French colichemarde

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by urbanspaceman

Thank-you for your help with this issue, it is much appreciated.
There seems to have been a rather wide variety of hilt styles with this pattern: mine (shown earlier) is different again with the pronounced double quillons.
What is most unusual is to have that French hilt on a Shotley Bridge blade.
I suppose French cuttlers could have access to London merchants during that period; let's face it, business is business, regardless of all else.
Do you happen to know what Matt had to say about it?
Anyway, thanks again. Keith.

Hi Keith,
While not able to add a lot here, I still follow as most interesting as always, Your command of Shotley and all related is unsurpassed.
Regarding the 'French connection' , there were always cross influences and diffusion between England and France AFIK. I know that during the Jacobite matters from late 17th through Culloden there was of course a great deal of 'staging' for the cause in France.
It seems there were many cases of blades with fleur de lis marks, and that at some location there was a 'fluer de lis' street in England where cutlers would acquire bundles of blades. I unfortunately cannot locate the source again (perhaps Aylward?).
I have seen blades with fluer de lis in British hilts pre Culloden, and there are suggestions this was a mark used in England...also suggested as the mark for the Paris arsenal.

What Im getting to is, would it be likely that French hilts, as a matter of fashion, would be mounted with Shotley blades?

While of course out of context, in the Spanish colonies in the Americas through the 18th century, it was not uncommon to see Toledo blades mounted in French hilts in the 'espadin' (small sword).