Gents,

I have been searching for a while for photos of swords like those in Camillo Agrippa's treatise. While I have indeed found many examples of side swords, most of them do not have the level of profile taper seen in Agrippa's illustrations or have hilts developed beyond simple finger rings or knuckle bows. If anyone has pictures of real-life examples (not training blunts) of swords that match Agrippa's illustrations, I would be interested to see them or follow some museum links.

Additionally, I have the perception that the swords that he shows are not particularly stout, and might fall in the 2.5 pound (or slightly lighter) range. Any thoughts from experts?

Thanks,

Lee Pupo

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Real examples of Agrippa swords? I am not sure whether they exist or not.

Hello,

It depends on how you read the profile taper of the blades, from a cursory look I think there are various degrees in the book. Plain simple hilts are probably under represented in museum as well, because they are not as decorated...

I have seen swords like this in the Invalides museum in Paris. For example the one in the middle here:
[ Linked Image ]

The one in the middle, at the top here:
[ Linked Image ]

(photos by user Manouchehr M., perhaps he has close ups?)

The hilts here are a bit more complex than what I think you're looking for, though.

For what is worth I doubt the degree of profile taper or the complexity of the hilt (within historical limits, of course) matter a lot for use with Agrippa's techniques. The hilts might be simple here because it makes the illustrator's job easier...

Regards,