This may be due to aesthetic preferences, to the availability of extant examples, or even to the complexity of their categorization. The winds, however, are changing, and with the rise of HEMA and a new interest in niche aspects of medieval life, falchions and messers are returning to some level of prominence.

The guest of today's Armoury Roundtable episode is the legendary James G. Elmslie, sword community veteran, swordmaker, and the author of the Elmslie typology, which sets out to categorize this elusive type of medieval weapon.

In this episode, James and host Gabriele Culot discuss messers, falchions, they value of sowrd typologies, and much more.

His master's degree in history informs his approach to contextualizing and deciphering military treatises and manuals from the late Ming to mid Qing dynasties. His primary weapon of study is the yaodao or single-handed saber, which served as the mainstay military sidearm and civilian self-defense tool throughout this historical period.

In this episode, Keith and host Gabriele Culot dive head-first into a long and distinguished history of combat and martial arts, and into a lineage of weapons that is as interesting as it is often overlooked outside of China.

His primary focus of research is medieval sword and buckler combat as outlined in MS I.33, for which he and his fellow instructor/researcher Cornelius Berthold have developed dedicated online courses which you can find here: https://dimicator.teachable.com/p/home

Roland is well-known for exploring sword and shield fighting that predates the Fechtbücher (fencing manuals), such as close combat of the Viking Age and the High Middle Ages. He regularly examines associated weaponry in collections worldwide. Find a continuously growing number of sword documentations here: https://www.patreon.com/dimicator/shop?redirect=true

Supported by international scholars and museums, he has published the results of his research in scholarly journals and books and has lectured at specialist conferences.

As a long-term martial artist and swordsman, he has taught sword fighting across the globe. A key element of his training curriculum is the regular practice with sharp weapons.

In this episode, Roland and I dive into his study and analysis of original antique swords, discover the small details that showcase the mastery of the craft of bladesmiths from the early Middle Ages, and discuss how these learnings influence Roland's approach to practice and his understanding of combat in the past.

For additional resources and to learn more about Roland’s work, visit the Dimicator website: https://dimicator.com/

While you are there, you are welcome to sign up for his newsletter. To read more and to support his work, visit his Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Dimicator

His path then led him to academia and education, working at the Higgins Armory and other museums before journeying to England to complete an MA in Medieval Studies. He subsequently joined the Royal Armouries Museum, where he progressed over five years to become Curator of Tower Collections at the Tower of London. In 2015, James was awarded the Arms & Armour Heritage Trust Studentship to pursue a PhD focusing on late medieval martial arts at the University of Southampton, which he successfully completed in 2018.

Alongside his academic pursuits, James has undertaken in-depth study and practice of diverse traditions, including Wudang Taijiquan and Internal Arts, Zen, European and Asian Philosophy, the Ars Memoriae, and meditation. These explorations have enriched his personal practice and broadened it from the pursuit of an interest into a comprehensive way of living.

In this episode, James and host Gabriele Culot discuss his studies, focusing especially on his research into historical damage to antique weapons and armour, and what the signs of battles from the past can teach modern HEMA practitioners.

Find James' writing and work on his Patreon:   / museumcercamon

In his daily life, Maxime works for Parks Canada, where he supervises the national collection of artifacts. He holds a BA in Archaeology from Laval University, and a Master's in Cultural Heritage from Deakin University, and is trained as a Historical Weapons Supervisor with Parks Canada. He has also worked with several other museums on sword-related projects, including the Musée de l'Armée in Paris.

In today's live stream, host Gabriele Culot and Maxime discuss a topic that is part of Maxime's interest, and a little-known branch of the international sword taxonomy, and historical martial arts: Medieval Irish swords.

So join us as we explore the fields of heather and get to know the Irish Kerns, and their role in the context of medieval politics and warfare.

In this stream, Federico discusses HEMA and history, the commonalities and differences between sword training in the past and in the present, what these mean for the future of HEMA, and a lot more with host Gabriele Culot.

His goal is to display historical fighting techniques in the context that most closely resembles how they would have been practiced in historical times. This leads to clashes fought at full speed and power in an effort to survive rather than score points.

This approach leads to a better understanding of fighting techniques and learnings that may not be as evident in a more modern sports-like context. In addition to this focus on technique, Dequitem puts a lot of effort into the aesthetics of the background, choosing historically plausible locations and turning sparring and dueling videos into cinematic works of art.

In this live stream, Dequitem discusses all these aspects with host Gabriele Culot.

Make sure to follow and support Dequitem on:

YouTube:  / @dequitem -Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user/membersh... -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dequitem/?h...

Website: https://www.hema-deathcorps-unicorns....

His work centers around recreating weapons that are authentic not only in terms of measurements and proportions but also in terms of materials and processes. This holistic approach to swordmaking has led to his work being displayed in several museums, including the Deutsches Klingenmuseum in Solingen.

In today's chat, Giovanni discusses his approach to studying and making swords with host Gabriele Culot, and dives into the world of Medieval and early modern bladesmithing in Northern Italy.

To learn more about Giovanni and his work, make sure to visit his current project, Fusina Feraro: https://www.fusinaferaro.com/

With an educational background in art and an interest in fencing, that comes as no surprise.

In today's episode of The Armoury Roundtable, Eric talks about his philosophy in swordmaking, how he approaches research, the challenges of adapting objects of the past to the modern world, and much more, with host Gabriele Culot.

Make sure to check out his work at:

https://www.wintercutlery.com/

And follow him on IG/ FB:

@wintercutlery

This group of lucky people is not huge, but if we narrow our focus down to medieval and renaissance swords, the cohort shrinks further, and there are not many who can claim to have first hand experience with both worlds.

Yet, this experience is incredibly important. How can modern swords be accurate reproductions of originals if the antiques are not available? And how do deviations from the antiques affect modern use? How do they impact HEMA sparring and, perhaps, our understanding of historical fencing?

Can a bad reproduction have a butterfly effect that messes with our understanding of the past?

In today's live stream, host Gabriele Culot asks all these questions, and more, to two of the lucky few who have the full sword experience.

Julian Ronneberger is a member of the Spadone Project, conducts autonomous research, and is a HEMA trainer based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Learn more about Julian's work with the Spadone Project:

https://thespadoneproject.com/

Cyrill Hamm is a bladesmith and HEMA trainer, also from the Zurich area.

Check out Cyrill's work here:

https://www.messerschmiedehamm.ch/

Andy is a well-respected figure in the sword community and is involved in many of its aspects, from researching historical accounts of sword use to measuring sword metrics and charting them. Make sure to follow him at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkgmqo6KbzdA4jAuQlSuF3w

Here are the links to the topics we mentioned in the video, at least the ones I can remember...

r/swords subreddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/SWORDS/

Swords Discord server

https://discord.gg/DJC9paGZ

Bronze Age Swords YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/@BronzeAgeSwords

Weapons Dynamics computer

https://subcaelo.net/ensis/dynamics-computer/

In the past years, Niccolò and his team have been busy researching and stuying documents, iconography, and extant examples of these iconic swords, of which much is still not well known.

Join the conversation between Niccolò and host Gabriele Culot, and learn more about the spadone, and about The Spadone Project.