- "The blade is folded steel. That's gold filigree laid into the handle. If I may. Perfectly balanced. The tang is nearly the full width of the blade."
"Impressive. Very impressive. Commodore Norrington's going to be very pleased with this." - ―Will Turner and Weatherby Swann
The small sword or smallsword, also referred to as a dress sword, was a long, straight-blade civilian and officers' type swords. It was a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance. The height of the small sword's popularity was during the 18th century, when any civilian or military, with pretensions to gentlemanly status would have worn a small sword on a daily basis. Mainly used as a duelling weapon, the small sword was the immediate predecessor of the French duelling sword and its method of use developed into the techniques of the French classical school of fencing.
The hilt was usually of the shell type, and was often decorated. It was principally a thrusting weapon and often (especially when the sword was worn for fashion) the edge was not sharpened. It was typically triangular in cross-section, although some of the early examples still have the rhombic and spindle-shaped cross-sections inherited from older weapons, like the rapier.
Small swords were used as a standard sidearm for officers, albeit for ceremonial and formal dress only. The most notable smallsword was the ceremonial sword originally forged by the blacksmith apprentice Will Turner for Captain James Norrington's promotion to commodore.
History[]
Smallswords were the standard side weapon of British Royal Navy officers who used this weapon in battles against pirates. Some pirates also carried smallswords, but normally, pirates preferred cutlasses as they were heavier and it was possible to break a smallsword’s blade with a cutlass as Blackbeard did during his fight against lieutenant Maynard. In addition, pirates who were not very skilled with the sword had a fighting technique based on slashing and hacking, while the smallsword was designed for thrusting.[citation needed]
The ceremonial sword forged by the blacksmith apprentice Will Turner for James Norrington, due to the latter's promotion to commodore, was a small sword.[1] The favorite weapon of the infamous rogue pirate Christophe-Julien de Rapièr was the Colichemarde, a type of a small sword.[3] Lieutenant John Scarfield had a type of small sword during the Quest for the Trident of Poseidon.[4]
Notable small swords[]
- James Norrington's ceremonial sword[1]
- Christophe's sword[3]
- Weatherby Swann's sword[1]
- John Scarfield's sword[4]
Behind the scenes[]
- "We have two types of swords, principally. The short swords that you'd refer to as cutlasses, and what are called 'small swords,' the long, straight-blade civilian and officers' type swords."
- ―Peter Twist
- The name "small sword" has yet to appear in any Pirates of the Caribbean media, though "dress sword" would first be used in 2003 junior novelization by Irene Trimble for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,[5] the 2006 novelization,[6] and later in A. C. Crispin's novel The Price of Freedom.[3]
- Historical advisor Peter Twist mentioned small swords behind the scenes, notably Commodore James Norrington's sword, in the special feature An Epic At Sea: The Making of Pirates for The Curse of the Black Pearl DVD.[7] For the weaponry in Dead Man's Chest, property master Kris Peck worked closely with Twist as well as armorer Kelly Farrah. Peck notes, "We have 300 swords, and they were all manufactured for this movie. The pirates' swords are down, dirty and grungy. We have dress swords for characters like Commodore James Norrington and Governor Weatherby Swann. Our Flying Dutchman crewmen have swords that are encrusted with oceanic life."[8] Tony Swatton would further confirm Norrington's sword as a small sword in the Disney+ original series Prop Culture.[9]
Appearances[]
- The Price of Freedom
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 junior novelization) (First appearance) (First identified as dress sword)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2006 junior novelization)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Sources[]
- An Epic At Sea: The Making of Pirates (First identified as small sword)
- Prop Culture
External links[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Price of Freedom, Chapter Sixteen, The Heart of Zerzura
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 junior novelization)
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2006 junior novelization), p. 13
- ↑ An Epic At Sea: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- ↑ POTC2 Presskit
- ↑ Prop Culture