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Originally Posted by cornelistromp
... in the middle of the 16th century were, next to Turkish knots, copper soldered rings used to fix the binding of the grip. I believe that this development has started in Italy, you can also find it on late 15thC italian swords of type XVIII.
I do believe the notches inside the ring guard have a job other then decoration, I'm not behind the function yet.
One explanation may be that it prevents sticking your index finger like holding a rapier through the ringguard. as a warning signal in the heat of a fight.
I tried to lock a rapier blade inside a dagger ringguard in the notch however this seems not possible, because the fingers of your left hand are in the way...
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Bedankt hoor, Jasper for your lines and the magnificent exemplification pictures.
That being shown and said, i now tend to believe that those notches are now no more than a symbolic condensation, reflecting some earlier and more explicit expression of an actual purpose. Let's see if someone chimes in with further enlightening
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