Basket hilt Sword for discussion

Jim McDougall · 10th December 2023, 06:22 PM

OMG! This is BREATHTAKING! an exquisite example of these late 16th-early 17thc. heavy battle sabres. These are as noted termed 'tessak' (Czech) or 'dusagge' (German), various spellings of course, and the neologism 'Sinclair saber' firmly emplaced by Victorian writers This was commemorative to Capt George Sinclair, killed in Norway in 1612, where these kinds of swords were in common use.

The motif and symbolism is primarily from Eastern Europe, where ancient cosmological symbols became ingrained in medieval superstition and magic beliefs. From here, these familiar symbols, sun, moon, star (usually the 6 point 'prayer' star) became commonly placed on sword blades to suggest imbued talismanic properties and 'magic'.

These conventions diffused through Europe in the 18th century with the popular phenomenon of the colorful and exotic hussar cavalry, where many of the flamboyant sabers carried these symbols and motif which had clearly long existed on these earlier swords.

In essence, a mans sword was of course, his protection and barrier between life and death, and with imbued 'magic' properties, in mind at least, each man was wielding 'Excalibur'.

The heart shaped piercings were religiously symbolic in the profound Catholic traditions in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and represent the 'sacred heart' often with mottoes and other features such as the Madonna etc.
It is understandable that Scottish Jacobites would adopt such a symbol as the heart as one of the distinctive Jacobite symbols pierced in this manner in the shields of their hilts.

The amazing blade is quite likely Styrian, or collectively Bavarian, the widened distal end of the blade is the 'yelman' adopted from the Turkic sabers of the Ottomans. This was primarily to add weight to add impetus to the cut.

Thank you so much for sharing this to add perspective to what we are discussing. It is truly a magnificent Sinclair!

10th December 2023, 06:22 PM	#21
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,945	OMG! This is BREATHTAKING! an exquisite example of these late 16th-early 17thc. heavy battle sabres. These are as noted termed 'tessak' (Czech) or 'dusagge' (German), various spellings of course, and the neologism 'Sinclair saber' firmly emplaced by Victorian writers This was commemorative to Capt George Sinclair, killed in Norway in 1612, where these kinds of swords were in common use. The motif and symbolism is primarily from Eastern Europe, where ancient cosmological symbols became ingrained in medieval superstition and magic beliefs. From here, these familiar symbols, sun, moon, star (usually the 6 point 'prayer' star) became commonly placed on sword blades to suggest imbued talismanic properties and 'magic'. These conventions diffused through Europe in the 18th century with the popular phenomenon of the colorful and exotic hussar cavalry, where many of the flamboyant sabers carried these symbols and motif which had clearly long existed on these earlier swords. In essence, a mans sword was of course, his protection and barrier between life and death, and with imbued 'magic' properties, in mind at least, each man was wielding 'Excalibur'. The heart shaped piercings were religiously symbolic in the profound Catholic traditions in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and represent the 'sacred heart' often with mottoes and other features such as the Madonna etc. It is understandable that Scottish Jacobites would adopt such a symbol as the heart as one of the distinctive Jacobite symbols pierced in this manner in the shields of their hilts. The amazing blade is quite likely Styrian, or collectively Bavarian, the widened distal end of the blade is the 'yelman' adopted from the Turkic sabers of the Ottomans. This was primarily to add weight to add impetus to the cut. Thank you so much for sharing this to add perspective to what we are discussing. It is truly a magnificent Sinclair!