Genoese naval boarding sword

The Genoese naval boarding sword was a melee weapon and tool of sailors and pirates, weapon of military and commercial fleets. Pirates and sailors used it in naval boarding from the 17th till the second half of the 19th century.

Genoese naval boarding sword (17th - 19th c.)

Dimensions

The Genoese boarding sword is a massive weapon with a wide (4–6 cm) and durable blade. The size of the Genoa boarding sword is around 60 cm. The difference between this sword and sabre is more straight blade.[1]

Application

The Genoese naval boarding sword is used as a slashing or piercing melee weapon. It was designed so that in battle the hand is protected completely. The hilt and hand guard is used as a knuckle duster for striking at close quarters.[2]

The sailors used this type of sword in naval boarding, when the ships were in close proximity. They could be used to cut ropes and hack closed doors with the heavy blade. It is also possible to fight with it in the usual style of fencing. The Genoese naval boarding sword facilitated movement and allowed fighting effectively in the close spaces of a ship.[3]

In this way, the sailors could achieve a decisive victory against their opponents in such close conditions. Many crews successfully conducted a boarding battles with such weapons as Genoese naval boarding sword, in the period from the 17th till the second half of the 19th century.[4]

A particularly striking example is the battle of captain Domenico Canevaro (Republic of Genoa). His ship cruised from Genoa to Cadiz (San Francesco di Paola), armed with 26 guns, located at various bridges and it were 6 guns on the bow of the ship too, a crew was more than 200 people on Board, they were able to defeat a fleet of 6 ships of the Algerian corsairs, a fleet which consisted of about 2000 men and 170 guns for combat. The Chronicles describe the boarding, which lasted several hours, with various losses and deaths about 700 men.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Reale Accademia d'Italia. Dizionario di marina Medioevale e moderno. 1937, Reale Accademia d'Italia, Roma;
  2. ↑ Il coltello genovese. STORIE DI LAME, DI ARMI PROHIBITE E DI «CARUGGI» di Andrea Buti
  3. ↑ Philip Gosse, Storia della pirateria, Bologna, Odoya 2008, ISBN 978-88-628-8009-1
  4. ↑ Pierre Bouguer. Nuovo trattato di navigazione che contiene la teoria e la pratica. 1795, Società Tipografica, Livorno;
  5. ↑ Della storia di Genova dal trattato di Worms fino alla pace d'Aquisgrana. Libri quattro

Bibliography

  • Lorenzo Viani. Vocabolarietti in appendice ai due romanzi: Angiò uomo d'acqua, 1928, Alpes, Milano, e il Bava, 1932, Vallecchi, Firenze;
  • Moby Dick, Herman Melville, Edizioni Mondadori, 2013 г. - p: 784
  • Военно-морской словарь. — М.: Воениздат, 1990. — p. 10
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