Oldest dated flyssa - appeal to EU/Spanish forumites

Emanuel · 8th October 2012, 05:57 AM

Hello Wolf,

You have a very nice flyssa! I am amazed by the delicacy of the handle decoration. Those scrolls are very fine.
I have a flyssa in my collection with a very deep-bellied blade like yours, but closer to 100cm long. Unfortunately it lost the brass covering on the handle. I am not at home but as I recall it does reach about 5cm at its widest (second to last from the bottom in the attached pic).

Your example, and a number of such mid-sized flyssas that have been posted on the forum over the years, seem to be better suited to slashing. The narrower blades were possibly used in estoc by cavalry. There is no concensus on their manner or use, and the only source on the topic, "Les Sabres Kabyles" by Camille Lacoste Dujardin, related the words of a French general that had seen them used only by infantry, very often in ambush situations. Supposedly the recurved edge was particularly well suited to decapitations. This should be taken with a grain of salt I think. I don't believe in very specialized weaponry, not on the scale of use seen of flyssa. Ultimately flyssas were likely used much like straight sabre patterns, likely by cavalry, but not excluding infantry.

Another possibility regarding the narrow-wide difference may be due to sharpening. Perhaps newly forged flyssas actually had a very deep and wide belly, and were subsequently narrowed after much sharpening. A similar result is often seen on old Indian tulwars.

Regardless, these are indeed quite heavy blades, with a forward balance. My fencing knowledge is too limited to imagine the fighting style that used them.

What are your thoughts on this?

Incidentally, please see the Big Flyssa Thread for links to the old discussions on the subject. It does need some updating.

Regards,
Emanuel

8th October 2012, 05:57 AM	#12
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Hello Wolf, You have a very nice flyssa! I am amazed by the delicacy of the handle decoration. Those scrolls are very fine. I have a flyssa in my collection with a very deep-bellied blade like yours, but closer to 100cm long. Unfortunately it lost the brass covering on the handle. I am not at home but as I recall it does reach about 5cm at its widest (second to last from the bottom in the attached pic). Your example, and a number of such mid-sized flyssas that have been posted on the forum over the years, seem to be better suited to slashing. The narrower blades were possibly used in estoc by cavalry. There is no concensus on their manner or use, and the only source on the topic, "Les Sabres Kabyles" by Camille Lacoste Dujardin, related the words of a French general that had seen them used only by infantry, very often in ambush situations. Supposedly the recurved edge was particularly well suited to decapitations. This should be taken with a grain of salt I think. I don't believe in very specialized weaponry, not on the scale of use seen of flyssa. Ultimately flyssas were likely used much like straight sabre patterns, likely by cavalry, but not excluding infantry. Another possibility regarding the narrow-wide difference may be due to sharpening. Perhaps newly forged flyssas actually had a very deep and wide belly, and were subsequently narrowed after much sharpening. A similar result is often seen on old Indian tulwars. Regardless, these are indeed quite heavy blades, with a forward balance. My fencing knowledge is too limited to imagine the fighting style that used them. What are your thoughts on this? Incidentally, please see the Big Flyssa Thread for links to the old discussions on the subject. It does need some updating. Regards, Emanuel Attached Images