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If I wanted to fit the policy of a typical pre-1917 Eurasian state on weapons into a tweet, I would say “all free full citizens have to keep as many weapons as the state can make them in their homes, and carry as few weapons as the state can make them in public.” (That is a massive oversimplification, but its close enough often enough to get people thinking).
So there was a big difference between having arms and carrying arms. From the Roman Republic to 19th century North America, we tend to see laws requiring citizens to own arms, and banning anyone from carrying weapons, especially swords and knives, within city limits.
Perhaps the operative word here is “State”?
There were no real States in Europe other than Byzantium (sort of) and then the Ottoman Empire, in the High to Late Medieval period. France and England, some of the Iberian Kingdoms, and the Teutonic Order were trying to become States, but they weren’t quite there yet.
Anyway, the reasons we can speculate all day long about, the reality is that citizens routinely walked around armed in basically every town under every form of German Town Law, with a couple of exceptions. That is essentially what Prof. Tlusty’s book was all about (though she starts around 1520) and it’s certainly a big part of what my lecture was about.
Armed citizens, down to the rank of Artisan, appear routinely in the civic artwork of the period, their right to carry arms is specified in the town charters, it is discussed and litigated in the town council records, it is mentioned by chroniclers and in memoirs. And this was the case from at least the 11th Century through at least the 17th in at least 500 cities I know of. If you doubt my word on this which type of evidence would you prefer?
As for how they managed to have all these people carrying swords without constantly hacking chunks off of each other, Tlusty gets into that a lot and so does my lecture. There were a lot of formal laws against things like drawing your sword, various forms of making threats with it, and so on, and if you hurt someone in a fight you better have a good reason.
This is a mural in Augsburg by George Breau circa 1530, there is one for each season (you can see the others here)
Note all the people carrying sidearms!
Note German Town Law was used from Flanders to Romania and from the Swiss Confederation to Finland. It wasn’t just in Germany.
Ok lets move this discussion to this new thread where it will fit better:
I have been out of the loop for a long time, but apparently Ariella Elema is leaning towards the idea that as book-educated lawyers in Italy France and England turned against duels and trial by battle, men started to appeal to the right of soldiers to settle their disagreements for themselves or under the supervision of a senior soldier. One reason fencing training in northern Italy had to be versatile was that the person who chose the weapons could chose any weapons customary amongst soldiers. So if there was a tradition in the HRE north of the Alps of claiming the right to commit violence in defense of the honour of a citizen / landowner, that would be a different world.
In England and France I think that is possible, in Italy it would very much depend on the specific city and the specific time, but generally speaking you would be incorrect as they did also have the feud down there. Formal duels were going on uninterrupted in Italy for centuries after they were banned on pain of death in France (partly because formal duels in Italy were rarely lethal – when an Italian wanted to kill someone they tended to do it by ambush or some other means). Partly that is also because many French nobles didn’t know how to fence.
I did another lecture (one of the above, the one in Houston) on the Feud in Central Europe.
These are both quite complex subjects, so I’ll open a couple of new threads.
I had time to listen to the first half of the IGX Higgins Armoury Lecture 2013 ”The Sword in Daily Life.” Lots of interesting details, I never got around to reading “The Martial Ethic in Early Modern Germany.”
The thing I always wished I understood was how we got from the situation in the 14th century, where people rarely carry much more than a dagger or a ballstaff except when they are hunting and town laws are focused on limiting the bearing of arms in town, to the situation in the 16th century that people like William Harrison describe where anyone with any standing wearing at least a dagger and often a sword and buckler, sword and rotella, or a rapier when they are in public. I don’t see much sign of it arising in the 15th c., but it must come from somewhere.
Well… maybe listen to the rest of that lecture ;). Tlusty doesn’t get into that because her interest decidedly starts in the Early Modern period and she is “NOT a medievalist!” as if the latter was some kinda weird bug.
I think the problem lies in assuming what is true in one region is not true in another. Anyone of citizen rank (including partial citizens such as journeyman artisans) in all of the communes in Central Europe and I believe all above a certain size in Italy, and in Flanders and in a lot of Northern Europe (Scandinavia, the Baltic region) were not only allowed to carry arms they were required by the town charter to own and under certain circumstances carry a sidearm, usually specifically a sword, and also to have a primary militia weapon such as a crossbow or (by the 15th Century) a firearm. In Italy it might be a pavise or a spear too.
I think things were a bit different in France where there was a lot of emphasis on at least attempting the keep the peasants and serfs disarmed, and the towns had far fewer rights. My understanding is that in England and most of the Iberian Kingdoms burghers still had the right to carry arms until around the 1390s, though this was not fully completed until late in the 15th century. In Spain this ended decisively with the revolt of the Brotherhoods and the Revolt of the Communeros
Charles V tried to orchestrate something similar in Germany but was only partially successful at best. German citizens in the major towns and all of the Free Cities continued to walk around armed until the 17th or 18th Centuries, a few well into the 19th Century and a couple right up to WW2. Some of them did limit what artisans could carry after power struggles put the patricians on top, but that was by no means all of them.
Actually, I think ep. 131 of the Ask Historians podcast might be Hans’ cup of tea? It is by Adam Franti on the US militia in the War of 1812 https://askhistorians.libsyn.com/askhistorians-podcast-133-we-have-met-the-enemy-and-they-are-us-the-militia-and-the-war-of-181
Sounds very interesting. I did a podcast with Adam Franti and Jurg and Jack Gassmann during the summer about similar subjects, but for some reason they haven’t released it yet. I need to bug them about that. Jack is working on a Viking film up in Belfast right now so he’s kind of busy.
Well thank you that is very nice of you to say. I really enjoyed doing those, the guy doing the interview is a friend of mine who was doing that gig as a favor to somebody and no longer has it (I think in fact Cable Access is going away, sadly, along with the notion that corporations have to contribute anything back when they have been given a monopoly).
I hope I get to do some more interviews or discussions with that guy Jeff he makes a very good counterpart in my opinion.
That’s a fantastic pommel on that sword! What is the specific “magic” involved here? When I look at the inlay on the blade, it just strikes me as a “Passau Running Wolf” or something similar, but then I’m not too familiar with maker’s marks. So, what’s going on here?
Yes it is the Passau Wolf makers mark, and that is a sword which once belonged to a 13th Century Grand Master of the Teutonic Order but there is also quite a bit more going on here, which I don’t have time to delve into just yet. Stay tuned!
I hope James Arlen Gillaspie has time to explore his ideas about cruciform swords, theology about the sword as a cross, and why so many single-edged blades in the later middle ages have dots or crescents in the blade near the tip. When I was in Graz, I saw that they were still doing that on staff weapons in the 16th and early 17th c.!
As a fencing practitioner, I think the cruciform sword definitely had a very pragmatic purpose – you’ll notice they even include the cross on swords with complex hilts and bells and everything, and there is a very practical reason for that – but in the medieval period things often, I think you could say usually have multiple purposes and meanings.
I too have wondered about those little dots and sometimes holes that you see. Would be glad to learn more about that.
William,
First, I must inquire as to where you received your training? Are you in the OTO or something? Or perhaps, a self styled “vampire”? Or were you actually trained by a pack of Mandril Baboons?
Nevermind. I must congratulate you on one thing, you are an unusual person William. It has been 1,300 years since I have encountered a fool so great as you. If you survive your current predicament I will tell you the tale of that unfortunate man.
Let Dominus take note, I Barqan, called “Two Lightnings” and “Father of Wonders”, am in full compliance with our agreement and by the searing fire which flickers in the night, and by the bright sword of my nemesis, the angel Michael, I have followed the agreement and the nature of my compulsion. I gave this fool good counsel. I cannot be responsible for the state of the education system in this late era and this uncouth foreign land. When one tells a man how to steal a camel, must one say where to put your hand on the reigns and which foot to put in the stirrup? Call upon a lesser being than I for such trivialities as how to cast Circe’s Mantle of Stealth.
Enough of that. Let it not be said that Barqan is consumed by pettiness or easily startled. My last comment on the nature of this debacle is that the type of evil of your era does not suit me. It is like a weak tea which does not quench the thirst.
Let us return to the facts of the situation.
FIRST, I have interrogated your prisoners and determined that you have made a series of terrible mistakes. They are not cultists in the service of Tabi’ah after all. When you perceived this security guard, Toby Millard, did you not check his body for the seal of Tabi’ah before unleashing the terrible curse of Ba’al al Zevûv? Did you not behold his visage? Did he have “molar teeth like the tusks of an elephant, hair like leaves of palm trees, smoke emanating from her nose, a voice like thunder and eyes like lightning?”
Obviously you did not. It is only the coincidence that Ba’al decided that “Toby Millard” was close enough to “Tabi’ah” and that he did indeed indulge the sin of wrath, and therefore that the spell did apply to him and did not backfire onto your own cursed head.
SECOND, the man you slew in the coroners office of the City of Ash was a medical resident named Clifford Simons, who was apparently a very evil man. Again, this is incredible luck on your part.
An Irish Faerie once told me that the Christian God watches out for “Fools and Drunks”, were you drunk? If not, I would meditate upon this.
THIRD, having tortured several of these unfortunates, I finally found one, Jesse Spencer, who had some degree of wit. You should hope that he does not ever get wind of the origins of his suffering, because if he were trained in the Ars Esoterica he would certainly be your swift undoing. Under stimulus of the threat of immersion in a pool of liquid brass, and after a trying ordeal during which we had internet beamed to the City of Carnelian through an aperture in the Material Plane (if you think your water department is infuriating you should try dealing with Sky Abu Dabi)… Mr. Spencer was able to determine the cause of your increased water bill. It seems that you installed an old, high flush rate toilet which flushes 5 gallons instead of the now mandated 2.5. With the help of a Marid I sent to your home I was also able to determine that a homeless person named Jeff who suffers from Crohns disease has been sneaking into your basement, taking showers and repeatedly excreting enormous bowel movements into your new toilet. Jeff by the way no longer suffers from anything so you needn’t worry about that.
FOURTH You will be happy to know that this incident has not been an entire tragedy. Though my cultists were forced to abandon the blue house before the arrival of the police, with the help of Mr. Spencer I have now been able to acquire a large quantity of Bitcoin, which I have already used to purchase a barque full of sapphires. So you do not owe me any further debt.
FIFTH What do you expect me to do with this child? What do you take me for, an Ottoman? What need do I have of ‘parts’? I command five hill-strongholds each with five hundred thousand Marids. The child has been left at a homeless shelter in the City of Ash. He has sworn to take revenge against you and he is another who you must hope will never learn your name.
SIXTH You have wrought a great evil William. In accordance with my compelled agreement here I recommend that you first take immediate steps to escape, as the police will soon be at your home. Perhaps use the Directional Confusion of Marcus Greacus. Then if you follow the Latin rite you should Confess to a priest and perform whatever acts of contrition he recommends. Finally, I would recommend learning a great deal more and practicing such basic skills as literacy in ancient Greek and basic lateen metalworking for a lengthy period. Perhaps, if you can manage it, retire to the Philosopher’s Cottage for a period of several years.
I Barqan, have spoken.
I donned the Cloak, O Father of Wonders, but I had a hell of a time finding the billing department (the second floor is being renovated, apparently because of asbestos). Hardly anyone was there. The atmosphere was one of desolation and I could easily have been convinced that the building existed in a forgotten cul-de-sac in the Plane of Shadow. Turns out billing had been temporarily relocated to the break area, where I found two middle aged women of sallow complexion and melancholic humor eating Funyuns and gossiping about Steve in Stormwater and Runoff, who is apparently having an affair with Deedee in Maintenance. To top it all off I got a ticket for parking in the Employee of the Month spot, and when I burned the cloak I didn’t hear the expected wailing and lamentation from the spirits, just a low chuckle. Am I going to have to deal with an Invisible Stalker as well as an unjustly high water bill?
Do not fear mortal, to suffer two such curses simultaneously is not to be your fate at least until the next moon, after that I could not be certain without casting your horoscope, which though a small effort is not necessary.
You did well in your espionage, but because you have the wit of a Mandrill Baboon you did not grasp the meaning of the words which were spoken. “Dee Dee” is a well known Ismaili euphemism for “I-Hima bint I-Hima” (الهمة بنت الهمة – “sorrow daughter of sorrow”) that is to say my frenemy and ex-girlfriend, the terrible Jinn Tabi’ah, also known as Al-Qarinah, who has three names and ten more names.
“Steve” in Stormwater and Runoff is obviously the Jinn Zawba’ah (known as “cyclone”) who is also said to be a Div. He is the father of whirlwinds and sudden tumults, though in truth he is too lazy to foment great evil. It is Al-Qarinah who is calling the shots here.
The chuckling you heard was a Qareen, a double who has been dispatched by Tabi’ah to push you to do evil things and disobey Allah. She may also accompany this with a visitation from bears or lions.
But fear not! First of all the Mandrill is an order of magnitude more clever than the Chacma baboon let alone the Olive baboon, which is known for it’s filth. Second, you have been wise to seek my council and I shall now assist you in your plight. Obey my every word and you will be free of all curses and maledictions.
1) You must acquire a Tunisian metter of Oud perfume, placed inside a sandalwood barrel with my seal engraved on each end, and then coated with blue woad.
2) Wait until the next New Moon, and during the hour of Mercury, take the Oud to the blue house north of your own domicile. These people are adherents of my cult. Place the barrel on their front porch and flee. This will secure your payment to me.
3) Fashion an apotropaic shield of brass with my own terrible visage and seal inscribed upon it.
4) Then adorn each of your shoes with the Seal of Solomon. Create a copper ring inscribed with the seal of the angel Sammael to wear on the second finger of your right hand, and suffumigate both with the smoke of benzoin and saffron.
5) You must prepare the Curse of Ba’al Zevûv to discomfit Tabi’ah, whose sin is wrath, and prepare The Terrible Restraint of Rabam to forestall her other cultists.
6) On night the day of Saturn, in the hour of Mars, you must purify your spirit with the charm of the Dark Candescence. Gird yourself with Circe’s Mantle of Stealth, as this should be sufficient to conceal you and it is unwise to invoke Firiel twice in the same year. Using the charm of Circe, sneak onto the town morgue and obtain the heart of a deceased criminal. Approach the compound of water, and bury the dead mans heart just outside the gates of the dreaded Water Resources Department.
7) Then cross the threshold into the compound. Tabi’ah is vigilant, and she will confront you immediately. Speak her name and the terrible words of the incantation, and a swarm of flies will plague her. Do not tarry to behold her fate, but enter her temple where you will find her disciples chanting evil hymns. If Zawba’ah appears, show him the seal of Samael and he will retire. Cast the Terrible Restraint of Rabam on the cultists, and then order them to follow you to their doom.
8) Lead the entire procession to the blue house, and take them into the back yard, where you will be greeted by 5 bears. The bears will take them to my Castle of Gold within the city of Carnelian, where I shall visit upon them terrible suffering, and determine why your water bill was so high.
This is the town mentioned in the last paragraph, Swiecie. The town seems to have survived WW II relatively intact, though it was the scene of horrible war crimes by the Nazis. The medieval history is more interesting:
“Świecie was granted a municipal form of government by the Teutonic Order, [that means a town charter, almost certainly Chelmno law] “when it was still located on the high west bank of the Vistula. Probably because of destruction by fire, during the period 1338–1375 the town was relocated down into the valley at the Vistula. The town was briefly recaptured by the Poles after their victory in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. In 1454, in the beginning stages of the Thirteen Years’ War, it was captured by the Prussian Confederation, which opposed Teutonic rule, and upon the request of which King Casimir IV Jagiellon re-incorporated the territory to the Kingdom of Poland that same year.[2] The Teutonic Knights renounced any claims to the town, and recognized it as part of Poland in 1466.[3] Administratively it formed part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship in the province of Royal Prussia in the Greater Poland Province. The town prospered due to its location at the intersection of the Amber Road and the trade route connecting Western Pomerania with Warmia, Masuria and Lithuania.[1] In the 17th century, Świecie suffered as a result of the Swedish invasion of Poland and an epidemic.[1]“
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Awiecie
Here is their medieval Gothic town-hall (Rathaus or Ratusz to the Poles)
here is the Gothic church
And here is the castle where the fighting took place, built originally by the Teutonic Knights
Podcast with Anders Linnard and Axel Petterson from GHFS Sweden
Dear Al Barqan,
This month my water bill was $71.26, but for the same month last year it was only $50.48. I was actually out of town for several weeks this time around, so there’s no way regular usage can account for the discrepancy and there are no leaks. Please help!
This is indeed an ominous mystery. I advise resorting to the enchantment known to mortals as “The Cloak of Firiel”. Once you have completed the ritual and achieved total immunity from observation, approach this den of evil they call the “Water Resources Department” and enter within. Observe the fools at their work, and listen closely to their words. Then report back to me.
