A contextual presentation on the largely popular yet understudied schiavona. Where did its name came from, who used it and how?

Weapon: An unwavering love for schiavonas

Source: Art, armourial registers, museum databases, inventory rolls, 17th and 18th century accounts

Schiavonas, swords of a basket-hilt type with a distinctive aesthetic, exist in large numbers in the collection of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, with numerous surviving in other museums and arms and armour collections. As a type of weapon, they are often associated with the city’s military forces, or with Balkan mercenaries. This lecture will discuss the origin, use and cultural place of this visually striking, yet still somewhat understudied type of European sword. First the development and variations of the schiavona will be discussed briefly from a typological perspective in the context of arms and armour development in Europe. Then their historical context will be examined in order to highlight which military forces used them from the 16th to the 18th centuries, a somewhat overlooked subject, with problems often stemming from incorrect dating as well as from a lack of understanding of their practical use and how it was affected by certain technical characteristics. Finally, the role of schiavonas will be discussed in a cultural context as an object that was potentially used to highlight the identity of their users with examples taken from written sources and art.

Skill level of Participants: Any skill level
Needed Equipment: More coffee (by the end of the lecture you should be shaking because of excitement or caffeine)

About the trainer – Dr. Iason Eleftherios Tzouriadis

Dr. Iason Eleftherios Tzouriadis is the Curator of European Edged Weapons at the Royal Armouries, Leeds. He has curated exhibitions and public displays on European martial arts, on the soldier personal experience in war, and on collective memory in rural areas. He has published on topics such as arms and armour typologies, their representation in art and their production, the medieval tournament, European martial arts, and sixteenth century war propaganda.

He is currently managing a project for the creation of a digital database of arms and armour makers and their marks, and preparing a publication on talismanic inscriptions on European swords.