Hank Reinhardt's The Book of the Sword (25 page)

Two things to consider here: it has been stated, and proven, that a light, fast thrusting weapon is much quicker than a cutting weapon. This is true provided that both start from the same position! But what happens when the man holding the cutting sword has it in a ready position over his head? The cutting sword may have further to travel, but it is moving much faster! If the left hand is held out to ward off a thrust, or it has a dagger or shield, then there are real problems for the small sword. It can only thrust, and a thrust is not all that hard to parry.

Let me repeat a theme that occurs throughout this book. The main consideration is the men behind the weapons. If you look on a man as an army, and his mind as the general, then you can apply Talleyrand's comment, "I had rather face an army of lions led by a sheep than an army of sheep, led by a lion." In short, it doesn't matter how physically imposing an individual happens to be. What is important is how tough, strong and smart his head is.

De Joinville, Jean. His memoirs can be found in
The Chronicles of the Crusades
, translated by Margaret Shaw. Penguin, London, 1963.

Hutton, Alfred,
The Sword and the Centuries, or Old Sword Days and Old Sword Ways
. Grant Richards, London, 1901.

Norman, A.V.B.,
The Rapier and the Small Sword: 1460–1820,
Arms and Armour Press, London, 1980.

Silver, George,
Paradoxes of Defense
. First published in 1599.

Dumas, Alexandre,
The Three Musketeers.
First published in 1844.

Rostand, Edmond,
Cyrano de Bergerac
. First published in 1897. Hank preferred the Bryan Hooker translation. The Modern Library, Random House, New York, 1923.

Sabatini, Rafael,
Scaramouche.
First published in 1921.

Bryson, Frederick Robertson,
The Point of Honor in Sixteenth-Century Italy: An Aspect of the Life of the Gentleman
. Publications of the Institute of French Studies, Inc., Columbia University, New York, 1935.

Franzoi, Umberto,
L'Armeria del Palazzo Ducale a Venezia
. Canova, Treviso, 1990.

[1] Hank was working on changing that. He developed a curved sparring sword and patented it; but the manufacture was done after his death and no royalties have been paid to his estate.

—Editor

The saber is another of those swords whose very name generates confusion. Like the rapier, the form is so varied as to render meaningless the term "saber." It can mean a sword straight or curved, single- or double-edged, with a wide or narrow blade. You have cavalry sabers, artillery sabers, and infantry sabers. I feel sure that if underwater "SEAL" type warriors had been developed in the 18th century, you would have had an "underwater saber."

A Napoleonic uniform.

Originally the term meant a curved sword used on horseback. It gained great popularity beginning in the late 16th century and by the early 19th was the weapon of choice for that most romantic of dashing soldiers, the cavalryman. This was also the period of some of the most flamboyant uniforms ever worn on a battlefield. The German Landsknechts were possibly a little more florid, but they didn't wear uniforms, they were just wildly dressed individuals. I could appear cool and aloof and make some disparaging comments about the many styles of uniforms worn by the various groups before, during and right after the Napoleonic Wars, but I'd be lying. Frankly, I think they all really looked sharp! When you were being bayoneted, sliced with a saber, stabbed with a lance, or torn apart by cannon shot, at least you looked good while dying!

The saber had its origins on the vast plains and steppes of Asia. From horseback, a slightly curved sword offers a definite advantage when dealing with infantry. You can cut down easily and quickly and usually the sword won't get stuck in the enemy. If you have a good seat, you can reach down and stab someone lying flat on the ground. While possible, it was a technique rarely used, as a horse does not like to step on people, as they're all soft and squishy.

The development of the stirrup (usually guessed at about 300 AD and somewhere in Central Asia), gave much greater security to the rider. But it not only allowed him to feel more secure in his seat—it let him strike a harder blow with his sword, and even to thrust with it. This led to varying degrees of curvature, and over fifteen hundred years later, a heated debate in the military halls of the United Kingdom. But I get ahead of myself.

Modern shasqua, 38 inches overall length. HRC322.

Many consider that the saber has to have a guard to qualify as a saber. It doesn't matter whether it is a simple D guard, or a full or half basket. But then, what do you call a shasqua, which is a saber pure and simple in use, and has no guard whatsoever? I will leave this up to the reader. I have given up trying to get all things to fit into a nice clean and simple pattern. (Fifty years of study, and I still can't get people to write "mail" rather than "chainmail." Oh well, they still say "La Brea Tar Pits" which, equally redundantly, translates to "tar pits tar pits.")

Magyar saber.

One of the first true sabers to make it into Europe came in the hands of a wild, conquering horde of horse archers that called themselves Magyars. These were Finno-Urgrian peoples who originated somewhere deep in Asia, possibly Siberia. In the Imperial Treasury in Vienna there is a sword that tradition says was a gift to Charlemagne from Haroun El Rashid. It is no such thing. It is a very typical Magyar saber that they used from their first incursions into Europe and until much later when they had settled and ceased being nomads and horse archers. We know them as Hungarians, and they were a tough, bloodthirsty bunch. They gave Europe a foretaste of what was to happen in a few hundred years when the Mongols came on the scene.

The Hungarian was a lightly armed horse archer whose specialty was the bow. He frequently carried a light shield, one or two bows, obviously arrows, knife, small axe and sword. The sword is of primary interest in this book.

The blade of the Magyar sword was slightly curved, ending in a good sharp point. The last third of the blade was always double-edged. Blade length varied, but on average was about 35–36 inches long, with a width of one and a quarter inches. This allowed for easier penetration in a thrust and made backhand slaps also effective. The grip was short, with small projections ending in small knobs. This short grip was down curved, with a metal cap and secured to the tang by small rivets.

This is an excellent design for a sword used in the hit-and-run tactics of the horse archer. The Magyars rarely had to engage opponents who were heavily armored. If faced with a knight in full armor they always tried to avoid closing. However, as they settled into what is now Hungary, they gradually abandoned their nomadic life style, and this necessitated changes in both armor and weapons.

A few years ago a sword was discovered in what is now Iran. The sword dates from about the middle of the 13th century and is in excellent physical condition. It was displayed at the Metropolitan Museum along with many other artifacts and can be seen in the book
The Legacy of Genghis Khan
. (It was promised that something would be printed on this sword in the near future, but to my knowledge it has not been released.) This is a very beautiful sword, and looks to be an improved version of the Magyar sword. The blade is slightly curved and somewhat wider with a serviceable point. The grip is missing, but the tang is slightly inclined toward the edge of the blade, and is pierced by rivet holes. The guard appears to be a forerunner of the type of guard so popular in the Near East, with two small langets extended from the crossguard, one toward the blade, which would secure the sword in the scabbard, and the other into the grip which would make both grip and guard more secure.

Mongol sword.

The sword is very similar to swords excavated over the years, all of which are considered to be Cuman sabers. It should be noted that although curved swords show up all over the world at various times, they were not prevalent in the Middle East until
after
the Mongol Invasions. The primary swords used by the Arabs in their expansion and conquests were straight double-edged swords, wide-bladed, flat and capable of delivering a fearsome cut. I know it hurts to think that Hollywood has lied to you all these years, but the classical scimitar didn't come until later.

Antique cutting sword, 37 inches overall length. HRC29.

The Magyars did not simply fade away or blend in with the rest of Europe. Although they abandoned their nomadic ways and settled into a sedentary existence, they still maintained an interest in cavalry. By the 15th century they had developed light cavalry which they called "Hussars." (No one knows for sure where the name came from, but the most logical etymology seems to indicate that it referred to the number of peasants needed for the nobleman to supply one horseman.) This cavalry unit was quite effective, and in a few years most all of the countries in Europe had groups of Hussars, though not all were lightly armed. It should be noted that the sword or saber was either the primary or secondary weapon for these units. If the unit of cavalry was armed with firearms or lances, then the sword was secondary. But often the sword was primary. Sometimes the lance would break, or the gun misfire or run out of ammunition, and then the cavalryman had to rely on his sword, so great attention was paid to the weapon.