It would be impossible for me to not be compelled to write my thoughts and perspectives on this topic after an entire lifetime of passionate (=obsessive) study on the history and development of swords and many areas of arms and armor, without my usual tirades.
However here are some salient quotes and items which have always inspired me and seem to parallel my own thoughts on these pursuits.
One of my favorites, Sir Richard Burton in opening lines of "The Book of the Sword" (1884),
"....the history of the sword, is the history of humanity".
"...they convincingly explained that rather than being mere accessories, weapons are in fact themselves artistic creations that reflect larger stylistic tendencies of a period"
from Bruno Thomas & Ortwin Gamber, in "Jahrbuch des Kunsthistorischen, museums in Wien 1937-1955"
This of course recognizes that even the less decorated or embellished weapons often reflect important elements of the scope of material culture established in cultures, traditions, religions and even superstitions.
Joseph Lepkowski said in 1857:
"...show the connoisseur the arms of a people, and he will tell you about its culture".
My personal introduction to this quest came as a boy, probably of course from the films of swashbuckling heros, historical dramas and seeing the fascinating use of arms in such settings. Through the years as I acquired various items, each represented the context and period I passionately wanted to study...each became an icon of the actual time and events depicted in those venues as I held them.
They became not just old weapons, but my own guides into history itself, and they had such stories to tell, by inspiring me to look deeper and deeper,
cerca trova.....seek and ye shall find.
In the words of Confucious...
"...I was not born knowledgeable, I am devoted to antiquity, and am quick to seek knowledge".
Probably paraphrased, as found scribbled in my ancient notes, but the point is made.
Virtually all these old weapons became lifelong friends, and I still learn from them as research never stops, as can be seen by my usual barrage of posts on many of them. They are case studies of decades,
A good example, along with others found on European Armory forum, if those interested would visit,
" Old Scottish basket hilt blade mounted in Indian Pata".
This illustrates how such a blade found use entirely incongruently in the weapon of another culture, and how historically this pairing is so important.
Another case was with an old British cavalry saber from the Napoleonic wars became over a generation later used by volunteer forces to defend the Vatican during the wars of unification in Italy in the 1860s.
I had no idea of these inherent factors when I acquired these weapons over 50 years ago, but gratefully I kept them, as if compelled to look deeper. This for me is the joy of the weapons I acquired.
While others are drawn to aesthetics and artistic beauty in decoration; some to the collecting of certain forms, variations, cultural traits and many factors as they choose favored fields, my area is history. For me, the darkly patinated, rugged old warriors are history incarnate, and full of stories....just like this old timer
