Wow, Ed! You have a couple of very nice hangers. Both of these examples date to the 1690-1720 era. Although these hangers were made in Germany (as were most swords and certainly sword blades dating from this period), these types were popular with the English military forces. As such, they could have seen usage by esteemed gentlemen during a hunt to finish off game, by foot soldiers who by necessity needed shorter and lighter pieces in the field and very often navy men, pirates, privateers and merchant class sailors. The reason for their popularity in the maritime setting was that they were short enough not to get hung up in the various ropes, spars, sails, gunwales. etc, in a battle. Likewise, their (often) brass hilt components were resistant to rusting from the moisture and salty air. You can see many great examples from maritime pics of the day, specifically Captain Benbow and Christopher Myngs. Great pieces!
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