I recognized that a lot of cheaper modern scabbards come with a chape made of leather like this one https://www.wulflund.com/weapons/swords/sword-accessories/medieval-sword-scabbard-roland.html/

I know there were historical scabbards without any chapes and fittings which simply had a leather point. My question is, a this special kind of "leather chapes" historical accurate? I never found them anywhere on any effigies or manuscripts I found so far, and I assume they are a more ahistorical thing.

Thanks in advance guys.

Hi Tim,

I've done a fair bit of looking into scabbards of this type and, like you, I have never run into an original example or period art that shows a chape like the one on this scabbard. If I were to hazard a guess, I would guess that this is not period correct. That being said, I haven't seen everything so I am open to correction if I'm out to lunch on this.

If leather chapes were used, I'd seriously expect them to have the seam on the back instead of along the sides.

People might be interested that some of the pottery objects put in Cypriot tombs 2300-2100 BC were (as well as actual spear blades, knives and daggers) were ceramic models of daggers and their sheaths.

Here is a page of photos of the sheaths, clearly showing seams in the leather and stitching (shown with incisions in the pottery)

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That’s is super cool!! Do you have a link to any publications/reports or more photos?

It is from volume 1 (out of 6) of Vassos Karageorghis's 6 volume work on Cypriot ceramic representations (mostly people and bulls but a variety of other things) The first volume goes up to about 1000BC.

You can find my collection on http://david-johnson.co.uk
Here is a model chariot I own from about 7th century BC (ie roughly the time of Homer) Originally it had a small rider modelled against the front edge (you can see where it snapped off. There are a few others like this, probably made to go into the tomb it was found in, and the figures seems too smaller the chariot, so it has been speculated it might represent a chariot taking the spirit to the afterlife.

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Everyone wants a fancy chape, but in reality a common "munitions grade" chape is easy to make without a lot of tools.

Get a sheet of 22 gauge brass or mild steel, wrap it around the tip of the scabbard, and cut it straight across the top. You can solder the flaps closed if you want, but that's not necessary. Then cut off the pointed tip, cut into four flaps, and fold over the flaps. Done.

See this thread over a Armour Archive:
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewto...p;start=70