The question which is asked in this article is one which needs to be considered by anyone who would consider using a rapier, talking about rapiers, or indeed having an interest in rapiers. For the most part the question itself belies the complexity which is involved in such a discussion. There are many elements which need to be discussed to have a complete discussion of this particular topic, and what is presented are some of the arguments toward that discussion.
What is a
rapier? This is a question that has been posed by curators and historians
alike, and contrary to some beliefs, it is not exactly the easiest question to
answer. The biggest problem is, “it is hard to define something which comes in
many shapes and sizes.” (Anglo, 2000:99). This is one of the greatest problems
associated with answering the question. The fact that the rapier came with many
different hilts, blades of different lengths and widths makes defining exactly
what a rapier is a very difficult prospect. There are types of rapier which
contradict one another in their form as well.
“the ambiguities of the rapier
are, however, in a class of their own. As A.V.B. Norman puts it, with masterly
understatement: ‘the evidence for what is meant by the word rapier at a
particular period is confused’. This would matter little had historians of
fencing not tended to equate scientific swordsmanship with the Renaissance,”
(Anglo, 2000:99)
What
historians of fencing feel is that the rapier is an evolutionary step toward
the perfection found in the foil and epée found in modern fencing. From their
point of view, the arts found in the Middle Ages and Renaissance were not
particularly well formed and required development. In order to circumvent this
particular problem in many areas it is best to go back to the original sources,
but in the case of the rapier, this is not particularly helpful as contemporary
definitions are hazy at best, even those which had practical experience with
the weapon (Anglo, 2000:101). This creates a real problem in the definition of
this particular weapon. The word itself does appear in period, but its presence
is very limited.
“there never was any general
agreement as to what a rapier might be. It was only in England and Germany,
around the middle decades of the sixteenth century, that rapier came to be used to denote a long sword which, though
designed both for cutting and thrusting, placed emphasis on the use of the
point rather than the edge: and in neither country has it been possible to
establish a conniving etymology.” (Anglo, 2000:99)
What this
means is that there was only two countries and only for a short period of time
where the word “rapier” was actually used in a period context. Of course there
have been many who have decided that to establish the meaning of the word it is
important to look at its origin, and thus establish an etymology of the word
and thus find its origin nationally. This would seem to be a great idea, but it
has led many curatorial experts and fencing historians along a very interesting
path. One of the many sources cites this as the origin.
“The origin of the term “rapier”,
first noted in 1474 in a French document, is believed to be from the Spanish
words for costume sword – espada ropera.
By the early 16th century the term had come to mean a sword for use
by gentlemen; and shortly after the middle of the century is was accepted as
meaning a long, pointed and slender fencing sword for use by civilians.” (Valentine,
1968:7)
The French
term found was “epee rapiere” and this was compared to the Spanish term which
has been cited for re-emphasis and legitimisation. What will be noted later on
is this is not necessarily the case, and that calling this the origin is not
necessarily accurate. Of course through searches of etymological data, several
ideas have been expounded. Bull (1990) gives three different origins for the
word rapier; from the German “rappen” meaning to tear, from the Spanish
“raspar” meaning to scratch and finally from the Spanish “espada ropera”
meaning robe sword (Bull, 1990:96). If an examination of the period documents
is done, the results put some of these discoveries and theories in a bad light.
The best
source currently available for this information about the rapier is Anglo’s
(2000) The Martial Arts of Renaissance
Europe, in which he states that the French and Spanish never used espee
rapier or espada ropera (Anglo, 2000:100). Further in the English translation
of many manuals from the period of the popularity of the rapier, especially in
England, and later, Italian manuals in which the word spada, meaning sword, was
used, this is often interpreted as “rapier” (Anglo, 2000:100). This is how such
manuals which were translated into English in the Renaissance period such as Di
Grassi’s His True Art of Defence of
1594, were the word spada is used and it is translated as “rapier” as this was
the weapon commonly used in the period and also the one which was most popular
at the time.
What is
also important to note is that even in the case of the places where the
practice of rapier-play originated, “Italian, French and Spanish authors had
several words indicating different types of sword; but rapier was not one of them.” (Anglo, 2000:100). This gives us pause
for thought at this point in time. Had some other word been used in the English
translations, would that be the one that was used now? It is not to say that
some of the original words proposed were not used, this is not the case. There
is a rare occurrence of rapiere in French Renaissance account, keen edge,
alludes to cutting sword (Anglo, 2000:100). This is exactly what the rapier was
not, truly it could cut but it was not primarily a cutting sword.
The
Italians did have a different word, which does appear in period texts, for a
primarily thrusting sword, but it is not “rapier”. This weapon which is
described is also often mistakenly said to ...
The rest of this article can be found in Un-Blogged: A Fencer's Ramblings by Henry Walker, which is available in paperback from:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blogged-Ramblings-Henry-Leigh-Walker/dp/098764470X
Booktopia: https://www.booktopia.com.au/un-blogged-henry-leigh-walker/book/9780987644701.html
Among other places...
It is also available in electronic format (pdf) from: https://buy.stripe.com/fZecP419c7CB9VKeUV
... or direct from the author.
Bibliography
Anglo, S. (2000) The
Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe, Yale University Press, London, UK
Bull, S. (1990) An
Historical Guide to Arms & Armour, Victoria and Albert Museum Press,
London, UK
Valentine, E. (1968) Rapiers:
An Illustrated Reference Guide to the Rapiers of the 16th and 17th
Centuries, with their Companions, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, USA
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