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Toledo blades have always been famous, and rank first among the
steel knives of the world. Even in Roman times, and of course under the
Moors, Toledo led in this department. The process of making a Toledo blade was as
follows. There was a special fine white sand on the banks of the Tagus, which
was used to sprinkle on the blade when it was red hot, before it was sent on to
the forger's. When the blade was red hot from being steeped four-fifths of its
length in flame, it was dropped point first into a bucket of water. If it was
not perfectly straight when it was withdrawn, it was beaten into shape, more
sand being first put upon it. After this the remaining fifth of the blade was subjected to the
fire, and was rubbed with suet while red hot; the final polish of the whole
sword was produced by emery powder on wooden wheels.
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DAMASCENED HELMET |
Damascening was a favourite method of ornamenting choice suits
of armour, and was also applied to bronzes, cabinets, and such pieces of metal
as lent themselves to decoration. The process began like niello: little channels for the design were
hollowed out, in the iron or bronze, and then a wire of brass, silver, or gold,
was laid in the groove, and beaten into place, being afterwards polished until
the surface was uniform all over. One great feature of the art was to sink the
incision a little broader at the base than at the top, and then to force the
softer metal in, so that, by this undercutting, it was held firmly in place.
Cellini tells of his first view of damascened steel blades. "I chanced," he
says, "to become possessed of certain little Turkish daggers, the handle of
which together with the guard and blade were ornamented with beautiful Oriental
leaves, engraved with a chisel, and inlaid with gold. This kind of work differed
materially from any which I had as yet practised or attempted, nevertheless I
was seized with a great desire to try my hand at it, and I succeeded so
admirably that I produced articles infinitely finer and more solid than those of
the Turks." Benvenuto had such a humble opinion of his own powers! But when one
considers the pains and labour expended upon the Arts of damascening and
niello,
one regrets that the workers had not been inspired to attempt dentistry, and
save so much unnecessary individual suffering!
On the
Sword of Boabdil are many inscriptions, among them, "God
is clement and merciful," and "God is gifted with the best memory." No two
sentiments could be better calculated to keep a conqueror from undue excesses.
Mercia was a headquarters for steel and other metals in the thirteenth century.
Seville was even then famous for its steel, also, and in the words of a
contemporary writer, "the steel which is made in Seville is most excellent; it
would take too much time to enumerate the delicate objects of every kind which
are made in this town." King Don Pedro, in his will, in the fourteenth century,
bequeathes to his son, his "Castilian sword, which I had made here in Seville,
ornamented with stones and gold." Swords were baptized; they were named, and
seemed to have a veritable personality of their own. The sword of Charlemagne
was christened "Joyeuse," while we all know of Arthur's Excalibur;
Roland's
sword was called Durandel. Saragossa steel was esteemed for helmets, and the
sword of James of Arragon in 1230, "a very good sword, and lucky to those who
handled it," was from Monzon. The Cid's sword was similar, and named Tizona.
There is a story of a Jew who went to the grave of the Cid to steal his sword,
which, according to custom, was interred with the owner: the corpse is said to
have resented the intrusion by unsheathing the weapon, which miracle so amazed
the Jew that he turned Christian!
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MOORISH SWORD |
German
armour was popular. Cologne swords were great favourites in England. King
Arthur's sword was one of these,—
"For all of Coleyne was the blade
And all the hilt of
precious stone."
In the British Museum is a wonderful example of a wooden shield,
painted on a gesso ground, the subject being a Knight kneeling before a lady,
and the motto: "Vous ou la mort." These wooden shields were used in Germany
until the end of Maximilian's reign.
The helmet, or
Heaume, entirely concealed the face, so that for
purposes of identification, heraldic badges and shields were displayed. Later,
crests were also used on the helmets, for the same purpose.
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