The Falchion or Malchus, the rarest medieval sword

Swordfish · 18th February 2012, 01:05 PM

Falchions Type III

Matchlock · 18th February 2012, 01:39 PM

From the historic point of view, this is a very good survey covering many important and dated pieces of period artwork - exactly the kind of thing that is appreciated a lot!

The three actually illustrated samples (Baumann, Czerny etc.) at the beginning are at least of dubious quality ...

m

cornelistromp · 23rd February 2012, 04:29 PM

perfect typology and beautiful balanced historic image material.

My compliments!

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 8th March 2012, 05:37 PM

Salaams Swordfish! Brilliant thread !! Bump !!

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 8th March 2012, 05:49 PM

Salaams Swordfish! I note that you have a Malchus in one of the pictures with dots down the backblade... Very interesting.

Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Jim McDougall · 9th March 2012, 03:29 AM

Absolutely brilliant work Susi!!!!
While your excellent typology and survey of these intriguing medieval swords gives us perfect understanding of these, I was reminded of the first time I heard the term 'malchus' used to describe them in 2009 with Jasper's post which I brought back up.

I wanted to add some information on where this term came from.
Apparantly the term 'malchus' was used by Herbert Seitz (1965) in his "Blankwaffen" in describing these medieval falchions, and I am not certain whether he coined the term or drew from other material. The term refers to the 'sword of St. Peter' , a religious relic held in the Poznan Archdiocesal Museum in Poland, and held to be the weapon used by Simon Peter when he cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane. The servants name was Malchus, and the sword, though described in 1609 as being a Roman gladius, in form it has the same kind of dramatically widened blade as these medieval falchions.
The Italian storta having the 'clipped tip' resembling the 'Thorpe falchion' falls into the collective 'malchus' group with the falchion term.

It is unclear whether the sword in Poznan is actually of the period suggested by tradition or whether it is a medieval production of the 14th c. as believed by Marian Glosek the authority on Polish swords.

All best regards,
Jim

broadaxe · 9th March 2012, 11:44 AM

Excellent! Probably my preferred medieval weapon.
It seems that no. 11b, 12, 12a & 13 are all alike (well, 13 has a point) and I'm very happy to see a surviving example. Apparently a peasant class weapon, being pretty simple to make and lacking a guard nor a pommel. Similar to the Italian Beidana that had been used into later times.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 9th March 2012, 06:39 PM

Salaams all~ There is a monumental thread full of detail and drawings etc called Help pls. on 15th-17th C. cutlass & scimitar of 2009 which although it ended rather badly is otherwise very interesting. Well worth serious research. Easy to find by typing in Falchion on search Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Swordfish · 9th March 2012, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Absolutely brilliant work Susi!!!!
While your excellent typology and survey of these intriguing medieval swords gives us perfect understanding of these, I was reminded of the first time I heard the term 'malchus' used to describe them in 2009 with Jasper's post which I brought back up.

I wanted to add some information on where this term came from.
Apparantly the term 'malchus' was used by Herbert Seitz (1965) in his "Blankwaffen" in describing these medieval falchions, and I am not certain whether he coined the term or drew from other material. The term refers to the 'sword of St. Peter' , a religious relic held in the Poznan Archdiocesal Museum in Poland, and held to be the weapon used by Simon Peter when he cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane. The servants name was Malchus, and the sword, though described in 1609 as being a Roman gladius, in form it has the same kind of dramatically widened blade as these medieval falchions.
The Italian storta having the 'clipped tip' resembling the 'Thorpe falchion' falls into the collective 'malchus' group with the falchion term.

It is unclear whether the sword in Poznan is actually of the period suggested by tradition or whether it is a medieval production of the 14th c. as believed by Marian Glosek the authority on Polish swords.

All best regards,
Jim

Thanks all for the kind compliments!

Dear Jim, I must confess that I never heard of the sword in Poznan. Do you have a photo of it?

Regards
Susi

cornelistromp · 9th March 2012, 08:35 PM

st Peter's sword in Poznan's cathedral.

another interesting falchion outof the castillon hoard, one from the klingenmuseum in Solingen and one from nurnberg museum.

best,

18th February 2012, 01:05 PM	#1
Swordfish Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 129	Falchions Type III Attached Images

18th February 2012, 01:39 PM	#2
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	From the historic point of view, this is a very good survey covering many important and dated pieces of period artwork - exactly the kind of thing that is appreciated a lot! The three actually illustrated samples (Baumann, Czerny etc.) at the beginning are at least of dubious quality ... m Last edited by Matchlock; 18th February 2012 at 02:00 PM.

8th March 2012, 05:49 PM	#5
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Salaams Swordfish! I note that you have a Malchus in one of the pictures with dots down the backblade... Very interesting. Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi. Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 8th March 2012 at 06:29 PM.

9th March 2012, 08:35 PM	#10
cornelistromp Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,057	st Peter's sword in Poznan's cathedral. another interesting falchion outof the castillon hoard, one from the klingenmuseum in Solingen and one from nurnberg museum. best, Attached Images Last edited by cornelistromp; 9th March 2012 at 08:51 PM.

23rd February 2012, 04:29 PM	#3
cornelistromp Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,057	perfect typology and beautiful balanced historic image material. My compliments!

8th March 2012, 05:37 PM	#4
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Salaams Swordfish! Brilliant thread !! Bump !! Regards, Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

9th March 2012, 03:29 AM	#6
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,901	Absolutely brilliant work Susi!!!! While your excellent typology and survey of these intriguing medieval swords gives us perfect understanding of these, I was reminded of the first time I heard the term 'malchus' used to describe them in 2009 with Jasper's post which I brought back up. I wanted to add some information on where this term came from. Apparantly the term 'malchus' was used by Herbert Seitz (1965) in his "Blankwaffen" in describing these medieval falchions, and I am not certain whether he coined the term or drew from other material. The term refers to the 'sword of St. Peter' , a religious relic held in the Poznan Archdiocesal Museum in Poland, and held to be the weapon used by Simon Peter when he cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane. The servants name was Malchus, and the sword, though described in 1609 as being a Roman gladius, in form it has the same kind of dramatically widened blade as these medieval falchions. The Italian storta having the 'clipped tip' resembling the 'Thorpe falchion' falls into the collective 'malchus' group with the falchion term. It is unclear whether the sword in Poznan is actually of the period suggested by tradition or whether it is a medieval production of the 14th c. as believed by Marian Glosek the authority on Polish swords. All best regards, Jim

9th March 2012, 11:44 AM	#7
broadaxe Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 332	Excellent! Probably my preferred medieval weapon. It seems that no. 11b, 12, 12a & 13 are all alike (well, 13 has a point) and I'm very happy to see a surviving example. Apparently a peasant class weapon, being pretty simple to make and lacking a guard nor a pommel. Similar to the Italian Beidana that had been used into later times.

9th March 2012, 06:39 PM	#8
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Salaams all~ There is a monumental thread full of detail and drawings etc called Help pls. on 15th-17th C. cutlass & scimitar of 2009 which although it ended rather badly is otherwise very interesting. Well worth serious research. Easy to find by typing in Falchion on search Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.