Hilt

“ One single star gleamed upon his bosom, the collars of manifold orders hung around his neck, the hilt of his sword was of massy gold, and thin lines of gold embroidery marked the slashings of his green velvet doublet, where, slightly opening as he moved with easy dignity, the pure white lining below appeared from time to time. ”

“ There lay the curved, brazen helmet with its comb arching over and edged with its plume, the scaled cheek-straps that held it in its place, the leathern breast and back-piece moulded and hammered into the shape of the human form, brazen shoulder-pieces, ornamentations and strengthening, the curved, oblong shield and short sword with lion’s head to its hilt and heavy sheath. ”

“ I bow to him loyally,—bow with my heart.
"What brave, buoyant letters you write, sweet!—they ring
Through my soul like the blast of a trumpet, and bring
Such a flame to my eye, such a flush to my cheek,—
That often my hand will unconsciously seek
The hilt of my sword as I read,—and I feel
As the warrior does, when he flashes the steel
In fiery circles, and shouts in his might,
For the heroes behind him, to follow its light! ”

“ But hark you, sir," said Roland, unsheathing his formidable sword; "thou seest this blade?—well, if thou dost not drain this cup of wine to the bottom, I will pass this weapon to the hilt—yea, sirrah, to the very hilt, through thy body!"
"Of all the sights of horror and disgust," says a popular writer, "villany transformed at the death-hour into its natural character and original of cowardice, is among the most appalling." The witch-finder trembled in every limb, and seemed frozen to stone by this command.
"Ha! thou unfanged reptile, so we have thee by the throat?" ”

“ The king, finding himself buried to the hilt of his weapon, paused to enjoy the voluptuous pressures and delicious warmth of the tight-fitting sheath he had penetrated, wishing to prolong the exquisite sensations which thrilled through his frame. ”

“ At length, laying her hand upon the hilt of my sword, with a faint smile, she said, "What! a sword! You should never come to see a lady with a sword;" and unbuckling it with her own hand, she laid it on the table. ”

“ If I choose to make my body a sheath for his sword, I will make his body a sheath for mine, while my hand holds tight against my breast the hilt of his weapon, to keep in my own spirit till I see his fled. ”

“ This man wore in his girdle a rich dagger whose hilt, of silver gilt, was chased in the form of a helmet, and surmounted by a count’s coronet. He had a forbidding air, a proud mien, and a head held high. At the first glance one read arrogance on his visage; at the second, craft. ”

“ Now the men with the slug-horns set them to their mouths and blew a long blast; while the first of the new-comers set hand to the clasps of the fur cloak and let it fall to the ground, and lo! a woman exceeding beauteous, clad in glistering raiment of gold and fine web; her hair wreathed with bay, and in her hand a naked sword with goodly-wrought golden hilt and polished blue-gleaming blade. ”

“ I waved him back with a gesture I took to be mighty full of haughtiness, and, standing firm upon the fragment, I presented the hilt to His Highness of Orange. On the snapping of the blade the Prince had started in anger; as I handed him the truncated weapon, he drew back and—"What is this?" he cried. ”

“ Feudal life invested swords and armor with their high estate, and gave the armorer his rank, The fine temper of the old blades has long challenged European admiration, and the sword-guards, the knife-handles, and the minute ornaments of the hilt are beyond compare. ”

“ It is quite natural for the author to say, "He then seized the belted hilt," "The strong man raised the sword by the hilt"; for the hilt is the part of the weapon that is intended to be held in the hand when a sword is to be used. ”

“ Tell them the story of 'Old Ironsides' and the last of the fighting captains of the Constitution."
"Sir," said Revere, as the old man solemnly pressed his lips to the iron guard and extended the sword to him, "I take it as a knight of old received the accolade; and, as the men of the past did, I swear upon the hilt of the sword that I will be everything a man ought to be to a woman, to your granddaughter,—and more." ”

“ The King said: "As you are the most cunning of all dwarfs you must make me a sword, the best you can. The hilt and the grip must be of gold, and it must cut iron as easily as if it were cloth and never [pg 89] rust; and it must bring victory to whoever uses it in battle and single combat." ”

“ Not done no good, sir? Why, you’ve done wonders; you’ve taken all the conceit out of yourself, and learned in one lesson that you don’t know anything whatever about a sword, except that it has a blade and a hilt and a scabbard. ”

“ You remember in the old times, Imp, when knights rode out to battle, it was customary for them when they made a solemn promise to kiss the cross-hilt of their swords, just to show they meant to keep it. So now I ask you to go back to your Auntie Lisbeth, to take care of her, to shield and guard her from all things evil, and never to forget that you are her loyal and true knight; and now kiss your sword in token, will you? ”

“ The armourer who made it had so contrived that the hilt was fused, as it were, into a gauntlet for the protection of the knuckles of the man who wielded it, and the handle was exactly the reverse of that joined to an ordinary sword, for the warrior who grasped it would have to take hold at right angles to the course of the blade, in fact, precisely as a gardener would take hold of a spade. ”

“ A remarkable hilt, bearing an inscription in Runic characters, was found at Ash, in Kent. It is of silver. On one side is the Runic inscription engraved in the metal, on the other a zigzag and other ornaments. A hilt of this kind must undoubtedly have been the one so graphically described in Beowulf, where a sword, inscribed with the name of its first owner and with other matters of extreme interest, is “looked upon” and pondered over. ”

“ Sword, in Christian art, is a symbol of martyrdom; it is also the attribute of martyrs who were soldiers. In Heraldry, when borne as a charge, it is straight in the blade, pointed, and with a cross-guard. The custom of swearing on the sword, the hilt of which took the shape of a cross, or had crosses engraved on it, is mentioned in very ancient history. ”

“ If you are already showing your teeth and closing your fists, do not whisper soft words all the while. If you are trembling with impatience to draw the sword, do not make believe that it is only from precaution that you are laying your hand on the hilt. ”

“ Her father a bankrupt and a suicide—”
“But the castle and this park?”
“Mortgaged up to the hilt. Speaking of hilts—” he stooped down and daintily avoiding contact with the corpse, drew from the scabbard the diamond-hilted sword—“this belongs to me. It’s worth taking. You remember he staked it last night on the last deal.”
“Good God, man,” protested the first speaker, “don’t take the man’s sword away. Let him lie with his weapons like a gentleman.” ”

“ The custom in Courts-martial of placing the sword hilt or point towards the accused, according to judgment, is also a survival. In ancient times, if a stranger on arrival held the point of a spear forward, it denoted a declaration of war ”

“ Assuredly at the outset the ignorant do not know their God; seeing that error is their custom.”
Other inscriptions of a sacred character, combined [232] with delicate ataujía-work, are on the pommel and the upper portion of the hilt; but it has been remarked that, although the entire decoration is amazingly elaborate and rich, these inscriptions nowhere indicate that the weapon belonged to a personage of royal blood.
The sheath of this most sumptuous arm is also lavishly adorned with silver and enamel on a purple leather ground. ”

“ The youth, however, who was the principal person of the party, and the dwarf, who seemed to ape his demeanour, wore their swords differently, following the extravagant court fashion of the day, and throwing the weapon which, in those times, might be needed at every instant, so far behind them, that the hilt was concealed by the short cloak then worn, and would have been out of the reach of any but a very dexterous hand. ”

“ The hilt is a festooned ballister, i.e., a small pillar swelling in the centre or towards the base, and the pommel, covered with leaves, also festooned, is pear-shaped. The description in the inventory of this Treasury (King Juan’s) makes us aware that the hilt has lost much of its most beautiful decoration: ‘Another sword with a groove in the middle and the words pierus me fece, gilded, has the cross one hand in length, the pommel, hilt, cross, and all the sheath of gilded silver, and on this are some open leaves soldered to some trunks ”

“ This was called the Vigil of Arms. ↑ * "The Knight swore by his sword, for its cross-hilt was emblematical of his Saviour's cross. The sword was his only crucifix when mass was said in the pause between the forming of the military array and the laying of lances in their rests. ”

“ And there was a shield of blue set with red stones, which had two gold wings for a cognizance; and the hilt of the sword was gold, with angels wrought in green and blue all up it, and the eyes in their wings were of pearls and red stones, and the sheath was of silver with green flowers on it.
Now when I saw this armour and understood that my mother would have me put it on, and ride out without fear, leaving her alone, I cast p. 74myself down on the grass so that I might not see its beauty (for it made me mad) , and strove to think ”

“ Well. 'Tis up, my lord; ope your eyes: but I pray, tell me, is this antipathy 'twixt bright steel and you natural, or how grew it.
Fee. I'll tell you, sir: anything bright and edged works thus strongly with me. Your hilts, now, I can handle as boldly, look you else.
Hus. [79] Nay, never blame my lord, Master Welltried, [102] for I know a great many will swoon at the sight of a shoulder of mutton or a quarter of lamb. My lord may be excused, then, for a naked sword.
Well. This lord and this knight in dog-collars would make a fine brace of beagles. ”

“ In the most elaborate examples of these carved sword hilts all obvious trace of the human figure is lost in a profusion of detail, which, however, is of the same general character as that of the examples described above, and seems to consist of the various features of the human and animal pattern combined in wild profusion with regard only to decorative effect, and not at all to the reproduction of the parent forms. ”

“ Ferdinand’s weapons. It is very long and broad, thin and flexible, double-edged, scallop-pointed, and grooved for two-thirds of its length. The groove is engraved with rings or circles, and ends in an elaborate cruciform device. The guard, of massive silver-gilt, has quillons drooping and curving inward, and bears the arms of Castile on one side and those of Leon on the other. The hilt is of wood, plated with silver; the pommel is of iron, and is plated with silver-gilt. ”

“ Several swords, once the property of the Emperor, are included in the collection, but they do not possess the same merit or interest as the defensive armour. The battle-swords G33, G34, both the work of the Negrolis, have broad hexagonal blades, the middle surfaces and ricasso being inlaid with gold. The hilt of the first is of iron, similarly inlaid, with the quillons and pommel terminating in graceful volutes; a beautifully chased shell protects the hand. The guard of the second is strengthened by two branches; the pommel is facetted ”

“ The King was silent with wonder at the strange sight, but at last he said, ‘Damsel, why do you wear this sword? for swords are not the ornaments of women.’ ‘Oh, my lord,’ answered she, ‘I would I could find some Knight to rid me of this sword, which weighs me down and causes me much sorrow. But the man who will deliver me of it must be one who is mighty of his hands, and pure in his deeds, without villainy, or treason. If I find a Knight such as this, he will draw this sword out of its sheath, and he only. ”

“ Has the spear fallen from thine hand, and hast thou buried the sword of thy fathers in the grave from which thy body hath escaped? What art thou, O Warrior, in the land of the alien and the King? Who shall heed thee or tell the tale of thy glory, which thou hast covered over with the hand of a light woman, whom thy kindred knoweth not, and who was not born in a house wherefrom it hath been appointed thee from of old to take the pleasure of woman? Whose thrall art thou now, thou lifter of the spoil, thou scarer of the freeborn? ”

“ Guarding a shining helmet, sword, and shield,
Waiting to hear the thrilling battle cry,
Ready then to answer, 'Mas-ter, here am I.'
Only an armor-bearer, yet may I share
Glory immortal, and a bright crown wear:
If in the battle to my trust I'm true,
Mine shall be the honors in the grand review. ”

“ The pride of life and race were there, the hauteur of birth and rank, the glory and parade of war, the glinting of helmet and clanking of steel,—every knight's armour was composed of fine metal scales woven and held together by silken threads of ruby, emerald, scarlet, sapphire, and gold. ”

“ Just as the Emperor and the fair Queen are in the middle of the stage, a wounded warrior with a face pale as an eclipsed moon, a helmet on which is painted the sign of his sacred order, a black mantle thrown over his left shoulder, but not concealing his armour, a sword in his right hand and an outstretched crucifix in his left, rushes on the scene. ”

“ I was wearing a hanger, a much heavier and more unwieldly weapon than the duke’s dress sword, but its weight was a matter of no moment to an arm like mine. I sprang aside as he lunged furiously at me, drew it, and the next moment our blades clashed in earnest. For myself, I rejoiced in the opportunity. Some men of humble birth might have been disturbed at the thought of crossing swords with a great noble, but nothing of that occurred to me. I wanted to show my lady, I confess, that even with gentlemen’s weapons I was this man’s master. ”