Katzbalger

Jim McDougall · 3rd December 2022, 05:18 PM

There are various explanations for the term 'katzbalger', in which the term 'katz' seems typically of course to refer to cat, and while balger seems to refer to fight in varied senses there seems to be a version tenuously suggesting these swords were worn held by a cats skin (balg=fur).

More likely the term alludes to the 'cat fight', the vicious combat of feral cats, and the ferocity of same with warriors wielding these swords.

With this it is tempting to align the distinctive 'cats head' pommel of the schiavona, the basket hilt fighting swords associated with Croatian (Dalmatian) origins in Italy with the 'cat fight' analogy.

It is often interesting to discover the symbolic associations in weaponry and warrior image in many cultural and ethnic contexts.

The hilt of the katzbalger in the OP here strongly resembles one sold on ebay and only described as 'early Germanic' without further detail. As there are wide variations of these it is often hard to define, but most common is this 'figure eight' guard. This seems to be basis for the development of branches/arms added in other forms of this type sword.

3rd December 2022, 05:18 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	There are various explanations for the term 'katzbalger', in which the term 'katz' seems typically of course to refer to cat, and while balger seems to refer to fight in varied senses there seems to be a version tenuously suggesting these swords were worn held by a cats skin (balg=fur). More likely the term alludes to the 'cat fight', the vicious combat of feral cats, and the ferocity of same with warriors wielding these swords. With this it is tempting to align the distinctive 'cats head' pommel of the schiavona, the basket hilt fighting swords associated with Croatian (Dalmatian) origins in Italy with the 'cat fight' analogy. It is often interesting to discover the symbolic associations in weaponry and warrior image in many cultural and ethnic contexts. The hilt of the katzbalger in the OP here strongly resembles one sold on ebay and only described as 'early Germanic' without further detail. As there are wide variations of these it is often hard to define, but most common is this 'figure eight' guard. This seems to be basis for the development of branches/arms added in other forms of this type sword. Attached Images Last edited by Jim McDougall; 3rd December 2022 at 05:30 PM.