Nazgul Broadsword

[Cirdan]

I had a question about the Nazgul Broadsword. If you take a look at this pic...

http://www.warofthering.net/photos/fotrnazgul/imagepages/image8.shtml

...you'll see that two of the Nazgul carry the broadsword. What I wanted to know is, the circular part, near the hilt, does this have a function, or is it decorative??

[Ereinion]

I see what you mean....At first I thout the hang it from their belts by that thing,but then I remember them unsheating swords.....Maybe its decorative, just some old design of men,or something designed in Mordor...

[Steve the Great]

I've found a sword, which is a bit similar to the sword of nazgúls.
Its name is "finger sword" and here is a pic of it:
http://www.swordsfromtoledo.com/fotos/tm-518.jpg

[Ereinion]

So what,are you supposed to put your finger trough that circle-thing to improve your grasp?

[Steve the Great]

Nooo, I don't think so. Your finger (or hand) would be chopped off in that case. roflmao
I think, this tiny half-circle-thing is called "finger". But I've no idea about its functionality (especially about the nazgul's sword) Maybe it can lodge the enemy's sword :battle:

[Ereinion]

:duh: I suppose you're right......Note to myself: Swords are not my thing....

[Gil Galad]

well on the finger sword the finger can catch the opponents sword, but i cant c how that wud work with the Nazgul blades, because there is no way for the opponents blade to slip in2 it

[Orc]

I have seen a few designs like this one in which the finger could actually be placed in the hole. The idea would be to to change the 'feel' or ballance of the blade by where it was held. In this case, the sword appears to be a hand-and-a-half and thus by using the 'finger hole' one could make it easier to wield with one hand.

On the other hand, it doesn't look like that is an option for the Nazgul as with their gauntlets on they probably couldn't get a finger in there anyway.

:Orc:

[Ereinion]

Ha! I was right in the first place! I guess sword are my thing after all! :whoohoo:

[Steve the Great]

Yeah, congrat Ereinion :thumbs:
I think I have to increase my knowledge about sword handling... :blush:

[Ereinion]

:grin: I wish I had any knowlege about sword-handling....But I'm quite handy with guns :naughty:

[Cirdan]

Thanks for all the replies. So this would be a finger hole?? I would have agreed that it would do damage to your hand by slipping a finger inside. But Orcs point about balance makes sense...:cool: Do you think this would aid in the amount of force that could be dealt to an enemy, by placing a finger inside?? or is it just better grip when fighting?? Thanks again...:cool:

[Orc]

I think that you would lose some leverage - and thus force - by using the finger hole and thus 'choking up' on the sword (similar to a ball bat or a hammer). But it might aid in close quarter fighting or in a situation where more point control is needed.

[Nilion Elentano]

It is controversial, for most swords with similar finger rings, are of periods of time of which little record is kept, my only assumption to it has been that if you wanted to lock the sword in a thrusting possition the ring would have heloed to keep your hand in place, but I have never used anything similar, but will see what other documentation I can get concerning the use of these.

[Catz]

mmm thats quite true............and theres a lot of speculation about just how the rings were used on blades that show this feature........best be i think is that they were to , as has been said, alter the balance of the blade and the grip and thus change the way it could be used
as for the ringwraiths blades.......i actually never noticed that about them:blush: nice spotting Cirdan
:catz:

[Orc]

I typically grip my rapier with two fingers above the quillions (crossguard) and on the ricasso (the non edged part of a blade just above the crossguard), but then they are protected by the rest of the hand guard. On a rapier the finger rings are often called arms or branches (rapier anatomy (http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_anatomy.html)) and there is a noticable difference in the ballance between placing none, one, or two fingers above the quillions.

Recently I saw a mention of the practice of wrapping a finger over the quillion on a broadsword on Conquest (http://www.historychannel.com/global/listings/series_showcase.jsp?EGrpType=Series&Id=230459&NetwCode=THC), a show that airs on the History Channel in the US. (It's showing again this sat at 7pm if anyone is interested). While I take everyting I see on television with a grain of salt, it appears that this was a occasional practice, enough to justify a smith to create the finger rings.

[Cirdan]

I was just reading through "The Lord of the Rings - Weapons and Warfare" by Chris Smith and came across something on the Nazgul Broadsword that I thought I would post, seeing as I asked the question some time ago.

"One sword featured a finger-guard in its ricasso, an unusual feature that spoke of an elegant fighting style learned in ancient times; its position just in front of the guard would have demanded a classic fencing grip that would have kept the blade aligned with the arm, maximizing reach when thrusting".

[azimaith]

Actually what you see in that sword is called an Annelett if I'm not mistaken. I've been practicing historical western swordsmanship for quite a while and those appear quite often, especially in bastard swords, they are also known as "donkey hoofs" sometimes. They are meant to increase control over your weapon using a technique called fingering, thus fingering the ricasso. It really wouldn't help lodge or trap an enemies sword because your foe would be a fool to let it slide so far down the blade. You don't see the face to pushing of swords in real fighting as you do in movies which are used understandably to create dramatic tension and face to face dialogue. Anyhow, the ring is meant to provide a bit of extra protection to the hand when you finger the sword.

[Big Ranger]

I figured that was to help cheat the famous "Legolas Knife Flick"
(http://www.warofthering.net/forums/vbulletin225/upload/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5916)
But I guess buddy would need a pretty long reach to pull it off...

[Naru`vatar]

How come that the second Nazgul from the left has the other kind of sword......the one kind i have. (ya can find a pic in the photo forum)