Posted on 03/30/2005 1:06:55 PM PST by dead
LONDON - One of Scotland's national treasures, the 5-foot sword wielded by William Wallace, the rebel leader portrayed in the Academy Award-winning film "Braveheart," left its homeland for the first time in more than 700 years Wednesday.
The double-handed weapon that belonged to Wallace will be the centerpiece of an exhibition at New York's Grand Central Station during Tartan Day celebrations, which begin later this week.
Mick Brown a specialist remover prepares to pack William Wallace's sword at the Wallace Monument in Stirling, Scotland Wednesday March 30, 2005. The sword will leave Scotland Wednesday for the first time in more than 700 years, travelling to the United States as part of the country's Tartan Day celebrations being held in April. Members of Stirling Council met earlier this month to decide whether to allow the national treasure make the trip to New York, where it will form the centerpiece of an exhibition. (AP Photo/Andrew Milligan, PA)
This year marks the 700th anniversary of the execution of Wallace, who led the Scots in their battle to free themselves from English rule and whose story was brought to the screen by Mel Gibson in the 1995 film "Braveheart." The film won five Academy Awards.
"This is an historic moment. It is the first time in 700 years that a relic of this importance has left these shores," said Colin O'Brien, a Scottish official accompanying the sword to the United States.
The 6-pound weapon will be returned to its home at the National Wallace Monument in Stirling, Scotland, after the celebrations.
Wallace's sword was kept at Dumbarton Castle for 600 years. King James IV is said to have paid for it to be given a new hilt in 1505.
"There can be only one"......;)
When you're in NYC to seen Wallace's sword, be sure to schedule plenty of time in the Metropolitan Museum Of Art's rather extensive "Arms and Armor" wing. Lots of good stuff there, not to be missed.
"Metropolitan Museum Of Art's rather extensive "Arms and Armor" wing."
The Philadelphia Art Museum has a lot of good stuff, too.
One of my faves is a full suit of armor, obviously made for a man with a serious beer belly, that has a lone bullet hole in it.
Which is why fencing is now a sport rather than a military option.
Sorry, in the great traditions of the English monarchy, Longshanks had no heart.
Cool. I'll be in NYC a week from Saturday; hopefully it will still be there.
We had thin wiry friend who used to visit us and take my swords out in the yard and "play" with them.
He'd swoop around the yard swinging that five-foot beast over his head like it was nothing.
It must be strength *and* technique because one good swoop leaves my arms burning.....:)
I bought the sword at a Renn Faire many years ago and carried it home on the p-pad of a Harley.
First time I'd ever seen car drivers make *sure* they didn't crowd us....:)
Actually, that's pretty heavy for a sword. Wallace must have been enormously strong.
Hubby's friend handmade me a 4 foot sword with an antler and brass grip.
At a point about 2 1/2-3 inches away from the hilt, you can balance it on one finger.
[he was sorta surprised when "balancing it" was the first thing I did when he handed it to me]
Dunno how he does it but although it's heavy it's like swinging a feather....:)
Hmm.. Pommel does look like it could hold a bit of lead.
In "Gods & Generals" in the scene where they're looking across the river to Fredericksburg, they're actually standing on the edge of Blair's Valley Lake not far from here.
There's no bridge there, either.
Watching the movie was a mind-freak.
It was amazing how they CGI-ed my entire world....:))
Some of those bladesmiths are akin to magicians.
And some people are just very skilled with it to the point of seeming magical.
I'd still love to know how they do it.
(And make one or three myself.)
Relatively well in the later seasons. The thing to remember is that real swordplay is very subtle, where stage swordplay is exaggerated. They want the audience to see the moves, but when you are actually fighting, you want the other guy to never know what just happened that killed him.
The monster 15-pound blades we so often see are truly "bearing swords"...carried usually by a lord or king in parades and such ceremonial functions for looks. A true, hard-bitten warrior most often chose a plain, light, but SHARP and STRONG weapon for real fighting.
Most medieval swords rarely topped 5 pounds. Most also measured about 30 inches in the blade, with two-handers and Claymores (like Wallace's) going over 40 inches of blade.
"It must be strength *and* technique because one good swoop leaves my arms burning"
Spending several hours a day from about the age of 8 hacking at a wooden post set into the ground probably had something to do with it, too.
Probably a "globos" (sp?) breastplate. It is meant to round away from the body for air circulation and to deflect blows on the curved surface. The hole is a "bullet-proof", which armorers would use to show how close a gun would have to be to hole their best armor. Most times these holes aren't large enough to actually admit the bullet. It was a sign of the quality of the armor.
We used to go with biker friends to Renn faires and Colonial re-enactments but they stopped wanting to go with us because I'd stand and gawp at the smiths for hours until I was literally dragged away.....:))
And smiths *were* once considered "magicians" which is why all the legendary smith gods like Vulcan, Goibhnu and Haephestus were "crippled" in their mythologies.
Kings and landowners would intentionally cripple a good smith to prevent them from running off.
Hubby is a welder/metal fabricator and even he gets annoyed when I sit out in the shop and watch the fire and sparks as he hammers chunks of "useless" steel into amazing things.
Even my house is involved in all this weirdness.
It's about 250 years old and belonged to a smith who serviced wagons on the old National Pike.
The two nearest neighbor's houses were also part of the "complex" and all three houses have welders and/or metal fabricators living in them.
[spirit of place?]...;)
Not far from here was the Green Springs Iron Furnace.
There are holes all over the woods where they dug the iron ore.
The stream by my house has "rusty" algae and in the summer especially, the water looks like blood because so much iron oxide is leeched from the rocks and the heat slows the stream down enough that it builds up.
Well, I'm not an expert on armor, but as I recall it's rounded at the belly and not at the shoulders, and the hole goes all the way through.
As far as I know, he never did that....LOL!
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