Chestnut
| Chestnut | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Information | |
| Weapon type: | sword |
| Use: | Weapon, professional weapon |
| Region of origin / author: |
Ceylon (today Sri Lanka ), ethnic groups on Ceylon |
| Distribution: | Ceylon |
| Overall length: | about 64 cm |
| Blade length: | about 46-53 cm |
| Handle: | Wood, horn, silver , gold , precious stones |
| Lists on the subject | |
The chestnut is a type of sword from Ceylon (today Sri Lanka ). It has a single-edged, relatively short blade that is usually slightly curved.
description
Characteristic of the chestnut are elaborate knobs in the form of lion heads (the lion is considered the mythical ancestor of the Ceylonese and is a symbol of majesty and power) or heads of mythical animals ( makara ) as well as the use of valuable materials for the handle (wood, horn, tortoiseshell , Silver, gold, jewelery and precious stones). The scabbards are usually made of wood or horn. The blades have up to four hollow grinds. Most of the chestnuts are of an exceptionally high quality, which indicates that they were used as ceremonial swords and as symbols of representation for the Ceylonese kings and dignitaries.
It seems that the earliest chestnuts emerged only after meeting the Europeans in the 16th century and that they must be understood as imitations of the Renaissance weapons brought to the island by the Portuguese. Most of the blades come from Europe and bear the stamp of the Dutch East India Company .
Individual evidence
- ↑ George Cameron Stone : A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times. First edition 1934. New edition, ed. by Donald J. LaRocca. Courier Dover Publications, New York 1999, ISBN 978-0-486-40726-5 , pp. 339-340.
literature
- Diagram Group (Ed.): The New Weapons of the World Encyclopedia: An International Encyclopedia from 5000 BC to the 21st Century. St. Martin's Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-312-36832-6 .
- National Museums of Sri Lanka, Colombo Museum: Spolia zeylanica, Vol. 32-33 , National Museums of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Ceylon, 1971, pp. 140, 150, 376.
- Nick Evangelista : The encyclopedia of the sword. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995, ISBN 978-0-313-27896-9 , p. 326.
- Channa Wickremesekera: Kandy at war: indigenous military resistance to European expansion in Sri Lanka 1594-1818. Manohar, 2004, ISBN 978-955-8095-52-2 , pp. 113, 227.
