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Rapier

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threatens with his rapier.

Armando Salazar threatens Hector Barbossa with his rapier.

"Oh, Fitzy, I would love to. But, as it happens, I have yet to acquire the sword I really want. No sword, no duel. No boarding the ship for you. So sorry."
"Oh, that's not a problem. When I was cleaning out the boat I found a half a dozen rapiers stored in a chest..."
―Jack Sparrow and Arabella Smith[src]

A rapier was a sword with a long, thin blade used for thrusting. It often had an extremely ornate hilt. Rapiers were used in the 16th and 17th centuries, primarily for civilian combat and duels.

History[]

Jack Sparrow and Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III use rapiers to settle their first dispute.

Jack Sparrow and Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III use rapiers to settle their first dispute.

Rapier generally refers to a relatively long-bladed sword characterized by a complex hilt which is constructed to provide protection for the hand wielding it. While the blade might be broad enough to cut to some degree (but nowhere near that of the thicker, heavier swords in use around the Middle Ages), the strength of the rapier is its ability as a thrusting weapon. The blade might be sharpened along its entire length, sharpened only from the centre to the tip (as described by Capoferro), or completely without a cutting edge as called "estoc" by Pallavicini, a rapier master who, in 1670, strongly advocated using a weapon with two cutting edges. A typical example would have a relatively long and slender blade of 2.5 centimetres or less in width, 1 meter or more in length and ending in a sharply pointed tip.

Rapier fighters often had a dagger in the other hand to parry their enemy’s rapier. Pirates rarely used rapiers; however some Maltese knights carried rapiers and used them in battles against Barbary Corsairs.[1] By the year 1715, the rapier had been largely replaced by the lighter smallsword throughout most of Europe, although the former continued to be used.

Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III used a beautifully balanced rapier when fighting young Jack Sparrow on the beach, which he would wield throughout Sparrow's teenage adventures aboard the Barnacle. Jack defended himself with a weapon of the same type, though his blade was old, rusty, and not very well-made.[2] Jean Magliore also used a rapier during the mutiny on the Fleur de la Mort.[3] Mr. Reece also wielded a rapier.[4] Benedict Huntington used a rapier during the quest for the Shadow Gold.[5] One of the swords that was gradually fusing to Palifico's hands was a rusty rapier.[6] Spaniards were often known to favor rapiers as weapons, including Eduardo Villanueva,[7] The Spaniard,[8] and Armando Salazar.[9]

Notable rapiers[]

Behind the scenes[]

Rapiers first appeared and were identified by name in the 2006 book Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm by Rob Kidd.[2]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

External links[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ Jan Rogozinski, Pirates! Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend [1]
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm, pp. 43-44
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jack Sparrow: Silver, p. 73
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jack Sparrow: City of Gold, p. 99
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East, p. 186
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, pp. 68-69 "Shipmates"
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, pp. 12-13: "The Spanish"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
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