The Rapier and Small-Sword 1460-1820
A.V.B. Norman
The republication, by Ayer in 2001, of this book has made it a welcome addition to my collection. It is a work often cited by others as a source and quoted in articles on the typology and study of the rapier.
A.V.B. Norman’s work into the rapier is important in so much as this is, to my knowledge, the only large scale analysis of the weapon and its ancestors and descendants.
The research that went into the book focused on both pictorial representations from contemporary portraiture and actual objects in museum collections across Europe. It provides detailed descriptions of 113 hilt types, 39 inner guard types, 93 pommel types, and details of accessories, sword belts, decoration, chiseling, sword smiths and associated jewelers who worked on the weapons. The 155 black and white photographic plates clearly illustrate the diversity of the weapon type.
As a simple reference, then, it is
unsurpassed. There are notes on the design, history and location of examples
of each hilt. There is also a hugely comprehensive index and bibliography
including many primary source texts from the period covered by this work.
This brings me to my one main criticism of the book. As a reference work it truly is excellent, however the sheer volume of different examples covered make its use as a typology very limited. Ewart Oakeshott has provided a concise and workable typology of mediaeval sword forms (blade and hilt) which itself carries on from work carried out by Behmer and Petersen on Scandinavian sword forms. It is possible to remember and apply such a system in a practical environment. As such Oakeshott’s typology has become a standard reference for collectors and students of the weapons of that period.
With Norman’s 113 different hilt types, it is almost impossible to apply in practice. This is particularly of significance when one bears in mind that for the majority of the period covered, these weapons were also regarded as fashion accessories and as such each individual hilt design might be expected to have its own type number.
No account of the blade type or dimension is included and again, this limits the typology, as it is not uncommon to find similar hilts on very different blades. Several of the hilt types shown appear on very different weapons ,such as the types 10 and 77 which are commonly seen on hand and a half or “bastard” swords, and the type 3 ( a Landsknecht “katzblager”).
When it comes to the small sword, again there is a problem as nearly all small-sword hilts, whether with or without a knucklebow, with symmetrical or asymmetrical shells, or having a back quillion or not, are grouped under a single type (Type 112). It may well have been possible to split these, as Oakeshott did, into a,b, and c subtypes to clarify the differences and again, no account has been taken of the blade type.
The author tackles the lack of blade detail in the Preface:-
“My conclusions are based as far as possible on dated hilts since blades are very often not in their original hilts and more especially in hilts appearing in paintings and portraits”
This, from an academic standpoint, makes any true conclusion on weapon typology difficult.
With this borne in mind, I must still strongly recommend this title to any student of the rapier or small-sword. It is an invaluable reference work that I have referred to many times since I acquired it. It deserves both respect for the scale of the subject tackled and thanks from all scholars that it was tackled in the first place.