Jineta/nimcha/kattara

[Gonzalo G]

The broadswords with downcurved quillons came to the Iberic Peninsula since the early Muslim rule, as stated in the bibliography given by Marc, to which I add the study by Rafael Carmona Ávila, already mentioned. But until the 11th Century those swords have not yet the type of quillons found in the Nasrid swords. Those last came in two types: ceremonial (more apltly denominated “dress swords”, the type of sword used by Boabdil) and fighting. An example of the last is seen in the article from Berástegui Lizeaga, Crespo Francés y Valero y Rosado Galdós, “Identificación de una Espada Jineta de Guerra”, Trabajos de Arqueología Navarra, No. 18, 2005, pp.91 to 112 (it can be downloaded from the Internet):

[Gonzalo G]

This sword has more taper, no central fuller and more space to place the index finger over the quillons and under the blade. This is one of the very few existing jineta fighting swords, so we don’t know how representative is of his type. How can we fill the gap between the Muslim sword from the 10th-11th Centuries backwards with this new type? The only information we have is that the Berber Zenetes arrived in Al-Andalús around the 12th Century, and I quote again the work by Nicolle on the Gibraltar swords:

“A new type of sword and its associated tactics are believed to have been introduced to the Iberian peninsula by Berber mercenaries and conquerors in the 11th-12th centuries, perhaps as a precursor to or early version of the jinete light cavalry tactics clearly introduced from North Africa in the 13th-14th centuries. Light cavalry combat a la jinete was again associated with what western European came to know as the Italian Grip and, according to some scholars, with curved quillons 10. In fact the term jinete comes from Zanata, the tribe from which many of the Berber soldiers of both Granada and Morocco came. Their highly effective light cavalry tactics using minimal armour, light leather shields, relatively light swords and javelins thrown from horseback were adopted first by the native Andalusian troops of Granada, then by their Christian Iberian foes, and eventually by some other European cavalry as well.” Nicolle, Ibid., p.158.
Even if we concur with Marc in the fact that there are vague descriptions of the morphology of the jineta swords, we can establish: first, that the Zenetes Benimerines were the main military force under the Nasrid Emirate of Granada to almost its fall, so it is very likely that their military equipment dominate the military fashion of the emirate; second, the fighting sword already shown corresponds with the description, since it is not a broadsword, but a very tapered one, less heavy and more apt to pierce the evolved plate armor of the Christians (the cuirass); third, the quillons are more narrow and allow the “Italian grip” with more protection to the index finger than those given by the quillons of the traditional Muslim sword, since they almost close on the blade, like the later fingerguards, to which they very possibly evolved in time (see Ada Bruhn Hoffmeyer, Idem., pp.32 and 34); the so-called Italian grip favored a more accurate thrust, which corresponds with the intended piercing action of the tapered blade; the Zenete sword was different to the classic Muslim broadsword, this is why it called strongly the atention in the Al-Andalus and Christian spheres, not only the morphology of the hilt and the quillons was different to the known Muslim broadswords from Al-Andalus, but also the morphology of the blade, and the souces insist that they were lighter; the difference among the dress swords and the fighting swords could be great in the Iberic Peninsula, just see how it evolved the rapier as a dress sword different from the military.

[Gonzalo G]

Of course, the cultural interactions among the Christian and Muslim worlds were strong, but not in the simplistic way the European-centered specialists have written about. It was not a matter of fashion influences, but of military needs, which involved the style of fencing, the type of armour of the foe, the metallurgical capability to produce certain types of blades, etc. In this sense, it must be noted that the fighting jineta sword must be materially produced as a capable weapon. As any swordcraftsman or knifecraftsman knows, when the quality of materials is good enough, wider or thicker blades must be produced, in order to secure that the blade would not be broken or bended. Also, the broadswords could be used very effectively against certain types of body protection. The military evolution carried the need of a more tapered sword, but it only would be possible through better production methods, better quality of blades. A tapered sword not only have more thrusting capability, but also displaced the center of gravity toward the hand, a feature which gave more speed and maneuverability to the handling of the sword, which in turn modified the style of fencing. The production of tapered blades was initiated in Europe probably by the carolingian sword masters:

“The reign of Charlemagne also witnessed a significant change in the shape of the longsword blade. On earlier swords, the edges had run parallel for most of the length of the blade, then converged sharply a little way above the point. After about 800, however, the edges of the blade tapered gradually from hilt to tip, with the result that the centre of gravity shifted toward the sword grip, making the weapon significantly more maneuverable and facilitating swordplay. “
“To the south of the empire, the Saracens likewise recognized the quality of Carolingian swords, as is indicated by their demand for one hundred fifty such weapons as part of the ransom for Archbishop Rotland of Arles in 869.However, the Franks seem to have prized Saracen swords equally highly…”
“To summarize, as a result of technological changes during the reign of Charlemagne, the ninth-century Frankish sword was a considerably stronger and more maneuverable weapon than its antecedents. The swords’ signed blades and high cost both reflected the superior quality which made them greatly sought after by other peoples, including the Scandinavians.”
Simon Coupland, “Carolingian Arms and Armor in the Ninth Century”, en Viator. Medieval and Renaissance Studies, v.21 (1990).

[Gonzalo G]

But it must be also noted that North Africa experimented a development in the production of arms and armour, as Nicolle and McBride write about this production in the 10th-11th Centuries:
“These centuries also witnessed a huge expansion in Noth African metallurgy, far beyond what had been seen in the Roman period; but although arms and horse-harness were made locally there was little exportation of finished goods”.
David Nicolle & Angus McBride, The Moors. The Islamic West 7th-15th Centuries AD, Osprey Military, Col. Men-at-Arms, No.348. 2001, UK, p.18.
In other words, the problem with North Africa and probably the Iberic Peninsula was not the quality of their weapons, but the capability to produce in mass with a more or less uniform quality, a feature which conditioned the need of imports into the Muslim world from elsewhere, including India and Europe, especially under the constraining needs extant in times of war. And the west North Africa and the Iberic Peninsula were always in recurrent times of war, more or less like Europe. This is a feature which will characterize many areas of the East, since their producing capabilities were not equilibrated with their military needs, as their more traditional crafts were not so “pre-industrial”, possibly with a less efficient labor division and technology, a feature which would be more developed under the pre-capitalist and capitalist European economy. It was already noted in other thread that the Indian swords produced in Deccan were superior to the English, at least until the 17th Century (R. Elgood, “Swords in the Deccan in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries”, pp.223, and 224), but still existed the need to import European blades, as they also imported the Persian blades, even made with Indian steel.

[Gonzalo G]

My hypotheses: the original Zenete-Jineta was not the type of dressing sword used by the Nasrid nobility. This last had a blade more in accord with the traditional muslim broadsword, except for the hilt, which was influenced by the Zenete but highly ornamented, and not capable to support the “Italian grip”, since the altered form of the quillons did not allow it: they were literally closing over the blade. It is a common feature of the ceremonial swords to imitate old forms and use extreme ornamentation, since they gave to their owners the prestige of tradition and power. Fighting swords were another matter.

The Christians were influenced by this last type of sword, but with modified quillons and an incipient development of the ring guards, probably a development from the grip and quillons of the fighting jineta swords. It is not casual that the first ring guards, which evolved to the “crab claw”, appeared for the first time in the Iberic Peninsula, on the Christian Spanish and Portuguese swords (please see the Black Swords or “Colhona” used by the Portuguese). It must remembered that also Portugal was part of the Muslim domain and that to the 15th Century, even already independent, was influenced by the military traditions from the rest of the Peninsula.

The rapier evolved, at least in part, from this original fighting jineta sword. The cited study from Ada Bruhn Hoffmeyer points in this direction.

The nimcha sword type of quillons does not necessarily owe to any European tradition. The cultural elements behind them were already in North Africa long time ago. In the Catálogo de la Real Amería de Madrid (the catalog of the royal armory of Madrid), we find a suggestive description of four sabres taken from the Spanish Expedition to Oran in 1732 (free translation): “Four Moorish sabers owned by the Bey of Oran. The first one with wood hilt and a cap of engraved silver; guard, quillon and guard rings ended in pythons, all this decorated. The second one has a hilt of horn with plaques of chiseled silver, guard with a quillon and ring guards made of steel. The other two have their hilts covered with shell, nacre and plaques of chiseled silver, guard, quillon and guard ring made of engraved metal. ” Catálogo de la Real Armería, edited by Aguado, Madrid, 1854. p.61. It must be noted thay they are sabres, had a guard (probably a knuckleguard) and only one quillon, since the word “gavilán” in spanish denotes a single quillon. Does this rings something? Maybe a nimcha?.

On the other side, just saying that the jineta or the nimcha are “likely” or “suggestedly” a product of influences from Italy or France, is patently a subjective judgment, as the words imply. And sometimes we found a wide abuse of this words, if not supported by clear facts. The first fact we have to take in consideration is that there are no European hilts in the 13th Century resembling those of the jineta sword. The second fact is that the crab-claw type of guards appear until 15th Century in the Iberic Peninsula (see Ada Bruhn Hoffmeyer), and their only visible antecedent is the fighting jineta sword. Again, see the Castilian and Portuguese swords from this period.

And speaking of the possible diffusion into Europe, especially Italy, from this type of hilts, the berbers did have contact with Europe, contrary to what has been said. Europe did not came to North Africa, but the berbers went to Europe in this period. Just to mention some facts: Aghlabid Berbers conquered Sicily, North African Muslims colonized Bari, Taranto and Apulia in the 9th Century and in the 10th Century they fought in Southern France as allies in local Christian quarrels. Bishop Athanasius recruited Islamic troops and Muslims settled in the province of Lucania. David Nicolle & Angus McBride, The Moors. The Islamic West 7th-15th Centuries AD, Osprey Military, Col. Men-at-Arms, No.348. 2001, UK, p.16. And the Zenetes were a military contingent in all this armies. Just search in the history of the Berber emirates and dynasties and you will find.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams Gonzalo ! What a brilliant sequence of posts. It may take me some time to fully arrange in my mind the references but some I know and the others I will find. I find all what you write most compelling. There is surely a mirroring of Umayyid (or at least early Islamic battle sword themes) reflected in these weapons although the date span is somewhat later since the 13th C was when they appeared with the Berber tribes and the conquest of the Iberian peninsular.

Looping the index finger is interesting as it gives more control and pushes up the power in the favoured down strike of this cutting weapon and must also have added to power in thrusting.

I have little to add at this point~ though checking back I note one of the write ups I placed would look better in full thus I set out below the complete description from https://www.worthpoint.com/worthope...-denix-20531549
somewhat tidied up, viz;

Quote"JINETA SWORDS

Jineta (or Gineta) swords are the most direct, fair and rich inheritance of the hispano-arab panoply. The name origin comes from the Cronicles of Alphonso X which tells us about a berber tribe of the Benimerines also known as Zenetes who moved into the Iberic penninsula during the XIII century to fight at the service of Mohammed I of Granada, and brought with them this type of weapon, with a shorter and lighter blade but still as wide and with as great a quality of steel as swords used by Christian forces of the time.

Due to their quality and scarcity (nowadays hardly a dozen of these swords survive) the Jinetas are universally considered and admired. Besides a few now within private collections and worldwide museums, in Spain only three museums are fortunate enough to treasure some examples; the San Telmo Municipal Museum (Picture 9) in San Sebastian, Basque Country, The Army Museum (Museo del Ejercito)(Picture 10); and the National Archeological Museum (Museo Arqueologico Nacional)(Picture11) in Madrid.

Jineta swords are characteristic weapons of the Nazari period in Granada with no known north-African or middle eastern precendents which confers the a somewhat unclear origin. The are characterized by a double edge straight, light-weight and not so wide and medium length blade. Their most significant feature and what makes them stand upon their individuality are their hilts; in general magnificently decorated which has brought the arguable statement that most of the presently preserved Jinetas could have been designed as parade, dress or ceremonial swords.

In general the Jineta hilt consists of a extremely curved guard, in the horse shoe shape with the quillons pointed towards the blade, embracing the ricasso and decorated in the shape of animal heads or with filigree. the handle takes in general fusiform and the pommel is usually spherical or discoidal with a long, prominent and pointy top button. The scabbards are made of wood covered in leather with metallic fittings and usually showing two hanging rings to clip to a baldric or belt hangers. Pictorial depictions in paintings from Alhambra show the sword carried on baldrics over the shoulder in most cases. Both the scabbard neck fittings and the hilts usually match their decorations and motifs which, with the sword sheathed exhibit a design continuation and in some way masks the union between both pieces.

The materials used in decorating hilts and scabbards are plentiful in golden bronze, silver, gold filigrees, incrustations, gem stones, enamels, etc, which make these pieces astonishing and lavish sets of design and decoration. Many have gold, silver and enameled engravings, inlays and incrustations with verses of the Quran and praises to Allah and Mohammed.

Those who possessed these highly decorated Jinetas belonged to a high social status and was considered a symbol only achievable by high ranking officials, sultans and Arab Emirs. Christians were only allowed to carry Jinetas if received as a gift of some Emir or Muslim king or another very important person. But then in the XV century, while Granada was still in under Muslim rule, Jinetas began to appear among Christian soldiers either obtained as military trophies or acquired in Toledo where smiths began to copy the Muslim model of these swords after the battle of Elvira in 1431.

It is probable that the ones used for battle were not as decorated as the ones we are still able to appreciate in museums and private collections, however it is uncertain as none of the undecorated examples have survived up to our times.

As stated, quite few examples of Jineta swords have survived the scourge of time. One is kept in the National Library in Paris, obtained by french Napoleonic forces in Granada at the beginning of XIX century. One more is held at the Municipal Museum of the city of Kassel in Germany. One other is exhibited at the New York Metropolitan Museum. The majority of the surviving Jinetas are however kept in Spain and constitute some of their most priced treasures."Unquote.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Gonzalo G]

Ibrahiim, that description corresponds with the dressing sword of the Nasrid nobility. It was influenced by the original fighting jineta sword but they are not equal, as I said before, though they are also called "jineta". Practically there are fewer specimens of the last, since the those swords preserved were trophies from the defeated nobility, of great value and exotism by their ornamentation, but you could hardly think the Zenete Berber mass of soldiers carried the same kind of hilts, and also there is the subject of the form of the blade. The problem with the preserved Christian swords from the period, is that they are also swords used by the nobility, and as I can recall, even with Moorish blades. We have to see what kind of swords used the common cavalryman. I believe that the tendency goes to more tapered blades and hilts evolved from the Zenete fighting sword, or shorter broadswords instead, compared with those used by the rest of Christendom, in order to lighten the blade. The form of the pommel was not important, since this form was decorative and what mattered was its weight. But the quillons did matter, since they were part of a fencing technique.
Regards

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Gonzalo G

My hypotheses: the original Zenete-Jineta was not the type of dressing sword used by the Nasrid nobility. This last had a blade more in accord with the traditional muslim broadsword, except for the hilt, which was influenced by the Zenete but highly ornamented, and not capable to support the “Italian grip”, since the altered form of the quillons did not allow it: they were literally closing over the blade. It is a common feature of the ceremonial swords to imitate old forms and use extreme ornamentation, since they gave to their owners the prestige of tradition and power. Fighting swords were another matter.

The Christians were influenced by this last type of sword, but with modified quillons and an incipient development of the ring guards, probably a development from the grip and quillons of the fighting jineta swords. It is not casual that the first ring guards, which evolved to the “crab claw”, appeared for the first time in the Iberic Peninsula, on the Christian Spanish and Portuguese swords (please see the Black Swords or “Colhona” used by the Portuguese). It must remembered that also Portugal was part of the Muslim domain and that to the 15th Century, even already independent, was influenced by the military traditions from the rest of the Peninsula.

The rapier evolved, at least in part, from this original fighting jineta sword. The cited study from Ada Bruhn Hoffmeyer points in this direction.

The nimcha sword type of quillons does not necessarily owe to any European tradition. The cultural elements behind them were already in North Africa long time ago. In the Catálogo de la Real Amería de Madrid (the catalog of the royal armory of Madrid), we find a suggestive description of four sabres taken from the Spanish Expedition to Oran in 1732 (free translation): “Four Moorish sabers owned by the Bey of Oran. The first one with wood hilt and a cap of engraved silver; guard, quillon and guard rings ended in pythons, all this decorated. The second one has a hilt of horn with plaques of chiseled silver, guard with a quillon and ring guards made of steel. The other two have their hilts covered with shell, nacre and plaques of chiseled silver, guard, quillon and guard ring made of engraved metal. ” Catálogo de la Real Armería, edited by Aguado, Madrid, 1854. p.61. It must be noted thay they are sabres, had a guard (probably a knuckleguard) and only one quillon, since the word “gavilán” in spanish denotes a single quillon. Does this rings something? Maybe a nimcha?.

On the other side, just saying that the jineta or the nimcha are “likely” or “suggestedly” a product of influences from Italy or France, is patently a subjective judgment, as the words imply. And sometimes we found a wide abuse of this words, if not supported by clear facts. The first fact we have to take in consideration is that there are no European hilts in the 13th Century resembling those of the jineta sword. The second fact is that the crab-claw type of guards appear until 15th Century in the Iberic Peninsula (see Ada Bruhn Hoffmeyer), and their only visible antecedent is the fighting jineta sword. Again, see the Castilian and Portuguese swords from this period.

And speaking of the possible diffusion into Europe, especially Italy, from this type of hilts, the berbers did have contact with Europe, contrary to what has been said. Europe did not came to North Africa, but the berbers went to Europe in this period. Just to mention some facts: Aghlabid Berbers conquered Sicily, North African Muslims colonized Bari, Taranto and Apulia in the 9th Century and in the 10th Century they fought in Southern France as allies in local Christian quarrels. Bishop Athanasius recruited Islamic troops and Muslims settled in the province of Lucania. David Nicolle & Angus McBride, The Moors. The Islamic West 7th-15th Centuries AD, Osprey Military, Col. Men-at-Arms, No.348. 2001, UK, p.16. And the Zenetes were a military contingent in all this armies. Just search in the history of the Berber emirates and dynasties and you will find.

Salaams Gonzalo G,
In red ink above ...This sword form Shown Below is interesting and found their way down the West African diaspora with the Portuguese...The Carracks Black Sword sometimes called Crab Sword, is a type of sword invented in Portugal, during the 15th century, designed to be used by soldiers and sailors in ships and caravels in the Age of Discovery.

It is characterized by having a guard with two protective rings, with the guard terminals in the form of two flat drops, the referred guard terminals facing toward the tip of the blade, and forming round large plates, sharpened to the point where they can be used as extra blades, because they can be convenient in close combat.

The protective rings, in addition to the protective function of the fingers can also serve to trap an opponent's blade.

These swords were painted black not to reflect the light and announce their presence on ships, avoiding also its rusting when used near salt water.

It was also known by Portuguese soldiers as colhona (which in rude Portuguese means approximately “big balls”) due to the round shape of the terminal plates, reminiscent of a representation of the testicles in a phallic symbol in the form of sword.

This type of sword would have appeared between 1460 and 1480 and saw much of its use in Portuguese trading cities in Africa, coming to be used as a symbol of honor by the local chiefs.

In Green Catálogo de la Real Armería[/I], edited by Aguado, Madrid, 1854. p.61. It must be noted thay they are sabres, had a guard (probably a knuckleguard) and only one quillon, since the word “gavilán” in spanish denotes a single quillon

~ Actually see https://archive.org/details/catlogohistricod00real where there is no sword on that page but at page 200 theres a strange looking weapon with a knuckle guard two quilons but only half a Guard ... I think this is your sword.... Very interesting...I see the link you point to regarding Nimcha ...and I have placed it below.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Gonzalo G]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

This type of sword would have appeared between 1460 and 1480 and saw much of its use in Portuguese trading cities in Africa, coming to be used as a symbol of honor by the local chiefs.

So? It is what I said before. Are you implying that the black sword influenced the development of Moroccan swords? Please read the serious works I referenced and stop copying pages from Wikipedia and jumping into conclusions from them. I know that stuff well.
Besides, the Portuguese only had few commercial post in the coast of Morocco and didn't penetrate into Berber land.

By the way, it is to be noted that foreign swords were used as symbols of prestige among many peoples. The French and the British also purchased oriental swords as "exotics". You know, to show off. The Deccan Court in the 16th-17th Century only purchased English swords as gifts, since they considered that they were useless as fighting weapons from their bad quality (see Robert Elgod in Sultans of the South).

Bye