Resilience of Sword ScabbardsHello sword enthusiasts and experimental archaeology aficionados, Two weeks ago, I pointed you to some weapon tests conducted by archaeologist Gustav Solberg and fellow swordsmen. Today, I would like to share the results of another fascinating test run by the inimitable Tom Jersø. I hope you find it interesting. I will also point out to you resources for making your own scabbard. There is more to it than mere blade protection as you will see below! A Sacrifice to ResearchTom Jersø runs a club for historical swordsmanship in Copenhagen and regularly cooperates with Danish museums. His latest demonstration at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde sprang from an observation repeatedly made during sword-fighting training in historical kit: strikes to the leg would more often than not hit the opponent’s scabbard, not their thigh. Unless of course a righthander faces a leftie (like my friend Chris Cold with a red and black shield in these encounters). In our training, we consider a hit to a scabbard a failed attack, assuming that a bladed weapon would not easily cut through a historically accurate scabbard, which would consist of numerous layers of organic material. Tom sacrificed one of his scabbards for research and struck it with various weapons during a public museum demonstration.
The results confirmed our assumptions. A scabbard is not at all easy to cut through, nor is it indestructible. Better to spend your time training to avoid getting hit in the first place than making a new scabbard after each encounter, leave alone risking a leg! However, if you feel encouraged to make an authentic scabbard and keep your thigh even when you fail, follow my free tutorial. Find part 1 here:
If the carving job discourages you, you can cheat and go with modern prefab materials like thin plywood boards. Here is a respective tutorial. So, that's it for today. Take care, train hard and don't forget to wear you scabbard If you enjoyed this newsletter, please recommend it to your friends. They can sign up here or on my website. Or simply forward them this email. To learn to fight, consult our sword & buckler online course. If you wish to read more, find hundreds of related posts on my Patreon. Special thanks to all my loyal supporters on Patreon – you keep me going! And if you are not a patron yet, you are most welcome to join. If you feel like dropping a coin into my tip jar, you can do so here. Thank you for your time and your interest. Yours, Roland You are receiving this newsletter because you have signed up for it, or because you have previously expressed your interest in my work and events. If you prefer to not receive further emails, you can unsubscribe below. |
I am Roland Warzecha, a professional illustrator – and a swordsman. Hence the name ‘Dimicator’ which is a Latin term meaning sword fighter. I present to you cutting-edge research into historical martial arts, and Viking & high medieval sword & shield fighting in particular. I am co-operating with museums, fellow martial artists and scholars worldwide. Renowned expert for historical arms, Dr Alfred Geibig, says: “The careful reconstruction of historical swordsmanship, impressively demonstrated by Mr. Warzecha, is a valuable supplement to archaeological insights, and clearly proves the efficiency of European swords and the sophistication of the associated historical fighting arts.” To get regular up-dates on the archaeology and history of sword & shield and how they were used, sign up for my newsletter! I would be delighted if you would join my quest.
A Historical Fencing Master and AI? Ridolfo Capo Ferro da Cagli in 1610 Hello fellow sword enthusiasts, researchers, and history aficionados, I know the title of this newsletter might read like clickbait—what on earth is the connection between the Italian late Renaissance fencing master Ridolfo Capo Ferro and Artificial Intelligence? Dr. Marc Heimann, philosopher and swordsman, offers an intriguing approach to understanding AI in his recent paper, which I’ve linked below. But first, let me...
Busy Days with Lots of Shields Cornelius checking the length of a guige strap Hello fellow sword and shield enthusiasts, Cornelius Berthold spent a few days at my place, during which he completed four training shields, each featuring a different set of hand straps, known as enarmes, along with a neck strap, or guige. One of four training shields completed recently The various strap arrangements are based on medieval miniatures—marginal manuscript illustrations—rather than surviving examples....
New Academic Paper on the Artwork in Europe’s Oldest Combat Treatise A simple animation to make a point! Hello medievalists and sword-and-buckler fighters, A new open-access paper relevant to the study of medieval swordsmanship has just been released. In their article, my fellow instructors and researchers, Cornelius Berthold and Ingo Petri, present our hypotheses on how to interpret perspective in MS I.33’s illustrations, based on a lecture they delivered at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. In...