DAGGERS AND SHEATHS.
from various circumstances it is very probable that it was executed by Greek artists resident at the formercity. Not much later we find King Alfred presenting a “ seax,” or falchion (the national sword of the Anglo-Saxons ) in a golden sheath, and a baldric studded with gems, to his grandson Athelstane, on the occasion ofhis being made a knight.
As far as we are able to judge by existing documents (such, for instance, as the Bayeux tapestry andilluminated MSS.), the arms and armour of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries, were almost entirelydevoid of ornament: it is, however, probable that in some cases the helmet and coat of mail were gilt, andthe sword-scabbard enriched with embroidery. We must, therefore, wait for any indications of ornament untilthe succeeding century, the epoch of the gradual introduction of plate armour.
During the whole of the middle ages the handles of the swords and daggers were, for the most part,but little ornamented. We do, indeed, find that the round pommel of the thirteenth century had occasionallythe coat of arms of the owner inserted in enamel, but more generally it appears to have been plain. Thehandle itself was either bound round with wire, and sometimes with silk, or, if in metal, consisted of a fewlongitudinal or twisted mouldings, to give the hand a firmer hold. The whole of the decoration was reservedfor the sheath, which was generally covered with some rich velvet, and strengthened by metal guards. Theselatter were worked into the most elegant shapes; and an inspection of Stothard’s and Hollis’s MonumentalEffigies will give an excellent idea of the care and skill bestowed upon this part of the knight’s equipment.
A sword, incorrectly ascribed to Hugh Lupus, the first Earl of Chester, is preserved in the BritishMuseum . The handle is enriched with pieces of mother-of-pearl, and the pommel presents some very finechasing or repoussage: it is impossible to tell which. Another sword in the same collection has several coatsof arms enamelled on the handle; and the sword of state of the Archbishop of Cologne has a magnificentscabbard of silver filigree work, and is, besides, enriched with several jewels.
The small dagger worn by all classes during the middle ages, and which, when carried by the civilian,was called the “ anlace,” and when forming part of the military equipment had the appropriate name of the“ misericorde,” received quite as much ornament as the sword; indeed, the one is but often a reduced copyof the other. We often read of these anlaces, &c., being set with stones and otherwise decorated; but thereis very little evidence that the hilts or scabbards were fashioned into figures of men or animals, as in latertimes.
Previous to the introduction of damascening, the principal decorations of weapons consisted of engraving,parcel-gilding, and raised work, which was produced by sinking the ground and leaving the ornament slightlyin relief. All these processes may be studied in the armouries of the Tower of London and Goodrich Court,the Musee d’Artillerie at Paris, and the Armeria Real at Madrid . The latter contains many of the chefs-d’oeuvreof Negroli, of Milan, and of Andrea di Ferrara,* both of whom appear to have been Italians , or at least toclaim an Italian origin. The name of the latter is of European celebrity, for the excellent temper he contrivedto give the blades of the weapons which bear his name.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the dagger formed part of the ordinary costume of everygentleman, great pains were taken with its ornamentation, and the services of the best artists and goldsmithswere eagerly secured for the purpose. To enumerate the names of those who were engaged upon this branchof the art, would be to give a list of the most distinguished goldsmiths of the period. We must contentourselves with mentioning the great Albert Durer , who engraved a partisan published by M. Planche in the“Pictorial History of England;’' and Benvenuto Cellini, who, according to his own account, was the first toapply damascening to the blades of swords and daggers. At the present day, when the system of thedivision of labour obtains to so great a degree, the artist and manufacturer have become separated, and itonly remains for the latter to secure the best artistic talent he can obtain; it is for this reason that wecongratulate Mr. Wostenliolm in having Mr. Stevens as his coadjutor.
* It is exceedingly doubtful whether it w'as Andrea himself or a namesake who was invited to Scotland by James IV. or V. to teach theScots the art of tempering sword-blades.