I have always been a huge fan of mortuary swords, grew up with one on my bedroom wall (not a replica) on strict instructions from my dad to never, ever, touch it. As you can imagine, I practiced every single night. lol
@@actually_a_circle "Mortuary" was a kind of basket-hilted sword, originally referring to backswords/broadswords with a death mask of King Charles I worked into the guard, then a blanket term to refer to English Civil War broadswords/backswords. So...kind of?
1545 is the earliest dated basket hilt (from the wreck of the Mary Rose), as far as I know, and it is English. There is another very similar example that was found with a metal detector and that was also in England. However, from about 1600 there are tons of Scottish examples and they are of exactly the same design at this date. The English and Scottish designs do not seen to have diverged until later in the 17th century. But the Scots almost certainly had these from a similar date as in England
The reasons are varied and depend on the specific sword. Sometimes it is just because they are lighter and easier to wear (eg. police swords). In the case of the 1796 sabre and earlier 1788 pattern it seems that light cavalry were expected to stay mobile and not get into close melee where you need a bigger hilt to protect the hand. However, the next pattern (1821) brought the 3-bar hilt with better protection, so it was desired by many.
This is a brilliant sword. I am a fan of single edged blades especially those with basket hilts and protection for the hands. I do enjoy medieval long swords, and viking style swords as well but especially being unarmored the single edge is the most appealing to me. Swords like the Messer, Falchion, Backsword, and Sabre. Almost no danger of cutting yourself when holding the blade close to you, even though proper technique and practice means the double edged blades are not really a danger to you anyway. Personal preference. Great video and sword!
I really like that thing. I like your theory on how the basket developed, and agree. Most innovation occurs in bursts and as response to other innovations or attempts to out-compete existing models.
i like the attention given to the English broadsword/backsword, people seem to focus on just the Scottish basket hilted broadsword, or even think that the broadsword is wholly scottish.
Matt, Mike Beliveau here,I realize this video is ancient, and you may not be responding to queries on it. But, if you see this, I'd like your opinion. I'm a backsword fan. I like the Mary Rose Sword, but they seem to be impossible to find. I was wondering what is your opinion of the Hanwei Cromwell Mortuary Sword? I currently have a Cold Steel backsword. I love the type, but the CS version leaves a lot to be desired.
Dear Mr. Easton, Would it be possible to make a video on continental styles of basket hilts (for example, Walloon swords or schiavonas)? And/or any thoughts on how continental basket-hilted broadswords were used? Thanks
If you ignore the hilt, the blade type carried by most Highlanders at Killiecrankie would not have been out of place at Hastings- wide, flat, slightly fullered and flexible cutting blade.
How about this for an idea: - If there was a point in time in which protective gloves were popular, but then for whatever reason fell out of favor or were unnecessary, they added protection to the sword instead - particularly when metalurgy allowed for it. Most of these swords appear to be "smaller" than the larger swords used on battlefields, so to me, it makes sense that the wielder would not be wearing hand protection.
Matt, I wondered this ever since I read about them. Would Mortuary hilt swords have found use in Scotland. I know they are basket hilts, but did Scots ever use that basket design?
Have there ever been example of a two-handed sword with a long basket hilt that guards both hands? Potentially not neccessary due to the reach advantage, but it could be visually quite pleasing...
With basket hilts having been around for a significant period of time, do you have any ideas why some later swords like the 1796 light cavalry sabre forgo this protection in favor of a single bar in front of the knuckles?
Hi, is the sword in the video an antique or is it available to buy, been watching these vids and its really pushing me to join a club if i ever move to the uk.
Matt, what maker would you recommend to someone interested in a good quality Scottish broadsword (or backsword, for that matter)? Most of the makers I can find easily I don't really trust (Windlass, the Military Heritage people out of Canada, Cold Steel)...would you recommend Armour Class? I'm looking for a sharp, rather than a blunt...
+scholagladiatoria Thanks a lot Matt...I've been looking at Castle Keep, but without firsthand knowledge, I couldn't tell if they were really good or just really pretty.
Is it possible that it's another evolution of the arming sword? So while some people turned their arming swords into side swords others turned them into broadswords/backswords?
I find it humorously ironic that the British Army did their own version of "Back to the Future" with the Pattern 1892/1895/1897 Infantry sword. What is old, is new again.
I have a question a little of topic- you mentioned Hungarian, and Polish Hussars- and thier sabres, and how the western calvary adopted thier tactics. Are there any english sources about using thier weapons? How they fought with it? Polish sabre school was almost entirely lost during our 123 years of occupation, and today some of teachers are more guessing of what something would be used, based on sport fencing experience(and i don`t consider it martial art), than know it from historic sources. Polsih winged hussars sabre supposed be a bit special because of the ring finger, that add "more punch" to cut, but i can`t really find anything useful about it
No, I'm afraid the only known sources for Polish sabre are the ones you probably already know about (though maybe more will be found in libraries in the future). The main source is the 1830 work by Michal Starzewski, but that is an attempt to recreate earlier polish sabre style (a bit like we reconstruct renaissance styles today). There are more and more people working on reconstructing polish sabre styles though, from Starzewski and other bits of sources that say little things about it. As far as I know nothing survives of traditional Hungarian sabre until modern military sabre around 1900. We have sources for Russian sabre from 1843 and later in the 19thC, but it looks very similar to British, German and French sabre of the same period.
Any idea where I might find a good (Albion quality, or thereabouts) backsword replica for sale? Ever since I first heard and saw one, I've wanted to own one.
How much do these sort of swords weigh, normally? You seem to move it very nimbly- but you also move some of those big burly arming swords a lot more nimbly than I can.
Mango The pommel is hollow, as it should be on this kind of sword - it is from Armour Class in Scotland, but I would go to Danelli Armouries if I wanted another one.
scholagladiatoria Where should Americans go for a basket-hilted broadsword, backsword, sidesword or spadroon? Danelli lists prices in pounds and I would imagine shipping is quite expensive. Just curious if any of (for example) Hanwei's offerings are any good for practical use.
Really beautiful sword. Although I wonder, if the longsword lost its place to the basket-hilt sword... and why that happened. In other words, would a full armored soldier chose a besket-hilt sword over a longsword ?
Leonardo Verissimo No, full armour largely fell out of use in war. The problem with the longsword is that people who use them get hit in the hands a lot, which without gauntlets is a very problematic thing. Also, longswords were always less numerous than one-handed swords, because for most types of soldier a one-handed sword is more useful and easier to wear.
I know this can't be properly explained on a comment, but could go a little bit into what would be the differences on the handling of a backsword compared to a broadsword? Also, what are sideswords in the middle of this? Thank you
I can't claim I'm an expert, but here is the impression I get from watching Matt's videos: Broadswords and backswords (known collectively as basket-hilted swords), as well as sideswords, developed in the 15th and 16th Centuries from medieval arming swords, with the primary developments being in the increasingly complex hilts offering better hand protection. Broadswords and backswords seem to be pretty similar to each other in both construction and use, with the only real difference being that a broadsword has two edges, allowing a number of additional moves that aren't possible with the backsword. Fencing styles for each wouldn't be very different on the whole, though. www.medievalmartialarts.co.uk/broadsword-backsword-rapier-longsword "Sidesword" is a more vaguely defined modern categorisation, but represents a number of largely continental (particularly Italian) sword styles. For the most part, these swords appear as arming swords with finger rings, side rings and sometimes knucklebows, but generally not the all-encompassing hand protection seen on basket-hilted swords. With their increasingly long and slender blades, they represent something of a transitional form between arming swords and rapiers (although they coexisted with the latter for some time), and despite the common origin are really on a different evolutionary "branch" from backswords and broadswords. Matt talks a bit about them here. Fencing: Medieval arming sword to renaissance sidesword and rapier
So, if a backsword is single edged, what is the difference between a backsword and a saber? Is it that a backsword is just a single edged straight blade as a saber us curved?
Connor Cline So "backsword" is just a sort of category that could refer to any single-edged sword (and the same going for the term broadsword, but double-edged)?
+Stephen Zogas The sword in the video is straight which is nice for thrusting and has more heft to it (im assuming based on appearence) which is nice for heavier blows
