Campaign swords / Walloon swords / Felddegen - how to date them?

AHorsa · 17th November 2023, 08:24 PM

Dear all,

I´d like to put a focus on a very well known type of sowrds: In German they are called Felddegen and Feldsäbel. In english it might be campaign or (battle) field swords and sabres. Some call them Walloon swords, whereas this discribes a different, specific group of (Dutch?) swords from the mid of the 17th century. As I do not know a better fitting word for the group of swords I am writing about, I´ll call them field swords in english. They are charactarized by kidney-like shell guards, thumb ring and of course the significant knots/baluster on the guards. This group of swords where spreaded over central Europe in the 17th and early 18th century. I think most are from Germany / Austria and France.

But it seems very hard to date them seriously. Sometimes they are dated into the 30 years war, sometimes beginning of the 18th century (where, as far as I know, the Frenchs introduced this type as a standardized modell) and all between. I wonder if there as any reliable basis to date them?

They differ mainly in the form and size of the balusters and guard plates. Sometimes the shell guards are filled with a sheet showing mascarons and similar decoration, sometims the metal sheet is just pierced and sometimes those holes have the form of stars.
I recognized that the "mascaron guards" are dated as the earliest, mostly during the 30 years war. I couldn´t find any other indication for schematic dating.

Maybe one of you knows more about this group of weapons. It would also be interesting to see drawings of the time, showing soldiers wearing such swords.

Attached a picture of my three examples.

Kind regards
Andreas

17th November 2023, 08:24 PM	#1
AHorsa Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Rhineland Posts: 367	Campaign swords / Walloon swords / Felddegen - how to date them? Dear all, I´d like to put a focus on a very well known type of sowrds: In German they are called Felddegen and Feldsäbel. In english it might be campaign or (battle) field swords and sabres. Some call them Walloon swords, whereas this discribes a different, specific group of (Dutch?) swords from the mid of the 17th century. As I do not know a better fitting word for the group of swords I am writing about, I´ll call them field swords in english. They are charactarized by kidney-like shell guards, thumb ring and of course the significant knots/baluster on the guards. This group of swords where spreaded over central Europe in the 17th and early 18th century. I think most are from Germany / Austria and France. But it seems very hard to date them seriously. Sometimes they are dated into the 30 years war, sometimes beginning of the 18th century (where, as far as I know, the Frenchs introduced this type as a standardized modell) and all between. I wonder if there as any reliable basis to date them? They differ mainly in the form and size of the balusters and guard plates. Sometimes the shell guards are filled with a sheet showing mascarons and similar decoration, sometims the metal sheet is just pierced and sometimes those holes have the form of stars. I recognized that the "mascaron guards" are dated as the earliest, mostly during the 30 years war. I couldn´t find any other indication for schematic dating. Maybe one of you knows more about this group of weapons. It would also be interesting to see drawings of the time, showing soldiers wearing such swords. Attached a picture of my three examples. Kind regards Andreas Attached Images Last edited by AHorsa; 17th November 2023 at 09:04 PM.