Indian short sabers

Jens Nordlunde · 30th December 2015, 04:56 PM

Hi Richard,

You could be right - I dont know, as I have never tried to research this before, but I have been wondering too.

In Hindu Arms and Ritual Robert quotes The Nujum al-Ulum (1579 AD) where it says that a suprious sword is fifty fingers long. In the note he says that they in South-Asia uses the thumb when measuring - krises blades, but he does not say anything what was used when measuring sword blades in India.
I dont know if this measure should be used here, as in another discussion we had on the forum long ago, one fingers width is the same as four or five barly corns - and this would not fit with a thumbs width - or the corns would have be quite big. I seem to remember that they in India used the index finger, and this would fit better to four or five barly corns.
So when fifty finger should be the length of a sword, and the number of finger should be even rather than uneven. I dont know why they made the blade of such a different length.
Other than they thought that such 'profets' should not decide of which length their sword should be, but dont for´get that they were very superstisious at the time.

Jens

Jens Nordlunde · 2nd January 2016, 03:51 PM

Sorry I made a mistake when I said one angula/finger was four or five barley corns, as it seems to be eight barley corns.
Wheeler M. Thackston in Jahangirnama writes that one finger is 2.032 cm or 4/5 inch.
A. L. Basham in The Wonder that was India writes that eight barley corns = one angula = 3/4 inch.
If Thackston is correct. 1 inch = 2.54 cm so 4/5 of an inch would be 2.032 cm.
Basham's measure would give 1.905 cm. So the difference would be 0.127 cm.
When we are told that the best blades should be 50 angulas - and always an even number - the difference in blade length would be 6.35 cm, which is 3.125 angulas in difference.

2nd January 2016, 03:51 PM	#2
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Correction Sorry I made a mistake when I said one angula/finger was four or five barley corns, as it seems to be eight barley corns. Wheeler M. Thackston in Jahangirnama writes that one finger is 2.032 cm or 4/5 inch. A. L. Basham in The Wonder that was India writes that eight barley corns = one angula = 3/4 inch. If Thackston is correct. 1 inch = 2.54 cm so 4/5 of an inch would be 2.032 cm. Basham's measure would give 1.905 cm. So the difference would be 0.127 cm. When we are told that the best blades should be 50 angulas - and always an even number - the difference in blade length would be 6.35 cm, which is 3.125 angulas in difference.

30th December 2015, 04:56 PM	#1
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Hi Richard, You could be right - I dont know, as I have never tried to research this before, but I have been wondering too. In Hindu Arms and Ritual Robert quotes The Nujum al-Ulum (1579 AD) where it says that a suprious sword is fifty fingers long. In the note he says that they in South-Asia uses the thumb when measuring - krises blades, but he does not say anything what was used when measuring sword blades in India. I dont know if this measure should be used here, as in another discussion we had on the forum long ago, one fingers width is the same as four or five barly corns - and this would not fit with a thumbs width - or the corns would have be quite big. I seem to remember that they in India used the index finger, and this would fit better to four or five barly corns. So when fifty finger should be the length of a sword, and the number of finger should be even rather than uneven. I dont know why they made the blade of such a different length. Other than they thought that such 'profets' should not decide of which length their sword should be, but dont for´get that they were very superstisious at the time. Jens