French Folding Sword for Hunting

Editor's Note: Text below translated from French by Google Translate.

Dating: Around 1600
Author Unknown
Materials: Iron
Techniques: Chasing
Place of creation: Germany (?)
Height:
Unfolded: 1.86 m / folded: 0.58 m
Width:
0.13 m
Weight: 1.8 kg
Inventory No: J 889
Background: Unknown
Location in the museum (name room, No. showcase):
Former Department of the Strings room (hunting) - showcase 40-01

Among the most spectacular parts of the Army Museum appears this flexible arm hunting sword. This weapon presumably crafted for boar hunting resumes point by point the features identified by René de Maricourt (1575-1632) in his hunting treatise written in 1627 to the attention of the king Louis XIII (1601-1643) "(the sword) does doibt have only edged up by half the tip and the rest doibt only be an iron bar in the way brette, fearing blisser (hurt) or kill leuriers (greyhounds) when they take wild boar and wolves ... ".

When folded, the dimensions of this piece allows the owner to carry easily to the belt in the manner of a city sword. However, once unfolded, all measuring 1.86 m and turns into a real spear (picture 2), providing longer - and therefore improved safety - the hunter. The quillons inverted guard then turn into solid and side stops device to prevent the iron from sinking too deeply into the flesh of the animal attacked.
Articulated in three parts held together by hinges that maintain sliding rings, the blade is actually composed of two rectangular metal bars and a sharp tip median ridge at its end.

Unlike the blade, just polished the knob (picture 3), the handle, the quillons and the shell of the guard (visual 4) receive a rich carved decor repeating the motif of the "Moor's head."

Source: www.musee-armee.fr/