When and where was the first bayonet created? From a few different books that I've read that the bayonet was invented in Bayonne, France in 1647? But in "Geroge Cameron Stones" book of Arms and Armour it says the bayonet was invented in Spain in about 1580. There's even a quote about bayonets from 1571 in French that translates to "One gives the name of bayonette as of long daggers which one plants at the end of the gun". Is there any evidence to support these facts?

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Thank you.

One has to keep in mind that the first bayonets were plug bayonets that would " plug " into the muzzle of the musket or archebuse. And these existed very early on. ( Early 16th century or even before, I think. )

With the plug bayonet you could not use the gun as a gun with the bayonet in use.

Some of these were even used for hunting weapons i believe: Shoot the game, put in the plug bayonet and go look for the wounded animal hiding in the bushes to finish it off. ( With wild boar you had a very dangerous wounded animal that really wanted to kill you with it's last breath. )

The socket bayonet was a mid 17th century innovation that permitted continued use as a firearm when the bayonet was in use.

Now I'm not sure if the bayonet was actually invented in Bayonne but may have become associated with that city at some time.

Not sure if the early plug bayonets were called that early on or if we retroactively applied that name to both the socket bayonets and the early plug ones.

Jean,

I have never heard of bayonets being pre 3rd quarter of teh 17th, this is specifically the plug ones. Curious if you know something I do not (which is highly possible). If you know of some let me know that would be interesting.

RPM

Found the book in the book section here on myArmoury:

http://www.myArmoury.com/books/item.php?ASIN=0851121713

Thanks Jean. That makes more sense. I was just wondering how I missed that. Thanks again,

Randall

In Daggers and Bayonets: A History, Logan Thompson has a nice discussion of the origin of bayonets, along with some nice pictures. He begins by explaining that in about 1580, only a few infantrymen were quipped with firearms--which would have been arquebus. Logan goes on to say that the musket was intoduced in about 1600, and was more accurate and had greater range, but was heavy and had a slower rate of fire. Arquebusiers and musketeers were vulnerable to attack after discharging their weapons, and were therefore protected by pikemen. Logan states that arquebusiers and musketeers really needed a more immediate form of defense against cavalry.

An interesting solution for musketeers (who needed a forked rest for their heavy weapons) came in the form of the musket rest bayonet (see second photo attachment). "It utilised the musket rest incorporated in which was an ingenious device comprising a long blade housed within the shaft. Surviving examples are extremely rare but there is a splendid Italian one, of about 1600, in th eWallace collection (acc No: A 1330). On this, a 28.5-in-long blade of stiff, diamond shape is housed on the hollow rest shaft. This is released by giving the shaft a sharpforward jerk causing the blade to spring out of the head through an opening otherwise concealed by a hinged cover. It is then firmly held in the extended forward position by a sprin-catch which engages a slot in the neck. This provided a useful pike-type weapon when wielded with two hands" (p. 60).

Logan goes on to discuss the possible hunting origins of the bayonet, as discussed earlier in the thread. He then explores the plug bayonet (emerging in the mid 1600s in France), the ring bayonet (also of the mid to late 1600s--see first photo), the common fixed socket bayonet, how the bayonet influenced warfare, and bayonets and sword bayonets of the 19th and 20th centuries.

George Neumann's Swords and Blades of the American Revolution is an excellent source for photos of plug bayonets and early socket bayonets.

Jonathan

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Ring Bayonet

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The bend in the blade is from the curve of the book page, not a bend in the blade itself. [ Download ]

What I was curious about is that if the bayonet was in use long before the 17th century and does anyone have or know of a type/form of bayonet that predates the 17th century.

My understanding of the invention of the bayonet was that a sergeant (not sure what army) just put his handle first into the barrel of his gun, and was rewarded.

i have no idea of the truth of this, i suspect it was 1630 ish and the guy was french.

I have no evidence for this, it's just something i heard.

An interesting tidbit from Neumann:

"The bayonet's origin as a weapon is unclear, but probably occurred in France in the early 1600's. Its name is attributed to the French iron and cutlery center of Bayonne--whose daggers were well known at that time as "bayonettes".

The first recorded military use of this new arm is generally accepted as DePuysegur's mention of French troops with plug bayonets in 1642 (whose blade and handles each measured one foot in length). The English purchsed several hundred from France in 1662, and by th e1690's plug bayonets had become standard issue for the British and most other European armies."

Here is what Anthony Carter has to say about the origins of the bayonet in World Bayonets 1800 to the Present:

"It is now accepted that the bayonet originated in the Basque region of northern Spain in th elate 16th century, 1570-80. During the same period the cutlers in Bayonne in southern France, also in the Basque region, were producing a regional form of dagger called a bayonnette. By th e1640s the hilts of these daggers were being altered to fit within the muzzles of firearms, and their local name remained with them as their use spread abroad.

The plug bayonet evolved from the Spanish boar spear which had a broad double-edged blade and a straight crossguard..."

Hopefully this information proves helpful and/or interesting.

Jonathan

Here are two illustrations from Weapons by the Diagram Group:

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I believe this is the early bayonet to which Neumann referred as having a 1 foot handle and 1 foot blade. [ Download ]

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Here is another page from [i]Weapons[/i] that illustrates a range of styles of plug bayonets. [ Download ]