Francais | English | Espanõl

Rapier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Rapiers)
Jump to: navigation, search
Rapier may also refer to the Rapier missile, a British short-range Surface-to-air missile

Image:Rapiere-Morges-1.jpg

A rapier is a relatively slender, sharply pointed sword, used mainly for thrusting attacks, developed in Europe around the 16th century.


Contents

[edit] Description

Image:Rapiere-Morges-2.jpg Rapier generally refers to a relatively long-bladed sword characterized by a complex hilt which is constructed to provide protection for the hand wielding it. While the blade might be broad enough to cut to some degree, the strength of the rapier is its ability as a thrusting weapon. The blade might be sharpened along its entire length, sharpened only from the center to the tip (as described by Capoferro), or completely without a cutting edge as discussed by Pallavicini. A typical example would have a relatively long and slender blade of 2.5 centimetres or less in width, 1 meter or more in length and ending in a sharply pointed tip.

The term rapier generally refers to a thrusting sword with a blade longer and thinner than that of the so-called side-sword but heavier than the smallsword and Italian dueling sword that would follow in the 18th century and later, but the exact form of the blade and hilt often depends on who is writing and when. It can refer to earlier spada da lato (much like the espada ropera) through the high rapier period of the 17th century through the smallsword and dueling swords, thus context is important in understanding what is meant by the word. (The term side-sword, used among some modern historical martial arts reconstructionists, is a translation from the Italian spada da lato--a term coined long after the fact by Italian museum curators--and does not refer to the slender, long rapier, but only to the early 16th-century Italian sword with a broader and shorter blade that is considered both its ancestor and contemporary.)

[edit] Parts of the Sword

Blade

Capo Ferro defines the forte as the blade from the hilt to the middle. From the middle to the top is known as the debile (Chapter 3 verse 37). The Ricasso is that portion of the blade within the rings that extend forward from the crosspiece or quillons.

Hilt

Rapiers often had complex, sweeping hilts designed to protect the hand wielding the sword. Rings extended forward from the crosspiece. Later these rings were covered with metal plates, eventually evolving into the cup hilts of the later rapiers. A knuckle bow extended back from the crosspiece protecting the hilt which was usually wood wrapped with leather or wire. A pommel (often decorated) secured the hilt to the weapon and provided a balance to the long blade.

[edit] History

The rapier began to develop around 1500 as the Spanish espada ropera, or "dress sword". The espada ropera was a cut-and-thrust civilian weapon for self-defense and the duel, while earlier weapons were equally at home on the battlefield. Throughout the 16th century, however, a variety of new, single-handed civilian weapons were being developed, including the German Rappier, another cut-and-thrust weapon used for sportive fencing, as described in Joachim Meyer's Fechtbuch of 1570. Nevertheless, the English word "rapier" generally refers to a primarily thrusting weapon, developed by the year 1600 as a result of the geometrical theories of such masters as Camillo Agrippa and Ridolfo Capo Ferro.

The rapier became extremely fashionable throughout Europe with the wealthier classes, but was not without its detractors. Some people, such as George Silver, disapproved of its technical potential and the duelling use to which it was put.

By the year 1700, the rapier had been replaced by the lighter smallsword throughout most of Europe.

The etymology of the word rapier is uncertain. Charles du Fresne, sieur du Cange uses the word Rapparia in 1484 to describe an espée in his Glossarium mediae et infimae Latinitatis. He proposes that the origin of the word may stem from the Greek ραπίξειν, to cut. However, Walter William Skeat suggests that "rapiér" may derive from raspiére, a poker, and that this may be a contemptuous term developed by older cut-and-thrust fencers for the new weapon. The most probable root of this term, however, appear to be from the Spanish ropera that cames from ropa, or elegant dress, thus a "dress Sword".

Bell guard, a Spanish fashion
Wire hilt, a German fashion
Wire hilt, a German fashion
Pappenheimer, a German innovation

[edit] Present day

This weapon is probably the oldest European sword for which some people claim a living tradition. Note that all of these claims are yet unproven.

[edit] The classical fencing tradition

Classical fencing schools can claim to have inherited aspects of rapier play in their systems. Swords are common as shows of class and are very expensive.

[edit] Other traditions

According to Andrea Lupo Sinclair and Maestro Ramon Martinez, a direct linear rapier tradition has survived in Europe that is not connected with the classical tradition. They claim that the rapier was used in Italy and Spain as late as the first decade of the 1900s.

"Although teachers of these arts (rapier & Dagger) with living traditions are few and far between, they do exist". Traditional Fencing: A Western Martial Art by Ramon Martinez

This claim is disputed by members of ARMA [1] who consider it extremely far-fetched since neither man has publicly exhibited a lineage showing a clear and unbroken line back to a known Renaissance (pre-1700) rapier master, as opposed to just a foil, épée, and sabre fencing master who just happens to pick up a rapier.

[edit] Popular culture and entertainment

  • A common usage of the word is in the popular phrase "rapier wit".
  • The rapier is the sword most often associated with duels of honour depicted in literature,e.g., the final scene in Hamlet, and films, such as The Three Musketeers — however, the fighting techniques in such films are usually far from authentic.
  • Anthony Cumia, of the popular CBS radio and XM satellite radio show Opie and Anthony, has mentioned several times that he owns a rapier that he uses for self-defense.
  • In a popular traditional Irish folk song, "Whisky in the Jar," a rapier is wielded by the highwayman to fend off an English officer.
  • In the Midkemia-based novels by Raymond E. Feist, many main characters use the rapier as personal weapons. The expression "The edge is for cutting, the tip is for killing" is often cited by users of the rapier. Notable users of the weapon include, but are not limited to, Arutha conDoin, Jimmy the Hand, Arutha Jameson, and the prince Borric conDoin.
  • The rapier is a weapon used by numerous characters in video games, either as their primary weapon, or simply as a buyable type of sword.
  • Robert E. Howard's character of Solomon Kane, the Puritan swordsman, carries what is referred to as a rapier, though illustrations and descriptions of the weapon's usage more closely resemble the look and usage of a side-sword or European dueling sword.
  • The Princess Bride's character Inigo Montoya wields a German-style rapier throughout the film.

[edit] More information

For a more detailed explanation of the primary use of the rapier-- dueling-- see European dueling sword.

[edit] Rapier instructors

Main article: Rapier Instructors

Historical fencing, also known as European martial arts, is a rapidly growing phenomenon that has passionate followers all over the world.

[edit] Schools

[edit] External links

Image:Commons-logo.svg
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
de:Rapier

es:Espada ropera fr:Rapière nl:Rapier ja:レイピア pl:Rapier ru:Рапира sl:Rapir

Retrieved from "http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/Rapier"
Personal tools