#carrying swords

[petermorwood]

Hi!

I see you know things about sword and armour and such as it comes up on my dash and I thought I’d bother you with a question.

I like to draw, though i tend to ignore characters with weapons as I don’t know much about them. If I was drawing someone, they don’t really have a backstory I’m just doodling - but someone who would travel with a sword; where’s the best place to carry it? At the waist? Or carry it separately? And I mean a sword someone can carry in one hand. I know there’s loads of different swords and types and each might have a different answer, but I thought I’d ask you anyway, any advice is more what I know at the moment XD

Thanks!

Since your question is about research for drawing, this answer is going to be image-heavy. (What a surprise...) ;->

TL;DR - A one-handed sword was usually worn on a waist-belt, or attached to one by extra straps.

I'm not bothering with back-carry, a modern fantasy. Look up my tags "back-carry" and "back-scabbard" for plenty more info on that topic.

In the mid-14th century the belt dropped to hip level because of Fashion, as shown on the Black Prince's tomb.

Less often (though Vikings, Roundheads, pirates and Scottish Highlanders all did it, they weren't medieval) swords were also hung from a shoulder-belt (baldric - no "k" unless you want Blackadder)...

...which may sometimes have been strapped down with a waist-belt, Sam Browne style, to prevent the sword from bouncing around too much.

Japanese katana / tachi are used two-handed, but I'll include them because they're no longer than a European one-handed sword and are also worn at the waist.

The tachi, a old-style military and court sword, was suspended edge-down from a belt while the katana, a newer-style and mostly civilian sword, was pushed edge-up through a waist sash (obi):

Period art of Renaissance Irish warriors - kerns - often shows them carrying their swords in one hand...

...but while assembling pics for this post, I only found four instances of medieval men-at-arms doing a similar hand-carry. Two are here...

...and the other two are here, at extreme right and left - you can tell the sword's not belted in place because the fastening-flap is hanging loose with no laces through it.

In art from the early Middle Ages, this lace-and-flap arrangement seems far more common than a buckle. This carving shows how it works very clearly - NB that the over-shoulder belt (guige) has nothing to do with the sword and is attached to the shield.

The following pics illustrate various ways European one-handed swords were worn, usually with armour.

Despite what movies and fantasy fiction suggests, swords (daggers were another matter, nearly everyone carried those) were so rarely worn with civilian clothing that the word "rapier" may have evolved from "espada ropera", a sword worn with "robes", i.e. just clothes, not armour.

Here's one of those rare examples. There are a couple more at the bottom, but they're from the mid-1500s, when armour had started falling out of use except (usually) as a badge of rank for VIPs.

All the rest feature armour from the early to the late medieval period.

Hope This Helps! :->

[the-phantom-peach]

skyward sword zelink? 👉👈

errm sure, have an unfinished piece I’ve never posted “OTL

I think it’s so cute they would write letters when they sleep in the same building <3

[cyanorhis]

Thinking about the fact that Zuko has had every possible hairstyle Katara could have ever been into (from bald to long hair). He wields dual swords like Jet. He is a powerful bender as the fortune teller intended. He acts as a "vigilante of sorts" like Jet did. He can be a puppy like Haru. He can be a badass like Jet. Truly the most versatile ever. He's the 1000 in 1 boyfriend fr.

Not to mention the parallels with her ofc, if we're going to consider Blue Spirit x Painted Lady shenanigans, the mommy issues, the dry sense of humor, the nerdiness, the sense of responsibility... All things that match Her regardless of her possible interests in romantic partners. It's just too amusing to me.

My dude was truly dedicated to the cause. I salute him.

[bacchuschucklefuck]

they tried to rebrand as The Criminals but riz is literally the city council's treasurer and also turns out people in their late 20s don't really name their friend groups. so now they're The Intrepid Heroes

[moonlightperseus]

okay but i NEED fabian doing a full 180 once the baby is born and just being like. I Have To Be The Greatest Big Brother Ever

[uncharted-constellations]

~You were just a kid too, huh~

Again, I refuse to make adult mm link edgy sorry.

[as-i-watch]

This is hilarious to me, like no Law you are not a practical person!! You are just a different flavour of neurodivergent than Luffy

[wis-art]

after a rough day

OCS:

Goat (mine and yes that is her name :3c)

Philas (belongs to @wolfertinger666)

[wasyago]

we're at it again🕺

[justaz]

merlin (immortal) giving arthur (pendragon) the only blade that could kill him

[emperor-smol]

second "finished" fanart for @sword-and-stars great pokémon/atla fusion carry on for you. this time the aftermath of Jet's last visit in field and a river. I liked both hair lengths again ... pls enjoy

drawing process under the cut

[entiqua]

the theory that blue doesn't mind being on cleaning duty he's just annoyed that he has to work with shadow (who probably doesn't do any work)

[layzeal]

one of my favorite headcanons with little to no canon support is that xue yang and mo xuanyu were guidao jin disciples at the same time, and mxy mentioned a few times wanting to ressurect the yiling laozu to kill his mom's evil family, so when xy saw him (or rather his body) entering yi city AS the yllz, he was like "son of a bitch he actually did it"

[sunfish5149]

Thinking about Yoo Joonghyuk's sage eye that makes him have black-yellow heterochromia and it's so hilarious because not only is that eye so bright it could shine in the dark but it's the exact same color as like, a phone's camera with the yellow flashlight next to it like that's hilarious I wonder if I rattle his head a bit, the eye will turn on like a flash light and when yjh turns his head to look at you u can't see anything because of how bright it is

[7cfc00]

home is where the heart is (and yours is gone)

[luna-loveboop]

Yeah sky and time's relationship is a whole mess over the master sword

but can we talk about sky and wild's view of the sword

Because it's just a lot of contradictions

Sky loves the sword. Sky loves Fi. Sky openly admits she can hurt them. Sky knows she has best interests at heart. Sky is dying for someone to care about the sword. Sky is pissed that wild broke the sword. Sky still handed her back to him.

Wild loves the sword. The sword tried to kill Wild and he's a little bitter about that. Wild worked to earn the sword. Wild doesn't feel worthy of the sword. Wild breaks the sword. The sword always comes back.

.

Wild is the only one who openly invites Sky to talk about the sword- how he forged it, and the voice inside. There is a lot of negativity around Wild and the sword. And the sword is a major bonding point with Sky. He's dying for someone to care about her too, but at the end of the day Wild is the one who actually talks to him about her.