15th century: Where did the baldric go?

Destichado · Post by **Destichado** » Sun May 17, 2009 5:17 pm

This occurred to me the other day when looking through 15th century art.

I won't say it didn't exist, but I have *never* seen a baldric in the 15th century. 16th century and on? Sure. 14th century and back? Absolutely. But in the 15th century? I have over 250 period images of arms&armour, and I haven't found one yet.

Thoughts?

Destichado · Post by **Destichado** » Mon May 18, 2009 12:20 pm

Baron Alcyoneus · Post by **Baron Alcyoneus** » Mon May 18, 2009 12:24 pm

They were relatively rare, you will find them in 'antique' art, but they were not in general use.

Kaos · Post by **Kaos** » Mon May 18, 2009 1:56 pm

You see them in use with messer regularly, mostly in a eastern european context:

Dansknecht · Post by **Dansknecht** » Mon May 18, 2009 2:21 pm

I can't really speak much for 15th century, but it would seem that the type s of swords used, the nuances of the armor worn, and changes in fashion all influenced the decline of baldrics.

As for the 16th century, baldrics were very uncommon (at least in England, and from what I can tell, most of Western Europe). With the exception of one example on a Lieutenant (out of presumably hundreds armed with swords) in the illustrations of Sir Philip Sidney's funeral parade (ca. 1587), and one in a portrait of Lord Windsor from 1588, you really don't see them until a little after the first decade or so of the 17th century. Other than those scant examples, you see men carrying their swords in an evolved version of the Medieval sword hanger; common men and nobility alike.