Quillons
The quillons are the cross piece between the handle base and the blade of a sword or knife . The purpose of the quillons is to protect one's own hand from the opponent's sword or knife blade, which can intentionally or unintentionally slide down the sword or knife and hit the hand when the blades meet in a fight. The quillons also prevent the swordsman's hands from being crushed or slipping forward and being injured on the blade in the event of a blow on a shield.
The quillons represent the simplest form of hand protection on a sword. With the advancement of swords to lighter and faster dueling weapons ( rapier , rapier ) and the increasingly lighter armor , the protection of the hand became more important in defense. These were guard plates or baskets used.
The opponent's weapon can also be trapped between the blade and the crossguard.
Furthermore, the quillons can be used for a so-called murder blow , whereby the (gloved) fighter grabs his sword by the blade with both hands in order to hit the opponent with the quillons on the skull, similar to an ax blow. There is a great deal of force behind the murder, as the center of gravity of a sword is usually close to the handle in order to be able to fight better with it.
to form
“Bent up” or “upwardly curved” refers to the bend of a quillons and their ends or a guard blade away from the tip of the sword. This cross-guard shape was used to secure the hand against a slipping blade. The designation for a crossguard bent in the opposite direction, i.e. towards the tip of the sword, is "bent".
The quillons could also be equipped with holes for the fingers to allow a firmer grip of the weapon.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gerhard Seifert: Technical terms of the edged weapons knowledge. German ABC of the European naked defensive weapons. (Cut, thrust, hit and hand thrown weapons). Verlag Seifert, Haig 1981.