| Author |
Message |
|
Shae Bishop
|
 Posted: Fri 23 Jun, 2006 11:50 am Post subject: Maciejowski Bible hilt furniture |
 |
|
When looking at the Maciejowski Bible one of the most noticeable features of the swords is that the majority appear to have bronze guards and pommels. Surviving swords from the 13th century almost all have steel hilt furniture from what I have seen and heard. Were the artists of the Maciejowski Bible just exercising a little artistic liscense like where swords are shown cleaving straight though helm, coif, and skull?
I also noticed that in the portrayal of Goliath on leaf 28, his massive sword has a 5- lobed pommel as seen on many viking-era swords and again, seems to have bronze guard and pommel. The plates with Goliath on them are well known because he is wearing plate greaves, so I think it is interesting that Goliath is shown with ahead-of-his-time leg defenses and a sword with a very old-fashioned pommel.
Anyone have any thoughts on these things?
|
|
  |
 |
Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team
|
| Posted: Fri 23 Jun, 2006 12:02 pm Post subject: Re: Maciejowski Bible hilt furniture |
|
|
| Shae Bishop wrote: | When looking at the Maciejowski Bible one of the most noticeable features of the swords is that the majority appear to have bronze guards and pommels. Surviving swords from the 13th century almost all have steel hilt furniture from what I have seen and heard. Were the artists of the Maciejowski Bible just exercising a little artistic liscense like where swords are shown cleaving straight though helm, coif, and skull?
I also noticed that in the portrayal of Goliath on leaf 28, his massive sword has a 5- lobed pommel as seen on many viking-era swords and again, seems to have bronze guard and pommel. The plates with Goliath on them are well known because he is wearing plate greaves, so I think it is interesting that Goliath is shown with ahead-of-his-time leg defenses and a sword with a very old-fashioned pommel.
Anyone have any thoughts on these things? |
The hilts could have been gilt or painted as well. There are other colors, including silver, besides gold. It could be artisitc license or perhaps gilding or paint on originals has been lost over the years. We do know that the over-zealous collectors of the Victorian era were known to scrub things shiny.
Of course, this was commissioned by a wealthy warrior king. He may have had a preference for gold-looking hilts. I'm not sure we'll ever know for sure.
As for Goliath, I don't believe that's a lobated pommel. Oakeshott thought it was a decorated version of the spherical pommel Type R.
ChadA
http://chadarnow.com/
|
|
  |
|
|
Shae Bishop
|
| Posted: Fri 23 Jun, 2006 12:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
|
Thanks for the feedback. I agree about the guilding or commissioner's preference and a spherical pommel does make more sense on Goliath's sword. I thought the lobes were just ill-defined when I looked at it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Bedell
|
| Posted: Fri 23 Jun, 2006 2:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I know this is straying off topic but how exaggerated do you think the cleaving through helm, coif, and skull is? In Usamah ibn-Munqidh's first hand account of the crusades he tells of several instances where swords had cleaved a man in half or hacked him from his shoulder down to his saddle. I realize a mail shirt and bone isn't as tough as a helm, bone, and mail but isn't it plausible that a sword could do that, maybe not as frequently as the Maciejowski Bible but do you think it happened occasionally? Escpecially a nice falchion? Just wondering how far a sword really could cleave.
-James
The pen may be mighter, but the sword is much more fun.
|
|
 |
|
Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team
|
| Posted: Fri 23 Jun, 2006 2:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| J. Bedell wrote: | I know this is straying off topic but how exaggerated do you think the cleaving through helm, coif, and skull is? In Usamah ibn-Munqidh's first hand account of the crusades he tells of several instances where swords had cleaved a man in half or hacked him from his shoulder down to his saddle. I realize a mail shirt and bone isn't as tough as a helm, bone, and mail but isn't it plausible that a sword could do that, maybe not as frequently as the Maciejowski Bible but do you think it happened occasionally? Escpecially a nice falchion? Just wondering how far a sword really could cleave.
-James |
James,
That is pretty off-topic. I think it deserves its own thread because many literary and pictorial sources speak of and show this kind of thing. Should be interesting.
I'd love to see a new thread started just on that (hint, hint).
ChadA
http://chadarnow.com/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
|
All contents © Copyright 2003-2024 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Basic Low-bandwidth Version of the forum
|
This is a standard topic