#Spadroon

[blue-and-gilt]

Photos of the sword display I had at last weekends excellent Auckland Blade and Knife show.

Was great to see meet with New Zealand's very talented knife makers showing off their work. Truly inspiring works of art.

For my display I opted to have a selection from the collection that covered a broad range instead of focusing on the one topic.

It was also my first use of the new boards I made after the last show. These are on their own stands giving me more table space.

Despite being a bit rough about the edges (remember folks, measure twice, cut once 🤣) they worked well. The next challenge is to improve on how the swords are mounted. Cable ties work great, but they're fiddly to pass through the cloth backing while trying to hold up a sword at the same time.

My thanks to The Auckland Blade Show for organising such a great event and for allowing me to participate. Shows like these are key to showing people just what is available and possible.

[cutecuttlefish]

The sword of the day is the spadroon.

This is a European and American sword that was in use in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It is a midpoint of sorts between the smallsword, which had no sharpened cutting edge, and the much heavier broadsword. As a fairly light sword, it is able to make quick and agile cuts while also maintaining an excellent profile for thrusting. After falling out of use as a military weapon, the spadroon continued to be used in a ceremonial capacity as an officer’s sword for quite some time.

[awallofswords]

Why Sabers dominated over Smallswords & Spadroons for Infantry Officers

[it-is-me-fiore-like-actually]

Some shots of me, and many others, at a recent event

We did some napoleonic navel boarding and lots of duelling

Also featuring me holding a spadroon

[c-jay-s-head-canons-only]

Schnee family sword names have had my interest for quite some time now. So here, I'll be figuring out what they look like, along with their names.

Up first, we have Nicholas Schnee.

This man is quite literally a knight in shining armour. But his sword isn't one of the Oakeshott typology. According to The World of Remnant Short, Nicholas actually uses a sabre and pistol.

Contrary to what may be popular belief, there is a discipline for this style of fighting in HEMA, and yes, it involves using a sabre - specifically either a spadroon or a boarding cutlass according to David Rawlings.

Regarding what sword he would use, I believe his hands are very big. He was a miner, after all, and he's clearly shown wielding a pickaxe as well.

Therefore, I think his sword would be a two-handed sabre, like this.

More specifically, it would have the swept hitl guard, and the grip. But I picture the blade being a little wider, and the pommel having a more 'flowery' shape. Something like this.

Separate thought here: take note of the pommel in the picture. Does it look a bit familiar?

I think so. :3

Regarding a name, I think this sword is called Wurzel, which is the German word for Root.

The reason being that Weiss explains how her father wasn't the man who started the Schnee family, and she also refuses to be the last of it.

I agree. Her motive is honorable. Jacques was a jackass after all.

But something tells me that the true Schnee legacy doesn't go back much further than Nicholas himself. Therefore, I view Nicholas as the Root of his family tree.

Incidentally, I believe the sword was forged using part of a meteorite, which landed in the mining areas in Mantle, hitting a vein of ice and absorbing the power from it.

From the unique metal combined with the ice dust, the blade was especially good at freezing through objects and other weapons. The sword was retired from service not long before Nicholas died and has seen no action since.

[swordlordofthegoblinhorde]

The hilt of a very interesting spadroon reportedly carried by a Hessian soldier during the American Revolution. I hope to get more pictures and information about this sword later. But in case I don’t I thought I’d post the one good picture I do have here.

[major-toast]

Monday Snippet

Thank you for the tag @del-stars <3 Since I don't have a new project to currently work on, let me shamelessly self-promote the first chapter of Forget Me Not, which you can read here.

“Is this your spadroon poking me in the back? Or are you just happy to see me?” Fuck. “It’s my spadroon”, Remus hisses back, unable to come up with a better excuse. Tightening his grip around the prince’s mouth, he watches intently as the soldiers finally pass by. Once their footsteps and chatter recede and their surroundings can be deemed safe again, Remus finally allows himself to breathe. Only for the prince to lick squarely across his palm. “What the-“ Appalled, he draws away his hand, shaking off the saliva. “You’re worse than fucking a dog, actually”, he grumbles. The prince cackles as he saunters away. “So, I’m told”, he replies, grinning way too pleased with himself for someone behaving like a toddler. However, it does have something endearing to it.

Couldn't resist joining in on the funny scenes. Here is @del-stars 's snippet if you want to read it. It cast a big grin on my face.

np: @magicbeings and whoever wants to.

[blue-and-gilt]

Playing with different backgrounds for displaying swords on. The blue is quite a cold colour, especially with all the bare steel. And at times the bluing also gets lost. I think the burgundy works well, so I will probably use that for the coming display. The top two swords are Georgian era non-regulation infantry officers swords. While the bottom two are 1796 Pattern swords, the one with the boatshell guard is for General Officers or Dragoon Officers dismounted service while the one with the Pas d’Ane guard is for infantry officers

[historicalfightingguide]

An interesting example of one way to go about solo flow drills for Meyer rappier(applicable to swords we may call rapier or sidesword or even spadroon type weapons I’d argue to a degree). You could also try different starting and ending positions than the ones shown in this solo flow, as well as play with the rhytm and distance of the moves themselves.

Another way to bring more variety to it is to try it on different surfaces as well.

Generally going through the motions like this may not be enough to prepare you for fighting effectively against others, at least not on its own without also drilling, sparring and everything in between... however it can be a very effective way to build proprioception, understanding of where which part of your body is as you do a certain move or hold a certain position, how to seamlessly go from one to another and add variety to it all. All of which are useful skills to have when you are fighting against other people, be it in a friendly club sparring session or at a tournament or wherever.

It can also be a great way for some light training if you have an active injury you need to be mindful of, or a great solo workout if you want to do it intensely as a fun form of HIIT or if you do it for longer as a form of steady state cardio.

It can also look cool and be quite fun.

For more details about Meyer in general, here’s a ‘masterpost’ of sorts on his works.

And here’s another older post about Meyer’s approach to one handed weapons with some simpler but more specific drills.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.

Check out their curriculum too.

Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  

Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

And stay safe

[qsycomplainsalot]

if you could have any sword you've ever drawn which would it be? (other melee weapons count too)

That's a little tougher because as much as I love the look of the weapons I draw, I don't think I'd like having them around THAT much compared to firearms and especially random little objects from the 19th century. I recently bought a WW1 trench lighter made from shell casings, that's what I love to just own. If I had the opportunity and means to own a proper cool sword it would probably be something I haven't had the opportunity to draw yet, aka a smallsword/spadroon because I low-key want to get into that type of fencing .w.

[autumnrainwrites]

The Watchers of the Shrouded City

Scholars among those who wait in the dark.

Deep in the Labyrinth there is a vast hollow, a cavernous chamber of shallow grey water under a sky of strange stars. In this gloomy sub-realm, at the center of the ghost-haunted sea, there sits a tall, circular island bounded by concentric rings of stone terraces. Upon these terraces are battlements and hollow houses, libraries and tombs, and gardens of strange underworldly plants. Ghosts dwell in this city as well, but they are not its masters nor its sole inhabitants. It is the Shrouded City, and it is ruled by the Watchers.

The Watchers of the Shrouded City are an order of militant scholars who train in combat, spellwork, ancient lore, science, and various esoteric fields. They divide themselves into four sub-orders based upon their field of expertise according to an archaic system of divination. From the Shrouded City, they have access to various shortcuts through the Labyrinth and the Deep, allowing them to reach the worlds of the Material by paths unknown to others. There, they gather information and meddle in affairs in order to progress their own interests.

The four orders of the Watchers are the Ordo Gardnier, the Ordo Archivist, the Ordo Castellan, and the Ordo Mortician. Each represents a different view of the city, and corresponds to a stage in the cosmic cycle.

The Ordo Gardnier, first in the cycle, is concerned with beginnings, springtime, the creation of life, the potency of blood, birth and rebirth, healing, and discovery of the self and others. It is seen as the most romantic of the orders, the most likely to pursue its own goals. Its uniform is a rich, slightly dark green.

The Ordo Archivist is concerned most purely with knowledge, with summer, and with illuminating the way. That which can be known can be controlled, so the archivists also focus on control of knowledge. It is seen as the purest of the orders, the most dedicated to the Watchers’ cause. Its uniform is a navy blue.

The Ordo Castellan is concerned with the study of war, tragedy, conflict, politics, and such dismal topics, as well as the autumn. It is seen as the most practical of the orders, for the castellans work to ensure the security not just of the Shrouded City itself but also of the Watchers’ many other holdings. Its uniform is a bloody red.

The Ordo Mortician, last in the cycle, is concerned with endings, death, wintertide, secrets, old bones, and ghosts. It is seen as the most isolated of the orders, for even more so than other Watchers, the duties of a mortician often necessitate much time in solitude. Its uniform is a stark white.

For all four orders, the uniform consists of a greatcoat and a chain of office marking rank, along with trousers or a skirt with stockings, a blouse or shirt, a leather belt, boots or shoes, optional gloves, and a sword. They are, after all, militant scholars, and many of their traditions are rooted in ancient aristocratic norms. As such, a modicum of proficiency with the blade is required of any Watcher physically capable of such. Mostly they prefer one-handed blades, of various makes and heft as the individual sees fit, including rapiers, broadswords, smallswords, side swords, spadroons, saifs, sabres, fleurets, foils, epees, and more.

Students of the Watchers wear grey uniforms and lack a chain of office until their final initiation ceremony, which is only reached after months of rigorous tests of mind, body, and spirit. The initiation requires a sponsor and two other Watchers. The student passes between the blades of the other Watchers, then kneels before their sponsor and pledges loyalty to the Shrouded City, their chosen order, and the pursuit of knowledge itself. Most students come from one of two backgrounds. They may be scholars of note in their own right, with an inquisitive hunger for lore. Alternatively, the Watchers frequently abduct promising children and raise them either in the Shrouded City’s boarding school or else out in one world or another as an apprentice to a senior Watcher.

Ultimately, the goal of the Watchers is knowledge, and the power that it brings. They seek absolute knowledge of all things, and thus power over those things. They are at times ruthless or cruel, yet not without reason or purpose.

Author’s Note: A part of my ongoing Onward Everyday worldbuilding project, an attempt to get an unruly, overgrown fantasy universe into writing. This was written on the 3rd, but it took me a couple days to get it posted.

[qsycomplainsalot]

-going into the woods with my saw, hooks, crossbow, machete, spadroon, dagger, meat cleaver and four sickles to do very normal things-

Inventory, June 2024

[wraith-of-thiodolf]

not diggin the stirrup hilt spadroon

[blue-and-gilt]

British 1796 Pattern Swords.

A ‘Pattern’ was a centrally held, sealed example that manufacturers could refer to for measurements and other specifications. Because of this, some variation still occurred amongst the different producers. In the British context, Pattern is used in the same way that others use model.

While other patterns already existed for British equipment, such as the Brown Bess musket, the 1796 Pattern was the first introduced for swords, prior, there were the 1786, 1788 and regimental regulation swords. These regulations however, were very broad and now days, get used as much for convenience by collectors than for accuracy.

As the first pattern, the 1796 encompassed all branches of the army, and included:

The infantry sergeants sword

Infantry officers sword

Light cavalry troopers sabre

Light cavalry officers sabre

Heavy cavalry troopers sword

Household Guards troopers sword

Heavy cavalry officers service sword

Heavy cavalry officer dismounted service sword.

In terms of uniformity trooper and sergeant swords were broadly uniform having been purchased and proof tested by the Ordnance Board, another new concept that was introduced at the same time.

However since officers purchased their own swords privately there exists a lot of variation between them. Both in physical specifications such as weight or blade length or even going so far as to change the blade for the new ‘Pipe-back’. Or using a family heirloom blade that was completely non-regulation.

In the photos I show a number of officer and trooper examples, including a light cavalry style hilt on a pipeback blade, a light weight light cavalry style sword with un-fullered shamshir style blade that was likely a cavalry officers dress sword and a heavy cavalry officers dress sword with boatshell guard and a mid 18th century heirloom backsword blade.