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.
Hope you weren't looking for any accuracy in a movie that portrays the Battle of Sterling Bridge without a bridge.
Thanks, I enjoyed reading about this - didn't even know they had his sword - but this is just a Scots ping.
I've got a 4' wrecking bar at work that only weighs 7 pounds. A sword with a fuller to stiffen and lighten it would easily be lighter than that. Doesn't look like the Wallace sword has a fuller though.
/jasper
New Yorkers are lucky to have the historic sword brought to them.
LOL! Thanks. I've got a brother who's a beer afficionado. He'll probably want me to get him a bottle of this.
So it certainly appears. Oh well...wouldn't be the first time, and if it's the last I'd best set my affairs in order!
A heartfelt thanks to the Stirling Council for allowing so many people who might never make it to Scotland an opportunity to see such an inspiring artifact. I wish I could travel to NY to see it myself. Hopefully we'll get some media coverage here with pictures or footage.
It's brewed in Tempe, Arizona at the Four Peaks Brewery. Very good, I might add!
had the same thought. about what a modern loaded rifle weighs
Where did you get that sword? Does it have an edge taper?
The ARMA site is great if you like swords.
"I've got a 4' wrecking bar at work that only weighs 7 pounds."
That's about what I was thinking--the stuff is HEAVY!.
The interesting thing is that I once heard on the History Channel that some swords were about 18 to 20lbs. I think they were of a later era (full body armor)than Wallace. Imagine trying to swing a 20lb sword!!??
I'm definately going to go see it.
I made it when I was about 16.
Does it have an edge taper?
To some degree. The actual edge is about 3/32" wide.
A large hunk of lead in the pommel, or something of that nature, I'd guess.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
That article gives the perspective from the medievalist's POV.
Fencers, by which I mean participants in the sport as practiced in the Olympics since 1896, have a somewhat different take.
When I was a young man, I studied under a couple of fencing masters who had actually fought duels when they were young men.
Until the 1960s, Hollyweird used to hire professionals to stage movie fight scenes. Some of those are very good and, according to those who remembered the real thing, quite accurate--though exaggerated.
Of course, I'm talking about swords used in the 18th and 19th centuries, and not the 12th or 13th.
In the 60s, that aspect of Hollyweird went as wrong as everything else, and with two bright exceptions, the fencing in movies since then has been worse than crap.
The first bright exception: The Princess Bride, of course. For that movie, they actually hired a venerable professional to stage the fencing.
While Elwes and Patinkin weren't themselves skilled fencers, like Stewart Granger, Mel Ferrer, James Mason, Basil Rathbone, and Tony Curtis, to name just a few, they did exert considerable effort to make the fencing right.
(Of course, you want to yell, "Keep your d@mned elbow in!" at them, but far better than anything else since the 50s.)
I got to meet them and Robin Wright when they came to my fencing club doing research for Princess Bride. (I'll never forgive her for marrying Sean "Scumbag" Penn, when she had a shot at landing me and blew it.)
The second exception: The Duelists, with one of my favorite and one of my least favorite actors: Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine, respectively. They didn't do a spectacularly good job, but they did a creditable job.
To anyone interested in the subject, I would recommend "By the Sword," by Richard Cohen. I didn't agree with him on every little detail, but he did a great job overall. Besides, a few people I knew are mentioned in it.
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