Basket Hilt Sword - marked Paulus Meigen

[SwordLover79]

Gentlemen: I traded for a small collection of baskethilt swords a few weeks ago. Among them is this sword marked "ME FECIT" inside one fuller and "PAVLVS MEIGEN" inside the other side. I note that there was a swordsmith with the Meigen surname (Clemens?) at Hounslow in the 1630 timeframe. Is the name Paulus Meigen familiar to you guys?

The double-edged blade is 33 1/2 inches in length and 1 3/4" inches wide, with fullers extending almost the entire length. The hilt is 6 1/2 inches by 5 inches. The fishskin grip is3 3/4 inches with brass wire and turkheads.

Any information on date and possible origin of the hilt and blade would be much appreciated!

[fernando]

Hello SwordLover; what a nice sword.
Surely knowledged members will come around with the info you need. I can advance that the only Meigen i find in Gyngeell's marks book is 'Bras Peter von Meigen' (17th century). I can also see a sword made by a 'Iohannes Meigen' out there in the Web; and also the note that the Meigen were a family of swordsmiths. Probably one of their members was, as you found, Clemens Meigen, a sword blade mill owner at Hounslow (1629-1640).
Quite plausible that PAVLVS also belongs in that family.


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[Jim McDougall]

In Wallace Coll. (Sir James Mann, 1962, p.331) it is detailed that a Paulus Willems was sworn in as swordsmith in Solingen in 1640. His mark was with Three Magi in cartouche. Apparently this mark appears to have been either bought or inherited by a PAULUS MEIGAN , as his name appears with the mark on a late 17th c. sword.

I am not sure of the Clemens Meigan noted, nor Iohannis and the Hounslow venture had pretty much waned during the English Civil Wars with it ending effectively by 1650s, but with that noted this Paulus certainly might have been with the family.

In "European Makers of Weapons, Their Marks", Staffan Kinman, 2015, p.52,
it is noted the family Meigan originated near Solingen in a place called 'zum Eigen'. There was a Clemens Eigen mentioned in 1613, another in 1632, while in 1664 a Clemens Meigan was brought into brotherhood of swordsmiths.

As with many of these families, there were cadet branches of the family which might account for instances of blades marked by makers with same or similar last names, and different Christian names who might have entered the business only in degree or for any number of legal reasons. In the mention noting 'bought or inherited' the mark used by 'Meigan' this seems to suggest such circumstances.

The basket hilt here is a wonderful example of the traditional Glasgow hilt, and by the shapes of triangles in the pierced pattern in the shields likely in end of 17th c.period, and Scottish style in the method of insertion of the guard arms, saltires into slotted pommel. The distinctive lines present in the shields also suggest mid to latter 17th c.
The Meigan blade would seem in accord with latter 17th c. date.

Beautiful example! well done!

[Battara]

Jim I agree with the Scottish attribution, and I'll add the pommel form is more Scottish.

I was thinking early 18c though......?

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Battara

Jim I agree with the Scottish attribution, and I'll add the pommel form is more Scottish.

I was thinking early 18c though......?

Thank you Jose,
It has been a while since researching these but it seems I had seen references stating the lines in the shields and saltires were an earlier Glasgow attribution which pretty much waned in 18th century. The Jacobite uprisings into the 1715 campaigns led to the first proscriptions of Highland arms, so obviously the production was largely curtailed.
However shops in Glasgow and other then 'garrison locations did continue producing swords with the basket hilt form in this style for British forces. These were structured similarly but the shields tended to be without piercings. However it is known that as late as 1760s there were examples still produced with the traditional piercings.
The dragoon swords in these forms were often with the feature known as the 'horsemans ring' , an oval in place of one of the shields, used to hold reins and sword while discharging the saddle holster pistols.

The first example is I believe c. 1720-30s, note the pommel ring which is generally held to indicate 'British' character rather than Scottish (as always of course exceptions).
The second is from 1750s-60s, perhaps into 1770s, but again, pommel ring, however the striations noted are present. This may be a much earlier hilt remounted in the later period as the notably long backsword blade came into favor in those later years.
While the time frame for these oval rings is unclear as earlier use of the feature than early 18th c. has been found, and on Stirling type Scottish hilts as well, in certain cases even some English swords. These kinds of rather nuanced features and character make specific attributions on these swords challenging at best.

[SwordLover79]

As usual, I am very impressed by the knowledge of swords and blades possessed by members of this forum. In particular, I thank Jim McDougall and Fernando for their insightful comments and inclusion of references! I will post photos of another sword from the same group...