Secrets of the Wallace: The Rapier in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

David Edge, Head of Conservation at the Wallace Collection, is interviewed by Katie and Amethyst about the rapier swords of the Renaissance period; the sixteenth and seventeenth century must-have fashion accessory.

Hi, I'm Katie and I've been working along with Amethyst, who has been interviewing David Edge, who is the Head of Conservation at the Wallace Collection.

We will be interviewing him about rapiers, which were important swords in the sixteenth-century.

What is the speciality of the rapier sword? What made it different from the other sword?

The term rapier is quite of complicated one and its history is equally complicated. In general the rapier is a sword which has a long thin blade and is predominately used for fighting in a style where you would use the point, rather than the cut (though there are cut and thrust rapiers). This one is more of an Italian style rapier, with a point and a long, thin, straight blade. It was usually a civilian rather than a military weapon, though there were military rapiers to be had.

When the sword was introduced in the Renaissance how did people learn the skills needed?

It's a type of fighting that was very refined. The weapon was a social statement, so you couldn't own a rapier and show off your importance without knowing how to use it.
You would be taught at a Fencing Academy by a master, who would show you the various different styles of using a rapier. There were lots of different academies, fencing schools and masters, and with any expertise, one set of experts were always ready to pour scorn on the other set of experts. In England we had George Silver, who disliked the Italian 'nimby-pimby' style, insisting instead that you should fight in the English manner. So different styles were developed and even manuals where written. Rapiers became very fashionable and cultured, all the noblemen would know how to use a sword, even from a very early age. For example, some of these rapiers were made for boys, I can't actually fit my hand in, showing it was made for a child. It was still as lethally sharp as the adult ones and the child would be taught from an early age how to ride and fence.

What pieces of clothing or other weapons would need to be carried or worn with your sword?

You would have a belt and hanger and the sword would hang here, quite low, so it would be very quick to draw (like in a western- quickly for your pistols). The longer the blade, the more fashionable it was in the Renaissance but you still had to be able to draw it from the scabbard, so the blade was limited by that distance.

On the belt you would also have a left hand dagger. This was called a parrying dagger and often the decoration would match the rapier, if you bought it as a pair. You would fight with both, so you could engage with your opponent's blade, knock it aside in a parry and then go in with the dagger.

Thank you

We chose the rapier as we thought they were an important part of fashion in the Renaissance period. You can view the rapiers at the Wallace Collection and keep watching for the next podcast.


Part of the 'Secrets of the Wallace' podcast series.