My friend says that pirates like Blackbeard's crew (in the, I think,
eighteenth century) used to wear their cutlasses on their belts
WITHOUT SCABBARDS.  This sounds daft to me because I would have
thought that they would seriously wound their own legs, but is he
right?

Dear yaffle-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. Your
friend is right. Pirates did indeed occasionally wear their cutlass
unsheathed and this was intentional. The purpose was to show a
combative posture and to let the opponent know his aggressive
intentions.

?The Cutlass is a broad, curved bladed sword, commonly used by those
going to sea. Originating from the Sarvonian North, the Glandorians
and later the Avennorians, the often unsheathed worn Cutlass is still
considered today to be one of the best weapons for use aboard a ship
due to its shorter length, its thick heavy blade and relatively easy
handling. Due to these reasons the Cutlass has also become a very
typical pirate weapon.?

THE AVENNORIAN CUTLASS SWORD
http://www.santharia.com/weapons/cutlass_avennorian.htm

A private sometimes carried the weapon in a specially designed heavy
ornamental leather belt called a ?baldrick?, to hold the cutlass
unsheathed.

GOOGLE  define: baldrick
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=define%3A+baldrick

Sometimes the pirate would have a small leather loop attached to the
baldrick called a ?frog? that acted as a hanger for the cutlass and
achieved both purposes; to allow it to be hung as if in a scabbard and
to remain unsheathed for intimidation purposes.

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher



INFORMATION SOURCES

Defined above


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

Pirate

Cutlass

Sword

Scabbard

Belt

Baldrick

Frog

---

Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 10 Jul 2006 13:52 PDT

My earlier reference to a "private" was supposed to have been
"privateer". I apologize for the typo.

Hello again,

Thank you for a very fine answer.  You have completely answered my
question.  I shall now have to eat humble pie and tell my friend that
he was right though!  I shall e-mail him to that effect now.

How do you suppose Long John Silver lost one of his legs?

The same way "Blind Pew" got his monica

tutuzdad
I dont think this is a valid source
http://www.santharia.com/weapons/cutlass_avennorian.htm
this is a page of fantasy and fiction not real life


Kemlo

I expect that cutlasses were carried only pending immediate combat,
being kept in racks the rest of the time.  Scabbards were just a
wasteful nuisance.  A baldric was used as a way to wear the cutlass
when a sailor needed both hands free, was a very simple piece of
equipment, more quickly thrown on than buckling a belt.
The risk of being cut was not so great.

Of course, the final authority  N. C. Wyeth's illustrations, like this one:
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Pirate-s-Captive-Posters_i1249442_.htm

Hmm, seems that Long John has his cutlass in a scabbard.

The link I indicated was for illustrative purposes. Nevertheless the
baldrick and frog are factual devices that enabled pirates to carry
their swords unsheathed. It is also important to note that a cutlass,
badelaire, braquemart, and hanger are essentially the same type of
weapon. Some of these were carried as Back Swords (sometimes called
?mortuary swords?), which were drawn from a belt suspended over the
shoulder. You may also find these links helpful.

http://www.thearma.org/essays/TopMyths.htm
http://www.thearma.org/essays/thrusting_vs_cutting.html

Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga