advanced type of work in the 15th century, that a CNC machine couldn't replicate with such beauty.
+scholagladiatoria *I've a self-written 'üpothēsē: The maximum blade length of a rapier from the quillons was dependent on controllability for the wielder.*
I really enjoy these videos. I suffered a massive injury in 09 that kind of... made Uni a much more difficult proposition. Whilst I still plan on returning, I am never going to get a Doctorate in History/Archeology as I dreamt of for my whole life pre injury. So watching video's like this allow me to get access to much more of the info in an enjoyable manner that is much less stressful than actual class. Not really comparable, but these videos and ones like them scratch that itch, so to speak. So thanks to not only Scholagladiatoria but every other historical/archeological video on youtube.
Dang man, the anguish in your post. I'm in NWFL, I'm a cripple if you want we can beat the hell out of each other with shinai. I'm cool with learning. My back got wrecked in 15' Re learned to walk twice. I should be a cake walk for you. lol wife won't fight me training bokken or naked blade. Jacob bokken the window.... Long story
I remember seeing a rapier with a spring-loaded blade that could gain you another 4 or so inches. Not sure where it was, though I think it was at the Tower of London. Also, not sure of its length. It might have been circa 140 centimetres, extending to an unwieldy 150, or 130 jumping to 140. Addendum: that one is probably in Leeds now.
They were definitely made in Spain, with Spanish Kings making laws on maximum rapier lengths. Or maybe it's a way to hide your rapier is six inches longer than it is with the spring being released when drawn?
There are a few examples of these; the example from the Royal Armouries, IX.861, has a blade length from 104cm up to ~121cm (total length for 143cm). Another one in a private german collection is 167cm total length...possibly with a 138.5cm blade.
Hi Matt. I read something decades ago about Queen Elizabeth I passing a law requiring the shortening of swords to about 36" because of the number of men who tripped on their swords in her presence. Apparently happened to Raleigh during a state function. Wish I could give you a reference but being in the UK maybe you could find out if this is true or just an old story. At any rate the story speaks to the fact that long rapiers had to have been popular for the queen to notice a problem with them.
I have no valid sources for this anecdote but here it is al the same: The Emperor Qin Shi Huang of China, who ruled from 221 to 210 BCE passed a law requiring the shortening of swords known as the "Day of the Short Swords" or "Edict on Short Blades" due to a specific court incident. According to historical accounts, during a court ceremony, one of the officials accidentally stepped on the emperor's ceremonial robe, causing offense and embarrassment. As a result, Emperor Qin Shi Huang became concerned about potential threats from his officials and decided to implement a law to reduce the length of swords carried by his subjects. The emperor issued an edict that ordered the shortening of all swords to a standardized length of approximately one foot.
1620s colonial militia leader in New England, Miles Standish, had the nickname "Captain Shrimp" due to being very short, even for the time, he famously had his rapier shortened so it didn't drag the ground when he wore it.
I've started to really enjoy fencing with matched weapons at my local classical fencing club to cut out the variables resulting from mismatched weapon lengths and weights. Yes, that does leave other variables such as body size and proportions and familiarity with a given weapon, but overall, I have found that between similarly-statured opponents, matching weapons allows for more complex exchanges more often.
Swept hilt rapiers are some of my favorite swords! Idk why maybe bc of movies like the Princess and the Bride, Three Musketeers, Captain Blood etc but I absolutely love the look of them.
Interesting stuff. I do like rapiers, but for some reason, not cup-hilts. Something about the look of a deep cup-hilt just puts me off. That said, it'd be very interesting to input the lengths of all the rapiers in the Wallace collection into a programme like SPSS and get a distribution curve plotted, so we can get an idea of where the median length and standard deviations lie. I should be getting a rapier for my upcoming birthday, (I'm buying my GF a naginata for her's), so if anyone has any recommendations, that would be much appreciated.
Another reason to move to Canada, Matt. You already measure like us, as we bounce between metric and imperial, deppending on topic, like it is ping pong.
That's cool, I'm 6'5" and my rapiers blade is 107 cm, I would love to fight with a longer one, those Wallace examples are so fun. Thanks for the video.
In everyone's experience in handling existing examples of period side swords, rapiers, etc: what is the ratio of handles with peened construction vs threaded pommel construction?
I love using my rapier but I couldn't imagine using one with an over 40" blade, how does it feel Matt? Do you need to keep it retracted or does it have distil taper to keep the point of balance closer to your hand? 🙂 Mine's a french shell hilt around the length of an arming sword so only about 36" and it's broader than most, kinda bordering on a so called "sidesword" but used pretty much the same way, point of balance right above the guard. In Jujutsu we mix our unarmed techniques with our armed so it makes more sense to have a shorter sword, at least it does to me and I've only been transitioning into HEMA for about 6yrs
(Reminding me it would be handy to get one of those UK tape measures. In the US we really don't use metric for *carpentry* and the like but that doesn't go for everyone who makes anything. :)
That was very interesting thank for you hard work. The thought of how strong theses people must have been to hold that weight out in front on an outstretched arm a lot of the time and still be nimble.
You couldn't guarantee the length of your opponent's blade back in the 1600s so you shouldn't complain about it today in HEMA. That is ond of the things that separates it from olympic fencing. Personally I find that a 48" blade the sweet spot for rapier length. I can still easily draw it from the hip and the scabbard is not too long to hinder regular daily activities. Rapier length really should depend on your height and arm length. If it is too long then it can't be easily drawn if too short you are giving up valuable reach.
Are there any other specific national tendencies for rapier design? Specifically curious about French, but curious about other examples too. Please and thanks, great video as always!
One semi-related question for you Matt : I know/believe Sword lengths should ideally be proportional to their wielder. However considering one common criticsism of the Katana has been it's shorter length compared to western swords like the longsword (and japanese being somewhat shorter then europeans) , I am wondering what you would consider the length of the following swords to be IF created for let's say 6 foot 2 (or whatever the average height of a european knight was). Swords I wish to know about :- 1) Katana 2) Tachi (Not the same as a Katana) 3) Jian 4) Tulwar As a bonus question how would the changed length of the above swords affect your view of them in comparison with european swords?
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I cant remember the source right now, but i seem to recall having read that there atleast in some sources is a size reference telling you how long rapier you should have in regards to your own height.
American tape measures also commonly have both imperial and metric, believe it or not. But if you really want to, you can still find an all-imperial yardstick.
Interestingly, it is not uncommon for Swedish tape measures to have both as well, and yardstick is literally called "tumstock" - meaning something like inch-baton/thumb-log. This despite imperial not having been commonly used in more than a century.
Same for my home country. The way I see it, it's a basically free addition (IIRC US system is calibrated in metric anyway) and only improves the product, so why wouldn't all tape measures have both systems? I have never measured anything in inches, but if I can have it I would like the ability to do so, thank you very much.
I have a friend, a rapierist, who is 6'4'' or so, and his rapier, in my memory, seems like it was 4' or longer. I've never used a sword, so I was unable to handle it with any effectiveness, but I did manage to not do anything stupid, just held it horizontal for a moment, and set it down.
One of the questions about swords and their use that has occurred to me is when did wearing gloves become common in armed conflict. Personal experience suggests that gloves or some hand protection necessary with longer weapons.
My sister has a swept hilt rapier with a 48" blade. It's about 3.5 lbs. I don't know how old it actually is, but she thinks it's late 18th or early 19th century.
This makes me wonder if any of the rapier treatises used were developed within the context of restrictions on blade length, and if they would be less effective if used with and against longer blades.
were rapier style blades found on non European swords? considering that a lot of sword blades were designed and made in central Europe and exported and sold to other parts of the world
Though Americans are always looked down on for not using metric the fact is we do all our measuring devices also have both metric and inches and if we're talking academically everything passed a certain level is metric. The difference is in schooling we start with inches and it's not until we are taught certain math's that we start to learn about the metric system. I think it would be better if from the beginning we were taught both. That way as we get older and the metric system starts to take over it would be less jarring.
Yes. Lots of period masters wrote this explicitly, though the details varied. That a rapier should come under the arm was a common measure for long rapiers, which is typically about 77% of the wielder's height (very long).
CONTEXT! Would be fascinated by data on why these ones are the ones to survive in museums (selection bias maybe?) But then, the thing about "but the English had laws on sword lengths" is that they'd not ban something people weren't doing anyway.
Are we sure that these longer ones were being worn on belts and baldricks by men walking around? And meant to be used on foot? I think the estoc came way later than these, but is there a chance that some of these rapiers were really meant to be used in that way, from horseback?
How long were rapiers?In proportion to other types of sword which were one handed sword they were very long.Mainly because you don't need width in the blade just to stab someone so therefore alot of the metal in the rapier ends up going into making it as long as possible in order to order to stab somebody from as far away as possible while still making it at least fairly practical to wield and to wear.
I mean, I get the longest one you can manage is probably best in a game of "poke-the-man", but being a wee man, most rapiers and sabers I can barely draw the thing, and they are uncomfortably long and feel unwieldy. Granted that would probably help make up for my lack of reach. I'm torn on whether to modify my rapier and saber to be more comfortable, or just learn to deal with what seems like an excessively long blade. just don't know.
Opinions vary, both then & now. Amusingly, the accomplished contemporary rapier fencer Robert Childs recommends almost exactly same blade length as George Silver did: half one's height plus three inches. Childs uses a system very different from Silver's, but the parallel still fascinates me.
@@ryanjamesloyd6733 That's for the blade. 37-40 inches of blade was considered a "short sword" in circa-1600 England. If applied to overall length, that's about what many sabres & smallswords are.
an good length would be how fast you can pull it out of it's sheath, if you can't, then it's too long to be useful. you need to be able to pull it out within 5 seconds(bare minimal), or it's too late for self defense, and if it's too late, then the extra length won't matter as you won't be dueling, instead, you're on the ground.
If you're dueling, you'll have it out when the fight starts. Unless the opponent argues the length gives you an unfair advantage under the code. And thus the advent of paired sets and more standardised lengths....
@@nullifye7816 Girard Thibault did believe drawing quickly was important. He recommended a short measure than certain other rapier masters in part to facilitate quick drawing. His technique for drawing quickly came in the context of social encounters potentially turning violent in the blink of an eye. A proper honorable duel would give both parties the time to draw, but an impromptu street fight might not.
I don't debate that People used long Rapiers. I just think it's a pain in the *rse to carry them on the bus or in full kit and think I should fight with a sword I could reasonably carry and draw should I need it. That's just my philosophy on it anyways, I fence as part of other reenactment stuff, I'm sure your mileage will vary depending on what period or cultures you are interested in or if you are going purely to maximize the sport aspect of it.
I don't actually own a rapier (I have a few different types of swords), but I'm about 6ft tall, and as a general principle, I'd prefer to use the longest rapier possible, given that I can wield it properly.
But how does a long rapier impact my ability to use Bonetti's Defence while in rocky terrain? And will Thibault still cancel out Capo Ferro? What of Agrippa???????
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is i it true that it isnt about the size, but how you use it???
Why didn't you show the one antique rapier you own for comparison? Seems odd, since it would make the comparison much more clear
I've always looked for balance. I can move inside a stroke/poke. Coming from a batojutsu background with a lot of taijutsu. lol I've got two blades on me as well as a pistol. Real sword less than 7 paces away. It's cool to know at poking range, well beyond my katana poking range. The odachi is very blade heavy, I'm sure not as nimble at a rapier. Test cutting with it though, doubt a rapier could even handle it. You going to do anything on "backswords"? Just a thought. Hella more ridged and straight. Kinda like a ninjato.
Hello Sir, I was wondering if you can give me some info on the swords of the Ancient Sarmatians. It is said in a paper the one of their sword in particular had a 135cm long.
@@ScrappyXFL There is NO such thing as a ‘ninjato’ - never was, never will be (outside of movies and comics...)! Sorry, Bub...
I'd like a video on fencing that discusses how a shorter person deals with a tall opponent. When I was foil fencing, the guys who did best were built like Matt, long arms and legs, over six feet in height, but the long limbs were their big advantage (all other things being equal, as they say). As a 5'10" chap with much shorter arms and legs than many of my opponents, I found the only way to stand a chance against an opponent with a significantly longer reach (our foils were all regulation length, 'natch) was to get in close, inside his reach, so as to make it difficult for him to bring his point to bear on my torso (the only legal target in foil fencing, so no, not at all like combat). This worked, occasionally, but I'd love a video about how the manuals dealt with the issue in life-or-death swordd fighting. I think my 'inside' attack method would work, but I'm certainly not a HEMA fencer (HEMA didn't exist when I was waving pointy things around). So tell us midgets how to kill you whopping great giants, eh?
I do Broadsword in my club and don't generally notice it making much of a difference. Just get to whatever distance you feel safe at and then work out what your targets are from there.
IE: Go for their arms.
This is for general HEMA sparring without rulesets of judging. If you want MOF help, you're on your own.
What you described about getting inside their reach is exactly how you deal with taller fencers. That and learn to parry.
Lol, referring to average height as midgets
@@garrettwilson4754 Well, relatively. Not a Munchkin.
@@jackrice2770 yeah. I had a buddy in a Taekwondo match get brutalized in terms of points because his opponent was a good 6 inches taller than him and could kick from further away. He lost on points even though his skills were better
Matt slowly becoming a rapierist feels like Anakin becoming Vader
So it feels quite good 😎
Always gotta be careful with the spelling
And I'm here for it
@@elio7610 as opposed to raperist...?
Except matt keeps his arms and legs
Short people hate the idea of tall people having proportionally long swords.
"Why are you stabbing me from so far away?!"
😂
"Because it's intelligent"
small bloke with a big sword: lol cheater, you compensating for something? lol
tall bloke with a big sword: wow he is big, what an advantage he has
I am now imaging some one like Andre the Giant with a rapier. Essentially a spear for my 5'3" brother.
why spears exist.
I hate the idea of tall people.
I have been practicing rapier with a 45" rapier since 2009, can't recall how many people have been complaning that I'm only bettering them because of the lengh of my rapier.
I usually ask them to switch weapons, for them to realize how hard the added length makes a sword to move.
It adds reach, but you have to train quite a lot to be able to use it well. Small change in lengh, huge change in inertia etc.
Also as you stated, most long rapier are way heavier than most people realize
Anyway thanks for your take on this, glad to see this !
"Everyone should have his weapons sized proportionally to their own person. Thus the size of the Sword should be such that the length of the blade from the tip to the crosspiece is equal to half the Diameter, that is to say, if the tip is placed on the ground between the feet, the crosspiece of the handguard will come up to the navel, just as explained in Circle No 1, and the more exactly one can achieve this, the better, for many reasons. " Thibault 1630, translation by Bruce G. Hearns
Everyone's proportions are different (i.e. length of the legs etc), but quickly measuring myself with the above shows my 5"9 height would want a 110 cm blade. If you're 6"1 Matt, and if we halve the extra 4 inches, you come out at a 120 cm blade (47 inch). So, sounds like your current practice rapier is spot on according to old Thibault.
Wouldn´t it be advantageous for a shorter man to use a longer blade to eliminate the opponent's reach advantage?
I get a somewhat shorter length of around 44in for Matt with Thibault's measure, but it's still quite close. & Thibault was explicitly recommended this as a moderate length in comparison to the under-at-arm method that was popular in some systems (such as from Ridolfo Capo Ferro).
@@morriganmhor5078 Robert Childs the curret #1 Ranked rapier fencer in HEMA says in his book Revelations of Rapier that having a sword that's too long for your body type makes defending harder. It slows down your parries and beats. The extra length may let you get in the first strike but if the opponent's counter strike kills you in return you can't exactly call that winning.
@@morriganmhor5078 Shorter arms trying to lever a longer blade would make for a much less efficient (effective) wielding; the moment arm would be too short for the resistance lever. Some engineer help me out with the right words.
@@morriganmhor5078 In addition to being less agile, long blades are easier to displace (they're a longer lever for the opponent to push against) and more awkward to use at close range (the arm has to retract far enough to bring the point in front of the opponent, and the longer the blade, the greater the retraction required). These three disadvantages compound each other, with the additional leverage making it easier for the opponent to control your weapon and the reduced agility making it more difficult for you to recover, which makes it easier for the them to close and more difficult for you to threaten them if they do.
Just left a video about Italian Renaissance music to watch Matt's video about Italian (and other nationalities) Renaissance swords! From the composer Vincenzo Galilei (father of the scientist), to Ridolfo Capo Ferro, much ink was being spent by masters in both disciplines in Italy at this time!
I wish they had arms and armor fashion shows the same way they have dog shows. I absolutely need to hear you commentate that.
"It's very confusing." Yeah, Canadian here, and we do the same. Starts to get confusing when you kinda use both, but it also makes more sense to me than fractioning inches. Like if you say something is 1/8th of an inch, I don't know what that looks like, but 5 mm I can picture it. But like 10cm vs 10 inches, it's the reverse.
Some of those blades seem so impractical, can you imagine trying to get that thing through a door with any grace lol. Pretty cool though.
A rapier with a 45-inch blade? You, Sir, Are No Gentleman! [glove slap]
Do you really want to challenge someone who has a reach advantage to a duel? Good luck, gentleman.
Main reason I love rapiers in general is those beautiful swept hilts! ☺️
Seeing that you’ve recently made a video with Tod about his (absolutely AWESOME!) reproduction of a Swiss sabre; perhaps you would consider doing a video on the early, complex swept-hilts that were sometimes mounted on later longswords; specifically ‘bastard swords’ / ‘hand-and-a-half swords’, from about the second half of the 16th century? 🙂
These hilts seem to have evolved in parallel with - perhaps they were even (co-) influential in the development of - complex swept hilts of side-swords and rapiers. Yet they are (perhaps not surprisingly) much less known. 🗡️🤓
They're all nice in their own ways of course, but the rapier at 16:42 is just gorgeous. Funny that it's said people think stereotypically of Spanish rapiers being cup hilts, but I've long associated that swept style as being Spanish. It's always been my favorite.
I remember many years ago watching Antiques Roadshow, if anyone's familiar with that show. Someone had brought in a rapier to get some info on it, since they had no idea, it'd just been in the family. It looked practically identical to this one, and it was even pointed out that the blade was 48 inches. Obviously not literally the same, it was no doubt a relatively common style. The weapons appraiser said it should be insured for $800 at the time (2005ish maybe?), since it was nice but not fancy, just regular steel.
Once again very happy to see your vídeo, especially as a student of 'La verdadera destreza', and as a spaniard.
Wonderful your videos, and your love for History.
Thanks to videos like yours, and I have seen many
of them, I started in the world of HEMA.
Greetings from 'Academia da espada' in A Coruña.
No good... I've known too many Spaniards -- Princess Bride
45" (114cm) is proportionately correct for a 6'1" (185cm) individual if you go by the recommendations in Fabris or Capoferro's texts.
I'm a bit smaller, I use a 42" blade because it fits me.
Yes, the difference in reach is an imbalance. So is the difference in leverage at debole, it evens out.
Many of the high status examples at the Doge's palace in Venice are ~48" (121cm) blades. I doubt very highly they were used by 6'6" (198cm) individuals, and were instead just oversized because they were a status symbol.
Incidentally, one of the reasons that modern production line rapiers (In the U.S. at least) are typically limited to 45" blades is that's the maximum length that can be batch heat treated and keep the prices attainable.
but what if im a length fetishist
114cm blade at 185cm height is bit short by Capo Ferro's measure according to my interpretation, which is based on the detailed proportions Girard Thibault provided. Of course, bodies vary & it's unclear exactly how Capo Ferro & company defined the armpit.
This video would benefit from mention of the detailed instructions about rapier sizing that appear in various period texts. They support such long blade lengths. Ridolfo Capo Ferro recommended a sword "twice as long as the arm, or as long as the extended step" & that this was "the same as that between the sole of my foot and just under the armpit." Other rapiers mentioned the measure of the sword coming under the arm. Girard Thibault criticized this measure as overly long, instead writing that the cross should come up to the navel if the sword is placed with point on the ground. Thibault provided an illustration showing a man of his ideal proportions. Based on this, the under-the-arm measure comes to about 77% of height. By contrast, Thibault's measure gives a blade with 60-61% of height. Of course, everyone proportions differ somewhat. This just gives us a general sense.
So, for your height of 185.4cm, the under-the-arm measure would give an overall length of 142.8cm (56.2in). This suggests a blade of approximately 127cm (50in). Thibault's measure, on the other hand, gives a blade length of roughly 112cm (44.2in). So your sparring rapier isn't even super long for your height, but rather a fairly moderate length.
George Silver's complaints about the excessive length of rapiers likewise support the notion that rapiers got quite long. He recommended 37-40in blades, depending on height, & wrote that rapiers were often a half a foot or more too long. This suggests 43-46+in blades. Swetnam wrote that a rapier should be at least four feet, but wasn't clear whether this was blade length or overall length.
.....Dear god 50 to 56 inches? I can't imagine that not being a pain in the to draw and get ready.
@@PJDAltamirus0425 56in would be the overall length at a height of 6'1", with the blade around 50in. Thibault indeed criticized such long rapiers because of their inconvenience in wearing & drawing.
U.S. tape measures and rulers use Imperial and metric as well, but as an American I always appreciate it when you state both. I can do the switch in my head but it takes me a second and then i miss the next thing you say, lol.
I had the luck to go to the Musée Renaissance in the Écouen Castle (France) to mesure and handle historical rapiers. They have an absolute monster of a rapier, with a 135cm (about 53 inches) blade. It seem to come from Germany in the 1590s, total length was 149cm and weight around 1,4kg. I never saw a rapier with such a long blade. It was an incredible experience to handle it for a moment and mesure it. Those are beautiful exceptions, but the 110-115cm length for the blade seem to have been quite average at the time, even when you look at Fabris or Giganti treatises they show very long bladed rapiers in the engravings. It is sad to see them banned in some HEMA competitions for being too long, as they are totally legit and not so rare in fact - in addition, you don't fight the same with such a piece of a blade than with a 90 to 100cm blade.
Many replicas tend to have "too short" blades. Roland Warzecha did speak of this issue in some of his work and loves to fence with some longer blades now, and I also talked with Dr. Fab Cognot about the same problem on katzbalger. Today they are presented as short swords, but according to him there is a whole bunch of historicals with 80 to 90cm blades, and a quantity of them with blades shortened more or less recently. I was also seeing this issue on some tessak/dussacks: presented as short sabers, often historicals have pretty long blades exceeding 80 or even 90cm.
There is rapier I saw discussed in a paper by Northern Arizona university that has a 50 inch (127 cm) blade and another in the art institute of Chicago with an overall length of 5 and a half feet (which means the blade alone is probably in the 150 cm range). Both dated to the early 1600s.
I think tape measures with both metric and imperial systems on are not just used in UK. All my Swedish tape measures have markings for both systems.
If a tape measure is in german a , Rollbandmaß', also many german ones are marked both with metric and imperial system. But with calipers switching accidently from metric to Imperial, this nerves.
@@brittakriep2938 i always found it odd that most germans can calculate quite accuratly in imperial for the most part.. But italians and spanish bont seem to have this skill.. Seems odd though. Where do germans learn it
@@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367 : Britta is my girlfriend, i only use her Computer too. I am german style trained worker ( Facharbeiter) in metal
@@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367 : Excuse me , wrong button. I can' t give you an answer. An Inch, in Germany often called , Englisches Zoll' ( we once had in Germany also the measure unit Zoll, but of course not english one. An Inch is ( over the thumb) 2,5 cm ,a bit more, so this is not to difficult. An english Pound is about 455 Gramm, a german Pfund ( since 1871 oficially no more existing) is 500 Gramm. So an english Pfund is 0,9 of a german Pfund. A mile is 1, 609 Kilometers, so over the thumb 1 Mile - 1,5 km. Pipe diameters are mostly the same after EN and Ansi, exeptions are EN 76, 1/ Ansi 73, (?) or EN 139,7 and Ansi 141,3 Millimeter, but in last case, pipes and ellbows, reducers mostly have large tolerances. Only Problem for me are the rare cases, when in Germany Inch based Threads (?)/Gewinde are necessary.
There is something about the swept hilt that is so inexpressibly beautiful. The cup hilts and basket hits we often see seem so very... Clumsy. Lacking in grace and lyricism--although no doubt offering a great deal of protection!
Thank you, Mr Easton, for another excellent short excursion into history. Cheers!
Funny enough I popped in on Sunday as was passing, no matter how often I go I never cease to be amazed at how long some rapiers were. Going back about 40 years ( oh God) I had a book with some drawing form a treatise on rapier / dagger and the sword lengths well over half the height to the fencers.
Greetings from the Colonies! Back in my 30s, I used to fence foil & epee, with a little bit of saber thrown in. These rapiers are making my younger self have impure thoughts! 😊
@scholagladiatoria At the Leeds Armoury there is displayed a rapier designed, it seems, to circumvent sword-length laws. It has a telescoping blade that looks like it functions like a drop-blade or gravity knife, so thatbit meets legal requirements in the scabbard but gives a more advantageous reach in a fight. Would you do a presentation on this?
It sounds like a Market-day Ninja kind of weapon. Although I suppose if the plan is to just thrust and not cut or parry hard blows, the telescoping nature might not make it too structurally compromised.
I think that is the one I have seen decades ago, in the Tower of London. Thanks for mentioning it!
I do have seem a few examples online. Interesting design indeed, though I would imagine that their durability is a big problem (otherwise they should be more popular).
Most US tape measures or rulers contain both metric and Imperial as well, we just routinely ignore the weird side lol
So many followup questions spring to mind. If you're taking recommendations for topics: what can we tell about the kinds of people who selected shorter or longer rapiers, based on quality, decoration, etc?; what differences go into the thought process when fighting a rapier-to-rapier duel against an opponent with inches more reach?; how does the long rapier blade change the way one approaches controlling the range or which maneuvers are selected -- does it change how the weapon is used in a taught fencing style?; and the obvious question of how wearing of the blade changes based upon its length, since nobody wants bruised shins nor wants to wind up in a duel over bashing someone else in the leg at court or in the pub.
Regarding the way of measuring on the website (to the guard or crossguard) - you have the total length given too. You can compare the ratios of lengths given, to the pixel counts from the images, and you'll know. I've checked one example, and it seems that they indeed measure it from the crossguard. You're safe :).
Have you done a video of rapiers in the movies Matt? I'd love to see where filmmakers have got things accurate or totally wrong.
I feel it was Matt who did one on Zoro and film rapier design. Not style or technique, but the actual swords themselves.
@@ostrowulf I don't recall that one. I'll have to go through his back catalogue.
I've heard people say good things about the fencing in Alatriste with Viggo Mortensen. I saw it recently, pretty decent overall, and I enjoyed the fights/battles.
Swordplay was popular at that time. The Curtain was also used for fencing contests and demonstrations, when not staging plays. Perhaps, long rapiers helped bring the punters in?
Huzzah! Always love to learn about all variants of pokey stick.
I noticed in the description of the English rapier at about 10 mins that one of the mediums listed was “damascaned.” Is that referring to a pattern welded and etched blade or is it to do with the hilt decoration?
Great as usual Matt.
As everyone is saying - proportionality! I'm 6 3" and pretty strong - I can realistically wield a bigger and heavier sword (badly) than the average person.
Another data point: I have an early to mid 17th century dueling rapier here (probably German) with a blade of 113 cm from the cross to the tip (not quite the renaissance, of course). 128cm total. It has a kind of basket hilt not unlike that of the cavalier rapier (without a knuckle bow but with an early style of pierced guard plate). Weight 810 grams; width at forte 13 mm.; thickness 8 mm.
love your channel dude, I use to Fence and I love Rapiers and I never knew they can be that long
Matt, I have a question I hope you can answer or touch on. How did Swordsmiths or artisans pierce and chisel extremely intricate designs like vines, strawberries, leaves and etc into the cup? They were doing this advanced type of work in the 15th century, that a CNC machine couldn't replicate with such beauty.
+scholagladiatoria *I've a self-written 'üpothēsē: The maximum blade length of a rapier from the quillons was dependent on controllability for the wielder.*
I really enjoy these videos. I suffered a massive injury in 09 that kind of... made Uni a much more difficult proposition. Whilst I still plan on returning, I am never going to get a Doctorate in History/Archeology as I dreamt of for my whole life pre injury. So watching video's like this allow me to get access to much more of the info in an enjoyable manner that is much less stressful than actual class. Not really comparable, but these videos and ones like them scratch that itch, so to speak. So thanks to not only Scholagladiatoria but every other historical/archeological video on youtube.
Dang man, the anguish in your post. I'm in NWFL, I'm a cripple if you want we can beat the hell out of each other with shinai. I'm cool with learning. My back got wrecked in 15' Re learned to walk twice. I should be a cake walk for you.
lol wife won't fight me training bokken or naked blade. Jacob bokken the window.... Long story
I remember seeing a rapier with a spring-loaded blade that could gain you another 4 or so inches. Not sure where it was, though I think it was at the Tower of London.
Also, not sure of its length. It might have been circa 140 centimetres, extending to an unwieldy 150, or 130 jumping to 140.
Addendum: that one is probably in Leeds now.
They were definitely made in Spain, with Spanish Kings making laws on maximum rapier lengths.
Or maybe it's a way to hide your rapier is six inches longer than it is with the spring being released when drawn?
There are a few examples of these; the example from the Royal Armouries, IX.861, has a blade length from 104cm up to ~121cm (total length for 143cm). Another one in a private german collection is 167cm total length...possibly with a 138.5cm blade.
Hi Matt. I read something decades ago about Queen Elizabeth I passing a law requiring the shortening of swords to about 36" because of the number of men who tripped on their swords in her presence. Apparently happened to Raleigh during a state function. Wish I could give you a reference but being in the UK maybe you could find out if this is true or just an old story. At any rate the story speaks to the fact that long rapiers had to have been popular for the queen to notice a problem with them.
Need source
The limit was "one yard and half-a-quarter of the blade at the uttermost" (40.5in).
I have no valid sources for this anecdote but here it is al the same:
The Emperor Qin Shi Huang of China, who ruled from 221 to 210 BCE passed a law requiring the shortening of swords known as the "Day of the Short Swords" or "Edict on Short Blades" due to a specific court incident.
According to historical accounts, during a court ceremony, one of the officials accidentally stepped on the emperor's ceremonial robe, causing offense and embarrassment. As a result, Emperor Qin Shi Huang became concerned about potential threats from his officials and decided to implement a law to reduce the length of swords carried by his subjects.
The emperor issued an edict that ordered the shortening of all swords to a standardized length of approximately one foot.
6:55 German rulers for builders do too, incidentally. Maybe because for example diameters are measured in inches?
Lovely swords, I especially liked that shallow cup hilt.
1620s colonial militia leader in New England, Miles Standish, had the nickname "Captain Shrimp" due to being very short, even for the time, he famously had his rapier shortened so it didn't drag the ground when he wore it.
I've started to really enjoy fencing with matched weapons at my local classical fencing club to cut out the variables resulting from mismatched weapon lengths and weights. Yes, that does leave other variables such as body size and proportions and familiarity with a given weapon, but overall, I have found that between similarly-statured opponents, matching weapons allows for more complex exchanges more often.
American tape measures also have imperial and metric units.
This has actually got me wanting a rapier ..... never thought I would.
Question: Two fingers over the quillon or one... or is it just preference?
Swept hilt rapiers are some of my favorite swords! Idk why maybe bc of movies like the Princess and the Bride, Three Musketeers, Captain Blood etc but I absolutely love the look of them.
Interesting stuff. I do like rapiers, but for some reason, not cup-hilts. Something about the look of a deep cup-hilt just puts me off. That said, it'd be very interesting to input the lengths of all the rapiers in the Wallace collection into a programme like SPSS and get a distribution curve plotted, so we can get an idea of where the median length and standard deviations lie. I should be getting a rapier for my upcoming birthday, (I'm buying my GF a naginata for her's), so if anyone has any recommendations, that would be much appreciated.
Wonderfull video! Beautyfull swords and raw data are a sweet combo.
Another reason to move to Canada, Matt. You already measure like us, as we bounce between metric and imperial, deppending on topic, like it is ping pong.
Thanks for your contents. Quick question, are some historical war or set up dueling, i don't now, using sabers and shields?
That's cool, I'm 6'5" and my rapiers blade is 107 cm, I would love to fight with a longer one, those Wallace examples are so fun. Thanks for the video.
In everyone's experience in handling existing examples of period side swords, rapiers, etc: what is the ratio of handles with peened construction vs threaded pommel construction?
I love using my rapier but I couldn't imagine using one with an over 40" blade, how does it feel Matt? Do you need to keep it retracted or does it have distil taper to keep the point of balance closer to your hand? 🙂
Mine's a french shell hilt around the length of an arming sword so only about 36" and it's broader than most, kinda bordering on a so called "sidesword" but used pretty much the same way, point of balance right above the guard. In Jujutsu we mix our unarmed techniques with our armed so it makes more sense to have a shorter sword, at least it does to me and I've only been transitioning into HEMA for about 6yrs
(Reminding me it would be handy to get one of those UK tape measures. In the US we really don't use metric for *carpentry* and the like but that doesn't go for everyone who makes anything. :)
That was very interesting thank for you hard work. The thought of how strong theses people must have been to hold that weight out in front on an outstretched arm a lot of the time and still be nimble.
You couldn't guarantee the length of your opponent's blade back in the 1600s so you shouldn't complain about it today in HEMA. That is ond of the things that separates it from olympic fencing. Personally I find that a 48" blade the sweet spot for rapier length. I can still easily draw it from the hip and the scabbard is not too long to hinder regular daily activities. Rapier length really should depend on your height and arm length. If it is too long then it can't be easily drawn if too short you are giving up valuable reach.
Are there any other specific national tendencies for rapier design? Specifically curious about French, but curious about other examples too. Please and thanks, great video as always!
One semi-related question for you Matt : I know/believe Sword lengths should ideally be proportional to their wielder. However considering one common criticsism of the Katana has been it's shorter length compared to western swords like the longsword (and japanese being somewhat shorter then europeans) , I am wondering what you would consider the length of the following swords to be IF created for let's say 6 foot 2 (or whatever the average height of a european knight was).
Swords I wish to know about :-
1) Katana
2) Tachi (Not the same as a Katana)
3) Jian
4) Tulwar
As a bonus question how would the changed length of the above swords affect your view of them in comparison with european swords?
I cant remember the source right now, but i seem to recall having read that there atleast in some sources is a size reference telling you how long rapier you should have in regards to your own height.
American tape measures also commonly have both imperial and metric, believe it or not. But if you really want to, you can still find an all-imperial yardstick.
Interestingly, it is not uncommon for Swedish tape measures to have both as well, and yardstick is literally called "tumstock" - meaning something like inch-baton/thumb-log. This despite imperial not having been commonly used in more than a century.
Same for my home country. The way I see it, it's a basically free addition (IIRC US system is calibrated in metric anyway) and only improves the product, so why wouldn't all tape measures have both systems? I have never measured anything in inches, but if I can have it I would like the ability to do so, thank you very much.
I have a friend, a rapierist, who is 6'4'' or so, and his rapier, in my memory, seems like it was 4' or longer. I've never used a sword, so I was unable to handle it with any effectiveness, but I did manage to not do anything stupid, just held it horizontal for a moment, and set it down.
The first rapier that comes up in the Cleveland Museum of Art has a blade length of 43.75 inches.
One of the questions about swords and their use that has occurred to me is when did wearing gloves become common in armed conflict. Personal experience suggests that gloves or some hand protection necessary with longer weapons.
My sister has a swept hilt rapier with a 48" blade. It's about 3.5 lbs. I don't know how old it actually is, but she thinks it's late 18th or early 19th century.
For a moment i thought you'd say "fly safe" at the end x)
It *LOOKS like* a lot of the weight on that final & longest Rapier is in the weight at the back of the hilt as counter-balance?
This makes me wonder if any of the rapier treatises used were developed within the context of restrictions on blade length, and if they would be less effective if used with and against longer blades.
Have you seen LK Chen’s German Saxony Rapier? Looks really nice
MATT how about a video on FANCY & COMPLEX RAPIER BLADES?
Whereas some might say It's not the size of your rapier but how you use it that counts; No, says Matt, the longer the better.
were rapier style blades found on non European swords? considering that a lot of sword blades were designed and made in central Europe and exported and sold to other parts of the world
There's a rapier that looks like it was made in Japan. It looks like a rapier, but stats wise, it's much too blade heavy.
People dueling:
"my sword is much bigger"
"No! My sword is!" 😂😂
Though Americans are always looked down on for not using metric the fact is we do all our measuring devices also have both metric and inches and if we're talking academically everything passed a certain level is metric. The difference is in schooling we start with inches and it's not until we are taught certain math's that we start to learn about the metric system. I think it would be better if from the beginning we were taught both. That way as we get older and the metric system starts to take over it would be less jarring.
That A619 at 14:40 and the A570 at 16:40 are two beauties, they look very appropriately elegantly nasty.
So why was the kvetun your rapier that turned you vs your custom one?
It handles much better.
May I suggest the term, "greatreapier"?
In England, rapiers were so short by law,that they didn't have a blade....oh wait, that's now isn't it😮
I wonder if length of rapier has any relation to the size of the user.
Yes. Lots of period masters wrote this explicitly, though the details varied. That a rapier should come under the arm was a common measure for long rapiers, which is typically about 77% of the wielder's height (very long).
I'd love to flex a few of those super long blades in the Wallace and see how rigid or springy they are. 🤔
Can we expect an Easton-Rapier from Windlass Steel Craft soon?
scholagladiatoria: "How Long were Renaissance Rapiers?"
me: "Yes!"
CONTEXT! Would be fascinated by data on why these ones are the ones to survive in museums (selection bias maybe?) But then, the thing about "but the English had laws on sword lengths" is that they'd not ban something people weren't doing anyway.
People in the renaissance be like: Oh no, your rapier is too long, it will never fit. Pls don't overpenetrate me (*ΦωΦ*)
I am sure that people in history used longer rapiers whenever it was convenient.
Are we sure that these longer ones were being worn on belts and baldricks by men walking around? And meant to be used on foot? I think the estoc came way later than these, but is there a chance that some of these rapiers were really meant to be used in that way, from horseback?
Polish winged hussars armed with stabbing sword looks like repier and lenght was from 120-30cm.
A longer sword for use on horseback. So also a small guy on horseback would be carrying a longer sword.
My knight shop rapier has a blade 84cm to the guard and weighs 1.35 kg - have I been done?
Oi, that was like a promotional video. My credit card is sweating blood and water.
Man, I've got to introduce you to my app.
How long were rapiers?In proportion to other types of sword which were one handed sword they were very long.Mainly because you don't need width in the blade just to stab someone so therefore alot of the metal in the rapier ends up going into making it as long as possible in order to order to stab somebody from as far away as possible while still making it at least fairly practical to wield and to wear.
swept hilt rapiers seems to be usually more convenient to wear than cup hilt ones
I mean, I get the longest one you can manage is probably best in a game of "poke-the-man", but being a wee man, most rapiers and sabers I can barely draw the thing, and they are uncomfortably long and feel unwieldy. Granted that would probably help make up for my lack of reach.
I'm torn on whether to modify my rapier and saber to be more comfortable, or just learn to deal with what seems like an excessively long blade. just don't know.
Opinions vary, both then & now. Amusingly, the accomplished contemporary rapier fencer Robert Childs recommends almost exactly same blade length as George Silver did: half one's height plus three inches. Childs uses a system very different from Silver's, but the parallel still fascinates me.
@@b.h.abbott-motley2427 is that for the blade or the whole sword?
(That lines up with what I find comfortable for whole-sword length)
@@ryanjamesloyd6733 That's for the blade. 37-40 inches of blade was considered a "short sword" in circa-1600 England. If applied to overall length, that's about what many sabres & smallswords are.
What’s in the tanks behind you?
an good length would be how fast you can pull it out of it's sheath, if you can't, then it's too long to be useful. you need to be able to pull it out within 5 seconds(bare minimal), or it's too late for self defense, and if it's too late, then the extra length won't matter as you won't be dueling, instead, you're on the ground.
If you're dueling, you'll have it out when the fight starts. Unless the opponent argues the length gives you an unfair advantage under the code. And thus the advent of paired sets and more standardised lengths....
@@nullifye7816 Girard Thibault did believe drawing quickly was important. He recommended a short measure than certain other rapier masters in part to facilitate quick drawing. His technique for drawing quickly came in the context of social encounters potentially turning violent in the blink of an eye. A proper honorable duel would give both parties the time to draw, but an impromptu street fight might not.
Good video ⚔️
The longer the blade, the slower the draw. So maybe HEMA should add drawing the sword in it's competitions. First out, first in.
I don't debate that People used long Rapiers. I just think it's a pain in the *rse to carry them on the bus or in full kit and think I should fight with a sword I could reasonably carry and draw should I need it. That's just my philosophy on it anyways, I fence as part of other reenactment stuff, I'm sure your mileage will vary depending on what period or cultures you are interested in or if you are going purely to maximize the sport aspect of it.
I don't actually own a rapier (I have a few different types of swords), but I'm about 6ft tall, and as a general principle, I'd prefer to use the longest rapier possible, given that I can wield it properly.
But how does a long rapier impact my ability to use Bonetti's Defence while in rocky terrain? And will Thibault still cancel out Capo Ferro? What of Agrippa???????