The REAL REASON they chose SMALLSWORDS instead of RAPIERS

Comments · 559

• JA

  @jannevellamo · 2 years ago

  In the 18th century, a lot of good jobs came with the right to wear a sword. That meant a lot of people who never had been noblemen or officers suddenly got to wear one as a sign of their rank and accomplishment. These people could be bureaucrats, scholars or even musicians. Johann Sebastian Bach got the right to wear a sword because he worked as Cantor. He even got some use out of his sword, when he was attacked by a drunk oboist, armed with a cudgel. Of course, civilians who had the right to carry a sword, but had no military ambitions or intention to duel, didn't really know how to fence, so they chose a weapon that was small, light, affordable and easy to wear. Often, the weapon didn't even have an edge.

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• MA

  @malahamavet · 2 years ago

  if the spanish kept using the rapier despite being under a French king like Phillip V who Frenchified a lot of stuff, then they&apos;re based. They were forced to abandon their big hats and long capes and wear short capes and tricorns. So if they kept using the rapier it&apos;s one of the last fashion things they could keep.<br>In case you didn&apos;t know there was an actual revolt because of this French fashion imposition, the guards were stoping people to cut their capes and force them to uae tricorns and they rebelled. It was called the Esquilache mutiny, a very interesting anecdote about how important local fashion is for the identity of a people. So i wouldmt day they were backwards or old fashioned, id congratulate them for keeping it a while longer, since they lost their fancy hats and long capes already

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• IT

  @ItsAVolcano · 2 years ago (edited)

  Same idea with the secrete, a minimalist skullcap style helmet popular at the time with wealthy soldiers purely because it let you wear a cool looking hat over it.😅

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• CA

  @Cana-Dan-Art · 2 years ago

  It&apos;s important to point out, I think, the practicality of a smaller blade aboard a naval vessel where your day-to-day is very cramped.

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• MI

  @minuteman4199 · 2 years ago

  As an army officer, I was a &quot;manager of violence&quot;. &nbsp;My weapon was a platoon, not a pistol.

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• JO

  @joeyfive5245 · 1 year ago

  Such a shame and the peer pressure still goes on to this day. I can’t seem to go anywhere carrying my Italian rapier without an officer of some kind bothering me about it.

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• SA

  @Sagart999 · 1 year ago

  @<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYikLaADeKA&amp;t=360">6:00</a> - Social pressure. &nbsp;In the US among those who carry firearms, the back-and-forth waves of changes that occur as to which firearm to carry are sometimes amazing to watch. &nbsp;And I admit to having been caught up in that silliness from time to time. &nbsp;The right answer, of course, is to have with you, and possess competence in, the weapon that works best for you and your environment.

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• ER

  @EriktheRed2023 · 2 years ago

  Catt Easton&apos;s little kingdom there in the background. Lying on the warm stones, dreaming of fish in the water feature, and hoping a bird will land nearby.

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• CA

  @carloparisi9945 · 2 years ago

  Hi Matt, we&apos;ve both been traveling and playing with swords for quite some times and something I figured out is that the rapier is not business compliant and is a serious source of inconvenience when traveling. It remained popular in cultures in which the upper classes weren&apos;t expected to do business (Spain), whereas the economically active upper classes of other countries were quick to adopt the smallsword, better fit for the office, traveling, being actively present in court. Imagine a bunch of people with rapiers in an office, government building, meeting at court ding-dong, the swords get in the way all the time. I think officers needed to be active on an administrative level and the smallsword is simply a better businessman&apos;s sword and the social stigma of the rapier could come from this factor as well: it is a sword for non working people

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• BA

  @barryklohr503 · 2 years ago

  Depending on the time period and location, the longer blade may have violated sumptuary laws. IIRC, Queen Elizabeth I limited civilians to 40 inch blades for rapiers and 12 inches for daggers.

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• FI

  @FiliiMartis · 2 years ago

  That rapier is one of the best looking designs to come out of Spain. And what Matt has is on par with what we see in the Met. Such a beautiful piece.

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• 23

  @232pk · 2 years ago

  For people at court i always imagined it was A fashion and B ease of carrying. Especially as everyone was expected to use a smallsword in a duel.

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