Mr. Oakeshott's Sword

[Reventlov]

Originally Posted by fernando

I am going to add something not so valid here but, for what it is worth ...
In the eyes of historian/collector Rainer Daehnhardt (author of HOMENS ESPADAS E TOMATES), the finger protection appeared in fusion with late medieval cross guard swords, which he places in the transition from XIV to XV centuries. As seen in the sketch, he pretends that this was also the beginning of the ricasso solution.
Later he shows the same type of finger guard in a sword with a guard of curved quillons, now dating it from the 2nd quarter XV century.

Single and double finger-rings can be seen in many Spanish altarpieces, and to a lesser extent in Italian art also. It is interesting to try to trace the development of more complex hilts in this period...

The earliest depiction of a finger-ring that I know of is in an Italian altarpiece from the 1340s, now in the Met... Oakeshott mentions it somewhere. I have found a few other examples from nearer the end of the century: the Grant Cronica de Espanya, an altar by Lippo di Dalmasio, one shown in the famous Très Belles Heures from France.

More complex hilt forms seem to consistently appear first in Spanish art, and then later in Italian. The first double-ring I have found was painted by Lluis Borrassa (d. 1425). Double-rings continue to appear frequently into the 16th century, with both straight cross-guards and the distinctive Spanish/Portuguese style of curved hilts as shown in the St. Vincent panels. The "Spanish" hilt crosses over into Italian art late in the 15th century, see examples by Ghirlandaio (1483) and Raphael (1504).

The other development that seems to first appear in Spain/Portugal is the "counter-guard" ring joining the prongs of the pas d'ane. This is shown clearly in the Pastrana tapestries from the 1470s. Another is shown in an engraving of St. James Matamoros by Martin Schongauer, who may have visited Spain during his Wanderjahre - his travels as a journeyman artist. So far, the earliest counter-guards I have found in Italian art are by Raphael and Luca Signorelli, both circa 1500.