Short bladed tulwar

Jim McDougall · 21st August 2007, 06:20 PM

I agree completely with Ham's assessment supporting Charles observation.This short tulwar does indeed appear a secondary type weapon intended as Ham notes, for close in fighting.

It is interesting to note that describing noticeably short swords as childs swords is a common assumption. We do know of course that such swords did indeed exist, but the best guage is often to evaluate the size of the hilt, as has been noted here.

The use of shorter swords for close combat is best seen in Ham's excellent comparison noting the wakizashi, which comprised the intermediate of the suite of swords carried by the Samurai. In China, many of the forms of dao are found with extremely short blades, which are considered to have been mounted for in close combat or use in the close confines in allies and narrow streets of cities of the time.
It seems that there are numerous instances of cross influence between the weapons of China and India.While comparison between this example of short bladed tulwar and the similarly short bladed dao does not suggest any direct connection, it does seem worthy of note.

Best regards,
Jim

kronckew · 21st August 2007, 06:38 PM

the deadliest sword of the European area was the Roman gladius and it's associated weapons system, designed for close combat by infantry who were superbly trained in supporting each other, they easily beat the gauls and celts with their longer weapons who fought as individual warriors rather than as soldiers. in gaul alone julius caesar killed over a million or two in a few years, (tho not exclusively with the gladius). as the empire degenerated and the legions were a shadow of themselves, the longer cavalry spatha became the weapon of choice, most of the 'legionaries' were barbarian mercs who preferred them. in it's setting (close foot combat with a shield & armour) as part of it's weapons system, the gladius was and probably still is unequalled. it does not surprise me that other cultures found a similar solution to similar situations.

21st August 2007, 06:20 PM	#1
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	I agree completely with Ham's assessment supporting Charles observation.This short tulwar does indeed appear a secondary type weapon intended as Ham notes, for close in fighting. It is interesting to note that describing noticeably short swords as childs swords is a common assumption. We do know of course that such swords did indeed exist, but the best guage is often to evaluate the size of the hilt, as has been noted here. The use of shorter swords for close combat is best seen in Ham's excellent comparison noting the wakizashi, which comprised the intermediate of the suite of swords carried by the Samurai. In China, many of the forms of dao are found with extremely short blades, which are considered to have been mounted for in close combat or use in the close confines in allies and narrow streets of cities of the time. It seems that there are numerous instances of cross influence between the weapons of China and India.While comparison between this example of short bladed tulwar and the similarly short bladed dao does not suggest any direct connection, it does seem worthy of note. Best regards, Jim

21st August 2007, 06:38 PM	#2
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,224	the deadliest sword of the European area was the Roman gladius and it's associated weapons system, designed for close combat by infantry who were superbly trained in supporting each other, they easily beat the gauls and celts with their longer weapons who fought as individual warriors rather than as soldiers. in gaul alone julius caesar killed over a million or two in a few years, (tho not exclusively with the gladius). as the empire degenerated and the legions were a shadow of themselves, the longer cavalry spatha became the weapon of choice, most of the 'legionaries' were barbarian mercs who preferred them. in it's setting (close foot combat with a shield & armour) as part of it's weapons system, the gladius was and probably still is unequalled. it does not surprise me that other cultures found a similar solution to similar situations.