The best thing about this video is that you can read in Matt's body language just how strong his desire is to reach out and handle the sword for himself. :)
There is a similar sword found in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary, although the grip is longer and the narrow, long blade has a single fuller running to almost two-thirds of its total length. This type of sword could be the ancestor to not only the rapier but to the 16th century Hungarian Hussar dagger, the Koncerz in Polish. A Byzantine source from around the time of the Battle of Nicopolis described the swords used by the Hungarian and German heavy cavalry as follows: "The German and Hungarian swords have a fuller, four edges, ground to be sharp, and they end in a very sharp point; they use it to thrust like with a lance from horseback and they produce wounds like a lance." Early 15th century Hungarian sources call them fixolaris or hegyes tor (basically pointed dagger). I would say that they are part of the Type XVIII group and more particularly of the not so well defined Type XVIIID sub-group.
i know you hear this often mat but thank you for your videos. its a wealth of knowledge that anyone can access for free.. especially for people like me that cant afford to buy antique swords and armor, at least i know a little about their history and how they are used.. thank you
+William Stanway I just started watching it, the little bit of song snippet in the background around 1:10 of the first part is killing me. I know that song, I just can't place it.
William Stanway fuuuuck yes that's it! I had their Mezzanine album in heavy rotation a while ago, that's why it was so familiar. I was already searching in more or less the right direction, thinking of Archive for example, but stupidly enough Massive Attck didn't occur to me. Thanks a ton, man! It was eating away at me :D
Love the way Toby handles weapons. With the delicate touch and eye contact you can clearly see he's doing more than handling these objects carefully because they can be old and fragile. He loves them dearly and relishes every time he gets to examine them up close and out of the case. Such passion when he's been around so many of these items for so long is really inspiring and it's great to see a man who loves his work as much as Toby clearly does.
I could only imagine getting knocked upside the noggin with that pommel. That thing is basically a mace, pic, and rondel all in one "compact" package. Love it.
That's very cool. I really enjoy seeing how various "platforms" of weapons can be adapted to given purposes. The same way Japanese swords may look extremely similar and be of close dimensions, but simple and slight variations can radically change the way they handle. I like seeing yet another way arming swords can be adapted. It's cool how the same basic design can be a ferocious cutter like a viking sword, or a total anti armor thrusting sword like this. To most people who saw them (especially in scabbards) they'd have no idea what a big difference there is. I also love how Toby takes the artifacts out of the case. You can clearly see not only that he cares deeply about them and enjoys what he's doing, but that he's in awe of them.
You mentioned how short it is, but didn't give details. How long is it? Overall length? Blade length? And thank you. It's good to see something that goes so strongly against our expectations. That's the kind of thing that keeps our brains from atrophying.
The crossguard reminds me of later rapiers (just add a bow and fingerprotection). It would make putting the figner on the ricasso relativly comfortable.
I've been a subscriber for a long while and just wanted to say how incredible these recent videos are. I'll be buying Mr. Capwell's book when it's available. Having an expert guest is great stuff.
+scholagladiatoria Is there any way to tell if the pommel was hollow? Was that even a common thing to have around that time period? I have to agree, that guard looks like it was built for mordhau
+Vinland simply measuring and weighting the blade would tell if the pommel is hollow or full. However I'd bet the pommel is full, making it hollow would be very difficult for a smith.
The sense I get from watching your arms and armor discussions with Mr. Capwell is that the two of you have a lot of respect for each other, and I assume Mr. Capwell appreciates being interviewed by someone as knowledgeable as yourself.
I don't know if anyone else noticed but look at those quillons. I would imagine they would do quite a number on the visor of a helmet. They look like they could even enter the breaths, mostly unimpeded.
It's also important to note that in the high medieval period, a lot more people had access to maille, brigandines, and other metal armors who weren't knights. An archer had no pole arm to be his primary weapon against them, so his sidearm needed to fill both jobs, assuming his arrows and comerades didn't first.
When Toby is retrieving the swords from the case, I can't help but immediately be drawn to look at the more broad flattened diamond bladed arming sword. It looks like that is the inspiration for the Potiers by Albion?
That pommel seems like it would greatly enhance the handling, making it more useful for defense, but also giving it some momentum in the thrust for greater penetration. I'm going to think about pommels differently after seeing this video.
I just realized that's there kind of brand thing going on or am I wrong, I know smith worked together, back then but was there kinda some like today going with them back then?
Masamune was a legendary sword smith in Japan who etched his name in each sword that he made. Think of it like an artist putting his/her name on a painting.
Not really related to the topic at hand, but the three weapons at the beginning, the two polearms and the sword, looked great. Would those be going on display as well? Also, that pommel looks huge! It looks almost like it would add a lot of weight for a person to grab the blade and use the crossguard as a pick. Very interesting stuff- and you're right about seeing it in 3d. When I saw it in the case, I actually had the thought "That thing? I could probably break it over my knee!" - it would seem that isn't likely to be the case after all.
scholagladiatoria can you please, please do a similar video on that gorgeous two-hander which was shown in the beginning of the video? I am absolutely fascinated by that sword, ever since I first saw a picture of it about 1.5 years ago. It would be so incredible to see it in '3d' in a video.
I'm thinking that the top half of that sword is as much of a weapon as the pointy end. I am amazed that there are not more of this type of sword preserved in collections. It seems to be the idea choice for dealing with plate armour. Is it because they were the cheaper end of the spectrum, and made of more 'perishable' metals, or is it because the more chivalric, and traditional shaped long swords 'get more press'? Fantastic series of videos Matt, I was only up there last week.
No mention of the pommel? It seems abnormally big but that may be due to the wear and tear and lack of grip. Still, I would guess that it would help balance the sword and make it more precise for those groin/armpit/throat stabs. Thoughts?
That's a new one on me. I didn't think they had such thrust specialized swords that far back. I thought the metallurgy required for a thrusting spike that long wasn't quite there yet. That it would bend or snap if they tried.
There's a german sword very similar to this one but longer (1 m) in History museum in Zagreb, Croatia, found in one of Zagreb's modern neighborhoods. Max. with of the blade is 3.3.cm (2mm wider than this one) and the blade is quite thick, like the one in the video. It dates between 1360. to 1425. and the weight is just below 1kg.
Something I noticed , Tobias mentioned that it was essentially a rapier blade so stick the blade of that sword on a swept hilt it would be a rapier. If one put the blade of the second sword brought out from the cabinet (A464, are you going to upload a video on that one as well?) on a swept hilt, it could be classified as a side-sword.
Guys!! There's a MASSIVE clue staring at us in the face that supports your argument as an anti- armor weapon but isn't even mentioned! That pommel is absolutely excellent for striking when held in reverse entirely by the blade - the guard itself appears well made for a hammer like swing.
Hi, Matt. I have always wondered how much damage chainmail would stop from a sword cut, I have always imagined serious bruising or a fractured bone resulting from a sword hitting chainmail and wanted to know how accurate that was.
How much does this sword weight? It would be fantastic for a future video if you could give us some measurements of the real swords, so we could compare them to the replicas we use in training!
+PaARMA I would also like to get some more measurements, like blade thicknes at different points. But I did find some info from the webpage: Length: 75.5 cm Width: 3.1 cm Weight: 0.93 kg However, I'm not sure if the length there is the total length or the blade length, I assume it's the blade length.
What is the point-of-balance of the sword? That seems like a fairly large pommel for the blade size and curious if it'd feel more like a rapier, as Capwell alludes to. I'm guessing though that the techniques would largely be centered around closing distance and half-swording (since Capwell mentions that it'd be used by an Archer against knights)? Would that mean it would largely be used singly and not in conjunction with a buckler? Although I guess there are Fiore techniques with holding the buckler while half-swording...
The whole collection looks really interesting, but I'm way too far away to see it, so thanks for sharing videos of it for your international viewers. :)
Given how heavy the blade was for it's size I cannot imagine it would be terribly comfortable if you did manage to score a telling blow on someone with that edge. What does it weigh about 2lbs 2oz?
So is the enlarged pommel for gripping while halfswording, to kind of grasp by the pommel to help with thrusting, or is it meant as a kind of bludgeon?
I don't know why that just isn't considered an estoc or tuck. A short one, but what's the difference? Also, +1 on the question of whether to pommel is hollow or not. Is it that big to bring to balance back for more point control or as a hammer to whack people with (or both)?
love the epic music at the start! I was wondering about holding it by the blade and smashing helmets with that giant hammer of a pummel? part of the design?
+Aaron Reichert The music also appears in a rather remarkable video game called 'Mount Your Friends'. However, the internet doesn't seem to know whether it was originally composed for that game.
Late AF reply, I just found this video. Song's by Kevin Macleod, called "Hero Down". Royalty free music. I don't know about "Mount your Friends", never played the game. I do know Kevin composes music FREE for use. C:
Is the pommel solid or hollow? If it’s solid it looks like it could function as a bludgeon pretty effectively, not to mention the guard tapers to points, looks like if you’re going to swing it, you might want to hit with that end!
Could it be possible that another reason for the blade's stiffness is to help with the mordhau, since the pommel is so big? I doubt you would need that much weight as just a counterbalance, but it seems to be a pretty good mace.
the blade is very stiff and the balance is "in the hand" to have more control when you apply the point.. it's true that can be a very bad experience take that pommel on the head.. :D
I don't know if it's just because of the lack of handle scales, but the pommel on that sword looks very beefy, which I guess makes sense if it was designed for fighting armoured knights
+scholagladiatoria thanks for the reply. Are there any features which might tie it to a rough location or is it in the agin court display based just on its era?
scholagladiatoria On a totally unrelated note Matt, I have been meaning to ask, could a man-at-arms have fought on horseback well while wearing a long all enclosing fauld like the one you had on your early 15th century English-style suit of armour? It seemed like something made specifically for foot combat to me.
+John Huang You're right about that. Look at the battle of Orsha painting from 1532. It clearly show polish renaissance men at arms on foot win plate armor with meal skirts and mounted knights without them.
+John Huang you can ride wththe long fauld,it collapses like a telescope, hence the tassets, that often don't project much under the fauld when standing, but cover theoin with the legs when riding. you can switch quickly and easily. several jousters ride with these faulds these days, and toby himself was one of the first to do so.
I'd like to posit a possibility that this sword was designed to do murder strokes as well, given the very nail-like cross guard. I can't recall many normal cross guards coming to to that much of a point, nor really why you would have it taper like that unless you designed it to have a good murder stroke.
This sword and the caption that Mr Capwell put next to it really puzzled me from outside the cabinet, seeing it out of its box and getting a sense of the thickness of the blade makes all the difference in the world. Still though, it has edges ergo it can cut an unarmoured person, surely. It shouldn't be forgotten the weapon retains some versatility even if the cuts would be lighter. Why go to the trouble of manufacturing a sword with cross guard, two sharp edges and balanced with a pommel if it's intended to be used exclusively as a spike for wedging between gaps in armour?Did you get a chance to handle the rondel dagger housed nearby at the exhibition? I was looking at it and I can only assume that shifting from over to under hand grip with those weapons is impossible during combat due to the size of the rondel at the base of the hilt, I had no idea rondel daggers had such large circular guards, and I still can't work out what the purpose of the lower one is, unless to prevent the weapon being levered out of the hand perhaps? The wooden training rondels we use don't have any such guard and I'm thinking now that we're going to have to start from scratch if the piece at the Wallace Collection is representative of commonly used daggers. Talhoffer depicts daggers which look similar in the blade but have much smaller 'rondel' guards (small enough to slip the palm over when changing grip, if I could have gotten my hands on one thing at the exhibition it would be that dagger to see if I could switch grip!) I'm not sure if all of the levering and binding techniques in the manuals would actually work the same or at all with rondels that large.There's so much to see at the Wallace, you'd need a week just to take in all the European arms and armour alone, really incredible. You should link to Mr. Capwell's book in all these videos if it's out, I'd be interested in picking it up.
Look at that pommel as well. It's huge, and the shape of the blade looks like it would be easier to grip in a mordhau. All the more reason to think this was primarily for fighting opponents in full armor
I'm not sure about the wisdom of including the keys at about 1:40, it's a fairly clear close up shot from both sides and would allow someone to reproduce the key. But obviously I don't know what those particular keys unlock in the museum if it's only for the display cases specifically I suppose the potential harm is limited. I reckon to get access to the building outside open hours you'll probably need a different key or something more and during opening hours you're unlikely to be able to get away with taking items out of the collection unnoticed.
+Wartstein 1 Pretty sure that for thrust-centric weapons a massive pommel increases the point control while simultaneously increasing the force behind the thrust, literally. You also have better grip while pulling the blade out of whatever it's stuck in.
+TheRush05 Thanks for your answer. That´s about what I thought too. But on the other hand you don´t see that heavy kind of pommel in rapiers (which are mainly designed for thrusting), do you? I am really no expert in swords and such so admitedly I haven´t seen too many rapiers.
There are definitely rapiers with what could be considered a larger pommel for sure. I don't believe I have seen one though that has flattened its pommel so much as to draw it out like this one. That leads me to believe this particular sword was crafted with mordhau in mind. (clubbing/spiking with the pommel/guard while holding the blade.) Obviously, speculation. For all I/we know the user might have wanted something that was flat against their hip..
As soon as I saw the profile, I thought "estoc", that's designed for half sword/blunt trauma/ thrusting, no cutting ability, that's owned by someone expecting to face predominantly armoured foes
"If you're gonna be thrusting into people armpits and groins" LOL, that just made me laugh so much. Great video loving the backstage V.I.P swag check it.
Also something I noticed, look at how pointy and weaponized the quillions are. Easy to say this sword was made by someone who really knew what they were doing.
yee olde swiss army knife(sword) using it as a sword gives you an estoc, but using it in halfswording and for mordhau turns it into a miniature pole axe, pommel can be used as a hammer and the pointy quillons would probably have worked to get through maile or at least bypass it for the first part. someone should consider making a replica of it. like hanwei or something. seems like itd be an easier design to replicate. with little distal taper seems like they could be made fairly easy via stock removal. pommel would probably be the hardest part as its probably hollow.
@ 1:37 I know it seems stupid but NEVER put keys in frame! That one shot told me everything I need to know to get into that lock in seconds with preparation. HIDE KEYS FOLKS! I could even post the bitting on that Abloy but that'd be naughty.
He mentions how heavy it is and everything, but obviously it would be heavier after so many centuries. No grip, covered in rust and grime, how else is it supposed to feel after 700 years?
+MartinGreywolf It looks a bit like a flattened hammer head. Maybe it's just that. Understandably,'anti-armour' swords can have pretty weird accessories.
+MartinGreywolf We don't have enough data for this period to really say which pommels were most common in England - relatively few medieval swords have been found and relatively few medieval artistic representations were created in England. However, this type of pommel is shown quite a bit in French art and I can think of at least one other English-found sword which has a similar pommel, from memory.
Strange that they wouldn't put more of a hammerhead on the pommel rather than this flat potatoe x). I guess it's more comfortable and you'd stab with the crossguard.
The thin arming sword could have been ceremonial, a coming of age adult or a female? If used by an archer, the archer most probably is a mop up squad or auxillary to find kinks in the armour to poke whilst someone with a longer weapon gets its attention. In Chinese warfare, its pretty much the same with peasant troops armed with a spear and the side arm is their own, except for generals where they had longer lances, halberds yupe of weapons, and generals have silk under metal armour and padding to prevent arrows piercing which the 5 power alliance that invaded wanted to get their hands on as well as tea and slaves.
I gotta ask, What are the chances it is just ground down, either over time and use or even quickly before the campaign as an adaptation for the campaign itself?
+David Gardiner If it was just a ground down blade, it wouldn't have that cross-section of a hexagon changing to diamond in the lower third. Also, it wouldn't be so thick all the way to the point -- with a "full-width" blade, the original would then have been much much too heavy for normal handling.
That all may well be true. But they could have gone for an edge taper as opposed to a distal taper and the cross sections could have been ground in as time passed. I understand that it may be unlikely, but at the same time it would be interesting to hear a professional tell me how they know it isn't or how parts might have been. More of a conversation starter than a direct question.
@basil fawlty Nope. It would be way too brittle. You could MAYBE get it to LOOK somewhat new'ish, (but way smaller that it's original size for reasons soon explained) but with THAT much of the blade corroded, no... No matter WHAT some folks want you to believe, it's physically impossible to revert rusting. Other oxidations can be reverted sometimes, but getting rid of rust means exactly that: You remove the material. Hence you can never get it back to it's original shape without reforging it. And that's simply making a new sword really...
+Grégory Fleury Unless he spits acid it is perfectly ok to breathe on it from time to time. I am certain they do have an active preservation program and things don't just get put away only to discover they are all rusty.
+Lady Melisandre Indeed - note that Matt is very careful not to touch it with his ungloved hands. In fact I get the impression that he wouldn't be allowed to touch it even with gloves on.
The best thing about this video is that you can read in Matt's body language just how strong his desire is to reach out and handle the sword for himself. :)
+Citizen00 I have handled quite a few of the Wallace Collection's swords, but not this one unfortunately - there were no spare gloves!
Matt put his hand on it and it becomes hand and a half sword... Wait, that doesn't make sense.
+scholagladiatoria This is why I always carry my own gloves, just in case.
+scholagladiatoria Shame, we might have got the opportunity to use the quote from Firefly: "Two by two, hands of blue" :)
There is a similar sword found in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary, although the grip is longer and the narrow, long blade has a single fuller running to almost two-thirds of its total length. This type of sword could be the ancestor to not only the rapier but to the 16th century Hungarian Hussar dagger, the Koncerz in Polish. A Byzantine source from around the time of the Battle of Nicopolis described the swords used by the Hungarian and German heavy cavalry as follows: "The German and Hungarian swords have a fuller, four edges, ground to be sharp, and they end in a very sharp point; they use it to thrust like with a lance from horseback and they produce wounds like a lance." Early 15th century Hungarian sources call them fixolaris or hegyes tor (basically pointed dagger). I would say that they are part of the Type XVIII group and more particularly of the not so well defined Type XVIIID sub-group.
i know you hear this often mat but thank you for your videos. its a wealth of knowledge that anyone can access for free.. especially for people like me that cant afford to buy antique swords and armor, at least i know a little about their history and how they are used.. thank you
+ilikewasabe I second that
watched Toby,s documentary about armour on TH-cam and its bloody incredible, I would highly recomend it,
it's called "metalworks a knights tale"
+GerackSerack it's fantastic, hard to believe some of the work that was produced
+William Stanway
I just started watching it, the little bit of song snippet in the background around 1:10 of the first part is killing me. I know that song, I just can't place it.
+WindmillStalker Angel by massive attack
William Stanway fuuuuck yes that's it! I had their Mezzanine album in heavy rotation a while ago, that's why it was so familiar. I was already searching in more or less the right direction, thinking of Archive for example, but stupidly enough Massive Attck didn't occur to me.
Thanks a ton, man! It was eating away at me :D
Can we keep Tobias? I like him.
Those of us who are not near enough to see the exhebition, these videos are brilliant!
Love the way Toby handles weapons. With the delicate touch and eye contact you can clearly see he's doing more than handling these objects carefully because they can be old and fragile. He loves them dearly and relishes every time he gets to examine them up close and out of the case. Such passion when he's been around so many of these items for so long is really inspiring and it's great to see a man who loves his work as much as Toby clearly does.
I could only imagine getting knocked upside the noggin with that pommel. That thing is basically a mace, pic, and rondel all in one "compact" package. Love it.
That's very cool. I really enjoy seeing how various "platforms" of weapons can be adapted to given purposes. The same way Japanese swords may look extremely similar and be of close dimensions, but simple and slight variations can radically change the way they handle. I like seeing yet another way arming swords can be adapted. It's cool how the same basic design can be a ferocious cutter like a viking sword, or a total anti armor thrusting sword like this. To most people who saw them (especially in scabbards) they'd have no idea what a big difference there is.
I also love how Toby takes the artifacts out of the case. You can clearly see not only that he cares deeply about them and enjoys what he's doing, but that he's in awe of them.
An odd yet slightly satisfying blade indeed
+Adam Russell That's what she said. Sorry, couldn't resist.
+lancer D she couldn't either don't worry
Adam Russell :D
You mentioned how short it is, but didn't give details. How long is it? Overall length? Blade length?
And thank you. It's good to see something that goes so strongly against our expectations. That's the kind of thing that keeps our brains from atrophying.
Thiago Kurovski
Thanks.
Assuming that's OAL, that would make the blade around two feet. Remarkable.
I'm really loving these videos, specially the ones in which Dr Campbell gives us additional info
The crossguard reminds me of later rapiers (just add a bow and fingerprotection). It would make putting the figner on the ricasso relativly comfortable.
I've been a subscriber for a long while and just wanted to say how incredible these recent videos are. I'll be buying Mr. Capwell's book when it's available. Having an expert guest is great stuff.
+InfiniteWit Thanks - Toby's book is available right now through the Thomas Del Mar website :-)
That cross is as much part of the weapon as the blade...
+J. G. Elmslie Yep, it's pretty pointy and was probably more so originally.
+scholagladiatoria Perhaps for half swording?
+scholagladiatoria Is there any way to tell if the pommel was hollow? Was that even a common thing to have around that time period? I have to agree, that guard looks like it was built for mordhau
+Vinland simply measuring and weighting the blade would tell if the pommel is hollow or full. However I'd bet the pommel is full, making it hollow would be very difficult for a smith.
***** I guess, I'm asking because there were finds of earlier swords with hollow pommels.
Also the crossbar looks like it's made for a Mordhau and the heavy pommel may support such a strike
You guys are great together, really complementary points of view!
The sense I get from watching your arms and armor discussions with Mr. Capwell is that the two of you have a lot of respect for each other, and I assume Mr. Capwell appreciates being interviewed by someone as knowledgeable as yourself.
I don't know if anyone else noticed but look at those quillons. I would imagine they would do quite a number on the visor of a helmet. They look like they could even enter the breaths, mostly unimpeded.
It's also important to note that in the high medieval period, a lot more people had access to maille, brigandines, and other metal armors who weren't knights. An archer had no pole arm to be his primary weapon against them, so his sidearm needed to fill both jobs, assuming his arrows and comerades didn't first.
When Toby is retrieving the swords from the case, I can't help but immediately be drawn to look at the more broad flattened diamond bladed arming sword. It looks like that is the inspiration for the Potiers by Albion?
That pommel seems like it would greatly enhance the handling, making it more useful for defense, but also giving it some momentum in the thrust for greater penetration. I'm going to think about pommels differently after seeing this video.
I just realized that's there kind of brand thing going on or am I wrong, I know smith worked together, back then but was there kinda some like today going with them back then?
Masamune was a legendary sword smith in Japan who etched his name in each sword that he made. Think of it like an artist putting his/her name on a painting.
Not really related to the topic at hand, but the three weapons at the beginning, the two polearms and the sword, looked great. Would those be going on display as well?
Also, that pommel looks huge! It looks almost like it would add a lot of weight for a person to grab the blade and use the crossguard as a pick. Very interesting stuff- and you're right about seeing it in 3d. When I saw it in the case, I actually had the thought "That thing? I could probably break it over my knee!" - it would seem that isn't likely to be the case after all.
scholagladiatoria can you please, please do a similar video on that gorgeous two-hander which was shown in the beginning of the video? I am absolutely fascinated by that sword, ever since I first saw a picture of it about 1.5 years ago. It would be so incredible to see it in '3d' in a video.
I saw some of your video's a ,few years ?, ago but forgot about them.
But i found your channel again and just subscribed keep it up very interesting.
I'm thinking that the top half of that sword is as much of a weapon as the pointy end. I am amazed that there are not more of this type of sword preserved in collections. It seems to be the idea choice for dealing with plate armour. Is it because they were the cheaper end of the spectrum, and made of more 'perishable' metals, or is it because the more chivalric, and traditional shaped long swords 'get more press'?
Fantastic series of videos Matt, I was only up there last week.
sir Tobias! my all time hero
No mention of the pommel? It seems abnormally big but that may be due to the wear and tear and lack of grip. Still, I would guess that it would help balance the sword and make it more precise for those groin/armpit/throat stabs. Thoughts?
That's a new one on me. I didn't think they had such thrust specialized swords that far back. I thought the metallurgy required for a thrusting spike that long wasn't quite there yet. That it would bend or snap if they tried.
There's a german sword very similar to this one but longer (1 m) in History museum in Zagreb, Croatia, found in one of Zagreb's modern neighborhoods. Max. with of the blade is 3.3.cm (2mm wider than this one) and the blade is quite thick, like the one in the video. It dates between 1360. to 1425. and the weight is just below 1kg.
Something I noticed , Tobias mentioned that it was essentially a rapier blade so stick the blade of that sword on a swept hilt it would be a rapier. If one put the blade of the second sword brought out from the cabinet (A464, are you going to upload a video on that one as well?) on a swept hilt, it could be classified as a side-sword.
Brilliant! I wish I could afford a trip to England!!
Guys!!
There's a MASSIVE clue staring at us in the face that supports your argument as an anti- armor weapon but isn't even mentioned!
That pommel is absolutely excellent for striking when held in reverse entirely by the blade - the guard itself appears well made for a hammer like swing.
Hi, Matt. I have always wondered how much damage chainmail would stop from a sword cut, I have always imagined serious bruising or a fractured bone resulting from a sword hitting chainmail and wanted to know how accurate that was.
Could you please make a video on the Wallace Collection A474 I need to know specific details including the blade thickness
Excellent stuff.
How much does this sword weight? It would be fantastic for a future video if you could give us some measurements of the real swords, so we could compare them to the replicas we use in training!
Great video! Any chance we could get more detailed specifications, like total length, weight, blade width, etc?
+PaARMA I would also like to get some more measurements, like blade thicknes at different points. But I did find some info from the webpage:
Length: 75.5 cm
Width: 3.1 cm
Weight: 0.93 kg
However, I'm not sure if the length there is the total length or the blade length, I assume it's the blade length.
What is the point-of-balance of the sword? That seems like a fairly large pommel for the blade size and curious if it'd feel more like a rapier, as Capwell alludes to. I'm guessing though that the techniques would largely be centered around closing distance and half-swording (since Capwell mentions that it'd be used by an Archer against knights)? Would that mean it would largely be used singly and not in conjunction with a buckler? Although I guess there are Fiore techniques with holding the buckler while half-swording...
The whole collection looks really interesting, but I'm way too far away to see it, so thanks for sharing videos of it for your international viewers. :)
Given how heavy the blade was for it's size I cannot imagine it would be terribly comfortable if you did manage to score a telling blow on someone with that edge.
What does it weigh about 2lbs 2oz?
So is the enlarged pommel for gripping while halfswording, to kind of grasp by the pommel to help with thrusting, or is it meant as a kind of bludgeon?
I don't know why that just isn't considered an estoc or tuck. A short one, but what's the difference? Also, +1 on the question of whether to pommel is hollow or not. Is it that big to bring to balance back for more point control or as a hammer to whack people with (or both)?
love the epic music at the start!
I was wondering about holding it by the blade and smashing helmets with that giant hammer of a pummel?
part of the design?
+Aaron Reichert The music also appears in a rather remarkable video game called 'Mount Your Friends'. However, the internet doesn't seem to know whether it was originally composed for that game.
Late AF reply, I just found this video. Song's by Kevin Macleod, called "Hero Down". Royalty free music. I don't know about "Mount your Friends", never played the game. I do know Kevin composes music FREE for use. C:
I have to wonder if the size of the pommel is at least in part to make it usable for smashing against armor.
Is the pommel solid or hollow? If it’s solid it looks like it could function as a bludgeon pretty effectively, not to mention the guard tapers to points, looks like if you’re going to swing it, you might want to hit with that end!
The end is even a bit bent if I'm not mistaken.
Use back in the day or some later sword enthusiast testing an ancient blade?
Great content. The American gentleman does my people proud. A bit loud for a museum though.
are there any specidic datas to find about this sword? lenght, weight etc? or photos?
Could it be possible that another reason for the blade's stiffness is to help with the mordhau, since the pommel is so big? I doubt you would need that much weight as just a counterbalance, but it seems to be a pretty good mace.
the blade is very stiff and the balance is "in the hand" to have more control when you apply the point.. it's true that can be a very bad experience take that pommel on the head.. :D
I don't know if it's just because of the lack of handle scales, but the pommel on that sword looks very beefy, which I guess makes sense if it was designed for fighting armoured knights
how long is it? it really reminds me of the Eastern style cavalry estocs. Especially the Turkish ones.
I would love to see a replica of that thing made.
I'm painstakingly working on one right now.
Where was this sword found?
+Richard Mansfield It's not recorded - the Wallace Collection was assembled in the 19th century and much of the contents were bought from dealers.
+scholagladiatoria thanks for the reply. Are there any features which might tie it to a rough location or is it in the agin court display based just on its era?
scholagladiatoria
On a totally unrelated note Matt, I have been meaning to ask, could a man-at-arms have fought on horseback well while wearing a long all enclosing fauld like the one you had on your early 15th century English-style suit of armour? It seemed like something made specifically for foot combat to me.
+John Huang You're right about that. Look at the battle of Orsha painting from 1532. It clearly show polish renaissance men at arms on foot win plate armor with meal skirts and mounted knights without them.
+John Huang you can ride wththe long fauld,it collapses like a telescope, hence the tassets, that often don't project much under the fauld when standing, but cover theoin with the legs when riding.
you can switch quickly and easily. several jousters ride with these faulds these days, and toby himself was one of the first to do so.
Is there anyway you could post the specs of the sword?
I'd like to posit a possibility that this sword was designed to do murder strokes as well, given the very nail-like cross guard. I can't recall many normal cross guards coming to to that much of a point, nor really why you would have it taper like that unless you designed it to have a good murder stroke.
Makes you wonder if the owner had this as a secondary blade that was more conventional and for raiding, while this was for the battlefield.
Seems to be needing another hot oil bath. Is The pommel solid or hollow ? What length the blade, as it seems to be about 28”-30” ?
This sword and the caption that Mr Capwell put next to it really puzzled me from outside the cabinet, seeing it out of its box and getting a sense of the thickness of the blade makes all the difference in the world. Still though, it has edges ergo it can cut an unarmoured person, surely. It shouldn't be forgotten the weapon retains some versatility even if the cuts would be lighter. Why go to the trouble of manufacturing a sword with cross guard, two sharp edges and balanced with a pommel if it's intended to be used exclusively as a spike for wedging between gaps in armour?Did you get a chance to handle the rondel dagger housed nearby at the exhibition? I was looking at it and I can only assume that shifting from over to under hand grip with those weapons is impossible during combat due to the size of the rondel at the base of the hilt, I had no idea rondel daggers had such large circular guards, and I still can't work out what the purpose of the lower one is, unless to prevent the weapon being levered out of the hand perhaps? The wooden training rondels we use don't have any such guard and I'm thinking now that we're going to have to start from scratch if the piece at the Wallace Collection is representative of commonly used daggers. Talhoffer depicts daggers which look similar in the blade but have much smaller 'rondel' guards (small enough to slip the palm over when changing grip, if I could have gotten my hands on one thing at the exhibition it would be that dagger to see if I could switch grip!) I'm not sure if all of the levering and binding techniques in the manuals would actually work the same or at all with rondels that large.There's so much to see at the Wallace, you'd need a week just to take in all the European arms and armour alone, really incredible. You should link to Mr. Capwell's book in all these videos if it's out, I'd be interested in picking it up.
@Schola Gladiatoria isn't that a "tuck", or English Estoc?
I would be interested to know the weight of the pommel on this blade. Is it heavy? Is it hollow? Also, what is the overall weight of the sword?
Unique and interesting stuff!
That's quite the pommel too, and looks ideal for a "Murder Stroke," against an armoured opponent.
@scholagladiatoria
Do you know if the pommel is full or hollow?
Look at that pommel as well. It's huge, and the shape of the blade looks like it would be easier to grip in a mordhau. All the more reason to think this was primarily for fighting opponents in full armor
I'm not sure about the wisdom of including the keys at about 1:40, it's a fairly clear close up shot from both sides and would allow someone to reproduce the key. But obviously I don't know what those particular keys unlock in the museum if it's only for the display cases specifically I suppose the potential harm is limited.
I reckon to get access to the building outside open hours you'll probably need a different key or something more and during opening hours you're unlikely to be able to get away with taking items out of the collection unnoticed.
That guy is in some documentaries with Mike Loades. :)
Would it be good for mordhau? That crossguard and pommel looks like dangerous.
The Lommel looks really heavy and thick
Pieter better aim
Dr. Capwell doesn't seem to have a Brit accent. Is he originally from the States or perhaps Canada?
I just kept waiting for them to say something about seemingly large pommel...
and look at the pomel and crossgaurd on that thing I imagine that too would be exactly what you would want for a murder blow or such like.
Matt, could you explain the purpose of that massive pommel? Does it make thrusting easyer by making the sword less tip-heavy?
+Wartstein 1 Pretty sure that for thrust-centric weapons a massive pommel increases the point control while simultaneously increasing the force behind the thrust, literally. You also have better grip while pulling the blade out of whatever it's stuck in.
+TheRush05 Thanks for your answer. That´s about what I thought too. But on the other hand you don´t see that heavy kind of pommel in rapiers (which are mainly designed for thrusting), do you? I am really no expert in swords and such so admitedly I haven´t seen too many rapiers.
There are definitely rapiers with what could be considered a larger pommel for sure. I don't believe I have seen one though that has flattened its pommel so much as to draw it out like this one. That leads me to believe this particular sword was crafted with mordhau in mind. (clubbing/spiking with the pommel/guard while holding the blade.) Obviously, speculation. For all I/we know the user might have wanted something that was flat against their hip..
But what about THE POMMEL? Isnt it unusally large?
As soon as I saw the profile, I thought "estoc", that's designed for half sword/blunt trauma/ thrusting, no cutting ability, that's owned by someone expecting to face predominantly armoured foes
"If you're gonna be thrusting into people armpits and groins" LOL, that just made me laugh so much. Great video loving the backstage V.I.P swag check it.
6:19 rubber noises can be heard?
Also something I noticed, look at how pointy and weaponized the quillions are. Easy to say this sword was made by someone who really knew what they were doing.
Could it be an early proto-rapier?
What an unusual sword!
Almost an Estoc or is it just severely sharpened?
The sword looks like it would be a nasty thing to have in your eye slit. I imagine that it's primary use was attacking hard to reach gaps in armour.
yee olde swiss army knife(sword) using it as a sword gives you an estoc, but using it in halfswording and for mordhau turns it into a miniature pole axe, pommel can be used as a hammer and the pointy quillons would probably have worked to get through maile or at least bypass it for the first part.
someone should consider making a replica of it. like hanwei or something. seems like itd be an easier design to replicate. with little distal taper seems like they could be made fairly easy via stock removal. pommel would probably be the hardest part as its probably hollow.
Very interesting.
Thats what i asked about in the first capwell vid !
@ 1:37 I know it seems stupid but NEVER put keys in frame! That one shot told me everything I need to know to get into that lock in seconds with preparation. HIDE KEYS FOLKS! I could even post the bitting on that Abloy but that'd be naughty.
So that is the sword that the mount and blade great sword is based on, the big sword between the two hammers.
+Don Yosho Indeed!
He mentions how heavy it is and everything, but obviously it would be heavier after so many centuries. No grip, covered in rust and grime, how else is it supposed to feel after 700 years?
And just look at the size of that pommel..... that is almost a mini mace on itself.
Dr Capwell's keyring weighs more than most of those swords.
Was the type of pommel this sword has common in England? I don't think I've ever seen one quite like that...
+MartinGreywolf It looks a bit like a flattened hammer head. Maybe it's just that. Understandably,'anti-armour' swords can have pretty weird accessories.
+MartinGreywolf We don't have enough data for this period to really say which pommels were most common in England - relatively few medieval swords have been found and relatively few medieval artistic representations were created in England. However, this type of pommel is shown quite a bit in French art and I can think of at least one other English-found sword which has a similar pommel, from memory.
+scholagladiatoria I thought it was relatively straightforward. The heavier pommel means more mass behind that point. Deeper bite.
Strange that they wouldn't put more of a hammerhead on the pommel rather than this flat potatoe x). I guess it's more comfortable and you'd stab with the crossguard.
The thin arming sword could have been ceremonial, a coming of age adult or a female? If used by an archer, the archer most probably is a mop up squad or auxillary to find kinks in the armour to poke whilst someone with a longer weapon gets its attention. In Chinese warfare, its pretty much the same with peasant troops armed with a spear and the side arm is their own, except for generals where they had longer lances, halberds yupe of weapons, and generals have silk under metal armour and padding to prevent arrows piercing which the 5 power alliance that invaded wanted to get their hands on as well as tea and slaves.
I gotta ask, What are the chances it is just ground down, either over time and use or even quickly before the campaign as an adaptation for the campaign itself?
+David Gardiner If it was just a ground down blade, it wouldn't have that cross-section of a hexagon changing to diamond in the lower third. Also, it wouldn't be so thick all the way to the point -- with a "full-width" blade, the original would then have been much much too heavy for normal handling.
That all may well be true. But they could have gone for an edge taper as opposed to a distal taper and the cross sections could have been ground in as time passed. I understand that it may be unlikely, but at the same time it would be interesting to hear a professional tell me how they know it isn't or how parts might have been. More of a conversation starter than a direct question.
I've seen guys on YT who could prob'ly have that piece fighting fit in a day or so.
@basil fawlty Nope. It would be way too brittle. You could MAYBE get it to LOOK somewhat new'ish, (but way smaller that it's original size for reasons soon explained) but with THAT much of the blade corroded, no... No matter WHAT some folks want you to believe, it's physically impossible to revert rusting. Other oxidations can be reverted sometimes, but getting rid of rust means exactly that: You remove the material.
Hence you can never get it back to it's original shape without reforging it. And that's simply making a new sword really...
I don't understand the1 thumb down.What's nog tot like?
Its not there anymore. Maybe someone accidentally pressed it
+Fenriz the Jester Unlike us ancient timeless beings with impeccable taste.
Fenriz the Jester Oh yeah I have no doubts you only listen to what is objectively the best music. Born in the wrong year amirite?
Am I the only one thinking "pleaaaase stop saying "pppp tttt ssssttt ffff" in front of this 600 years old blade or wear a mask !" ? :p
+Grégory Fleury Unless he spits acid it is perfectly ok to breathe on it from time to time. I am certain they do have an active preservation program and things don't just get put away only to discover they are all rusty.
It's not a polished steel surface, stop exaggerating.
They look after their exhibits and know more about them and their conservation than you.
+Lady Melisandre Indeed - note that Matt is very careful not to touch it with his ungloved hands. In fact I get the impression that he wouldn't be allowed to touch it even with gloves on.
Arya Stark called. She wants her sword back.
I would rather have 1 of those can-opener war hammers/war picks against armored individuals.