What types of swords did pirates use?
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- Today we take a look at some antique swords from the Oakeshott Institute collection that all date from the period of the Golden Age of Piracy. These include a rapier from the early 17th century, a transitional rapier, a smallsword, a hanger, and a naval dirk. All of these swords were collected either by Ewart Oakeshott himself, or by the our sister organization, the Oakeshott Institute, following his death.
The spadroon and the hanger were my two faves. Thanks for sharing these beautiful antique pieces!
I think he's overlooked one thing about swords: these men would choose the appropriate weapon for the task at hand. Many pirates also attacked settlements all over the world. The best sword for land warfare wouldn't necessarily be the best sword for shipboard fighting. I would guess that the average sailor or pirate only had access to a cutlass and boarding axe, but others, especially the leaders, would have different weapons for either land or sea battle.
good point, there is little info on this though some and a group with mixed weapons seems to have been favored.
And the one thing pirates loved best was their flintlocks
SPADROOON!!
Very cool. I would also go with the cutlass for sure, beast.
I personally think that the chains on the guards were to help keep the weapon in hand rather than just being decorative or a guard. We can only speculate but it was probably a little bit of A little B. It looks fancy, helps you hold on and might keep your fingers on your hand. Lol. Love these videos more please
I always love seeing original pieces. What an incredible resource!
We agree!
@@armsarmorinc.4153
Maybe i could be Wrong but the transitional rapier looks a bit like the sword from the Rob Roy movie what the Villian Archibald uses !
@@killerkraut9179 it does
@@armsarmorinc.4153 I think Matt easton made a Video about that sword of Rob Roy i think he didnt find a answer
maybe inform him we have a similar sword found !
hangers and cutlasses also differed a lot in sizes
The chain on this midshipman's dress sword is copying the original middle feature often seen on sabers. The chain was added, so the rider could use a sword-knot. Useful thing, if your primary weapon is not a sword, but you want a very quick transition to your sidearm.
...if they could choose...I'm guessing the cutlass for hand protection & boarding actions/close quarter fighting, yes?
people don't often use the best swords for the context they are in they just use any type of swords that are available to them
The cutlass was the perfect maritime sword and it just did the job. It was called the sword of the seas for good reason.
You’ve got some amazing rapiers in the Oakshott Institute, you guys have any plans to recreate them for purchase? The transitional one in particular. If not, would it be possible to commission it as a custom piece?
It might be possible. We do want to do some of them in future but need to get our queue down to a reasonable turnaround before we can look at that.
I’ll hopefully look out for them in the future, the two in this video are absolute beauts. Another question for anyone who could help, how common were hollow pommels during the 17th century? Larger pommels certainly have both aesthetic and functional qualities, but some seem very very hefty.
Excellent and very informative video. Thank you.
You guy's have a lot of toy's to play with!!! Awesome collection, enjoying these videos!
Hangers, Hunting, & Half-Basket Swords! 🏴☠️
Baskethilt Backsword/Broadsword.
In the artworks of the time there where often depicted with complex hilted Dussack like swords !
Great info for budding " Steve The Pirates " . Alonso de Sahagun ( Sahagun a beautiful town in Leon Northern Pain ) is the Gucci of the late 16th C , much admired copied and Sahagum or Sahagun mark often used as a quality mark as well as a cover for cheap blades , so buyer beware . The hanger was primarily a hunting weapon often hung from the saddle to deliver the coup fairly safely to large game like stags , wolves ( hunted to extinction in England )that could cause injury when shot by bow or musket . A handy length with a broad blade designed to fatally damage organs in large animals when thrust and generally curved for slashing and clearing undergrowth to recover the kill , the finest pieces owned by the gentry for hunting . Hounslow produced many thousand munition quality for use in the Civil Wars and no doubt many of these would have accompanied their users after this conflict into a career of piracy in the second half of the 17th C . Birmingham also produced swords of lower quality in steel and finish and gave rise to the phrase " Brumigham Blade " describing anything of poor quality . Probably the most practical sword of any devised it still found use in England as the sword used by constables in the 19th C . Perhaps the most useful single source for describing swords in use in this period is Randall Holmes " Academie of Armourie " c. 1680 which refers to and pictures the Cutlash , Cuttoo etc of the period . Easy and cheap to replicate and first choice for any " Steve ".
Havent watched the video yet, but love the topic already... lol
God one but i miss the Cutlass !
BEAUTIFUL!
Thank you! Cheers!
Perhaps it would be better to say that a hangar is a group of swords. In other words it could be said all cutlasses are hangars, but not all hangars are cutlasses. Cutlasses might be similar to other hangers, but sabers would also be included in what hangars are.
Yes there are often gray areas in terminology of swords as the original users could often use different terms for them and these adjusted over time due to fashion and dictate as humans do with their tools. :-)
At 6:25 you claim that all the fighting during the golden age of piracy occurred shipboard. However, a significant degree of armed combat during the time occurred on land eg.,. Henry Morgan's infamous sacking of Panama where the majority of fighting took place on land.
Why couldn't the 11 year old get into the pirate movie?
It was rated ARRR(R)🏴☠️🦜
They basically used what they liked and could steal.
I got 3 rare swords for your collection
my better question is when cutlass BECOMES a word for a sword used on a ship in parlance
imagine if devil fruits existed back then😂
Are images of these pieces on your site?
The originals we have 3D interactive models here www.patreon.com/oakeshott some of the custom ones maybe in our custom section on the website, hoping to get more up soon.
@@armsarmorinc.4153 thank you
That long sword, would we call that a war rapier?
Ala Saviolo
Hmm not sure I think they called them all rapiers or swords to their preference and they would choose something appropriate per the situation. We come up with lots of names like that but they seldom created such categories.
We have a sword that was found in florida we think is the last or second to last sword pictured here. It still has a maker's mark on it! I even posted a short about it recently. Any way you could help my dad figure out anything about the sword?
czcams.com/users/shortsP7j-8xONNKM?si=iDahfJTQknECT34I
That's the sword/\/\/\
hmmm link below did not work
@@armsarmorinc.4153 czcams.com/users/shortsP7j-8xONNKM?si=YhllQR4UGg_wp1Cr
@armsarmorinc.4153 you got an email address?? I can send some pictures to you!
cutlass they use
🤠👍
Espada ropera: translates more to dressing sword...
海賊🏴☠️の剣🗡️ですか…俺も工作で作ろうかな？
ok, cool if you have the means.