German Hunting swords , thoughts and facts

[Jim McDougall]

Yes, most interesting I agree.

[PhDBrewer]

Great write up!
Howard Backmore writes about cabbalistic writings that possess some "mystical quality to spur him on to greater deeds or bring him luck". I find the blade markings quite interesting.
Here is an example from an early 18th century Hirschfänger.
William

[Akanthus]

Originally Posted by PhDBrewer

Great write up!
Howard Backmore writes about cabbalistic writings that possess some "mystical quality to spur him on to greater deeds or bring him luck". I find the blade markings quite interesting.
Here is an example from an early 18th century Hirschfänger.
William

Yes,there are wonderful decorations on huntingsword blades.Often game,like stags,wildboars,bears but also hares.On some you find little poems spending luck.Also floral decor is loved.

[corrado26]

Der Jäger hat allezeit Verlangen, mit wenig Mühe viel zu fangen = The hunter always desires to catch much which little effort.

[Rick]

The images of these 'hunting enclosures' are fascinating; I had no idea they were used.

[urbanspaceman]

Jim will recognise this piece and I have to agree with his suggestion that it was a sea-service weapon.
The weight of the blade however, and its thickness, does lend it to hacking at animal limbs rather than sailors: it is four centimeters wide at the hilt and half a centimeter thick with a blade length of fifty centimeters. Anyone have ten cents worth?

[Akanthus]

Originally Posted by urbanspaceman

Jim will recognise this piece and I have to agree with his suggestion that it was a sea-service weapon.
The weight of the blade however, and its thickness, does lend it to hacking at animal limbs rather than sailors: it is four centimeters wide at the hilt and half a centimeter thick with a blade length of fifty centimeters. Anyone have ten cents worth?

This certainly is a fighting weapon not a hunting sword.In the German typology you would call,it "Jaglich gefasst" .It means, that it looks like a hunting sword ( stag horn grip) but it isn't one.In the 18th. and 19th.century it began to become modern to carry huntingweaponlike sidearms in spite not beeing a hunter.I think that in countrys, which a rich naval history ( England ,France,Spain,Portugal etc.)these wepons were often found on the decks of a ship,because they were practical of their relatively shortness .

[Akanthus]

Originally Posted by Rick

The images of these 'hunting enclosures' are fascinating; I had no idea they were used.

These enclosed hunts startet in the 16th.century and spread over Germany as a hunting technique of the noble upperclass.The game was driven together in a huge area and in the end there were lots of animals gathered in a rag fenced place. ( Kammer = Chamber ). From here it was driven into the "Lauf " ,another fenced place ,where the hunters waited to kill the game by rifles or huntingswords.These hunts mostly took several days from starting to gather the game until the festive end.Lots of serfs had to do the work for the noble amusement. Some hunting traditions survived until present times.It seems up to the beginning of the 20th.century till this hunting technique was finally forbidden and branded as unsportsmanlike ( unwaidmännisch )

[Akanthus]

Originally Posted by corrado26

Der Jäger hat allezeit Verlangen, mit wenig Mühe viel zu fangen = The hunter always desires to catch much which little effort.

Right !!!!!!