Bastard with a crown

This all-iron/steel sword is a bit of a mystery…

If you collect swords, you know the feeling: The thing you just bought could be a priceless unidentified original from 1600, 1800, or 1898. Or it might just be a piece of scrap metal put together by an SCA armorer during the Clinton Administration.

Parsing the meaning of “is” would be too much for this solid, well-balanced bastard sword. Its hilt, including the grip and pommel, are all made from one piece of iron.

My feeling is that this may be a recent production. But I hope it may have been made during the heyday of 19th-century fencing re-construction.

I can dream, can’t I?

Hilt: All in one piece

Stammbuchblatt: Stoßfechten among German students

Images of German students engaging in thrust fencing are rare…

A pencil and watercolor drawing of two German students about to engage with foils. Artist, date, and place of origin are unknown, but one of the two students has his sleeves rolled up. Mid-19th-century sources indicate that Burschenschaft students in Jena were famous for exhibiting their scarred lower arms by rolling up their sleeves.

These sketches may have originated between 1820 and 1840 and were probably produced by a student.

A Stoßmensur

Wrestling at Grasmere Sports

Wearing your underwear on the outside… so this is where Superman got his look…

Grasmere is located in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. This postcard was mailed from its neighboring village of  Ambleside on August 16, 1906. The Grasmere Sports is one of the most popular traditional events in the Lake District since 18522 and includes Cumberland wrestling.