Thank you for the nice words, Jim, it's always a pleasure.
I, alas, tend to contribute here much less than I would like...
Ariel,
pallasches, indeed, also called very generally "Cut and thrust" sword, whatever utility may have such label...
No rapier that I know of features a thumbring, given the mechanics of rapier fencing they would in fact get in the way quite annoyingly. Note that here I use the word "rapier" as a general label to define a sword of Western European design from the 16th and 17th c., designed to be used for a primarily (but not necessarily "exclusively") thrusting style of fencing...
P.S. Ah, and it's "Walloon", up there, I just noticed the typo...