A European descendant of the Egyptian khopesh and Greek kopis designs, the falchion had a broad blade, thick along the spine and sharpened on the convex curve of the blade. Used primarily for slashing and chopping, some falchions also had a point, which could be used for thrusting. As blades became smaller from the 16th century on, the falchion design developed into the saber.
Evolving from the falchion, both the saber and the backsword eventually came into common use.
Both weapons were used extensively during the Renaissance, both for sporting events and duels. They are mentioned in several programs for fencing exhibitions late into the 1800s. The saber continues in modern usage today, being used in worldwide fencing events as well as at the Olympics.
The saber evolved from the falchion design and bears many similarities to the backsword and cutlass.
The saber was a European and American sword developed following the demise of heavily armored infantry on the battlefield. By the 1600s, firearms had been developed and the use of swords declined as a result. However, cavalry soldiers continued using sabers well into the 1900s.
The saber was originally a very heavy, curved sword, but a lighter, more easily wielded weapon with only a slight bend was developed in Italy late in the 19th century for dueling and fencing.
The modern fencing weapon is straight, like the foil and epee, but it still has one cutting edge, which can be used to make hits on an opponent.
Single edged, slightly curved, and sharpened on the convex edge, the saber was primarily a slashing weapon but could also be thrust. The saber was especially popular among cavalry soldiers of Europe and America. As time and warfare progressed, the saber became more a ceremonial weapon and affectation of military officers.
Today, some military officers still wear swords as a sign of authority. The weapon is also used in modern sport fencing, with saber fencing becoming an official Olympic event in recent years.
The backsword was a weapon popularized during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe, primarily as a secondary weapon for mounted cavalry soldiers. The name backsword is derived from the method cavalryman would use to sling the weapon; in a sheath behind his back when mounted, preventing it from clanging against his thigh or the horse’s side.
The backsword blade has two basic variations: generally straight for thrusting, or slightly curved for both thrusting and slashing. Both variations have a single edge. In the curved weapons, the curve is opposite the cutting edge, and often thicker and heavier than that edge, to enhance the cutting and slashing power of the blade’s strokes.
The backsword was a very versatile weapon, dangerous both from a mounted position as well as in the hands of an infantry soldier or other unmounted man-at-arms.
Most modern and replica backswords are fashioned with ornate basket hilts, and straight blades. The overall construction of the weapon bears strong resemblance to basket-hilted broadswords and claymores. The largest difference between the three weapons is the simple fact that the blade of the backsword has only a single cutting edge, even when the blade is straight.
Percussion instruments predate recorded human history. They are easily the oldest and most pervasive forms of musical instruments known to man. Two rocks struck together to beat time were some of the most ancient instruments and they are still used today, albeit in more modernized forms, both in symphonic and popular music.
Using percussion instruments and drums in worship has an ancient tradition, especially during Biblical times under the leadership of King David. These ancient instruments were only slightly different from our modern versions. The tabret or timbrel was a drum-like instrument resembling our modern tambourine. It was called the tohph or tof, in ancient Hebrew.
In Asia percussion instruments also have long histories. Clappers, from Sumerian society of about 3000 BC, have been discovered by archaeologists and the Vietnamese still use clappers in their religious rites.
Cymbals are also traditional Asian instruments: ancient Assyrians used a funnel-shaped form during war as well as during religious rituals. Today cymbals are widely used in India, Japan, and Tibet, as well as in European and American orchestra.
The tambourine consists of a wood or metal shell
ranging from two to three inches in depth and seven to twelve
inches in diameter. A head, made of either plastic or calfskin,
is attached on one side of the shell. Tambourines usually have
one or two rows of jingles, and sometimes small bells, mounted in
pairs in the shell. The primary sound from the instrument comes
from the jingles, not the head, although the technique of
drumming on the head can be used to great effect.
The tambourine is a descendant of the medieval timbrel, combined with a tambour. Tambours were side drums with only one head. They encompassed many different drums, including the bodhran, of Irish and Celtic fame, and came in a great range of sizes. The modern 'finger drums' and 'hand drums’, are derived from the tambour.
Timbrels were wooden frames with metal disks set into them that were played by shaking, by being struck with a beater or upon some part of the body, or a combination of these methods. Timbrels with hides stretched across one end were called tambourines by the late 15th century; the distinction finally blurred into any hoop set with small cymbals or bells being called a tambourine.
As the Hebrew tof, or tohph, it was presumably the instrument used by Miriam and her maidens to celebrate Israel's triumph over the Egyptians. The tambourine is pictured in early art, used in funeral lamentations, in joyous processions and feasts, and in the hands of angels.
It was used in prehistoric Britain and in Gaul, but its popularity increased during the rule of the Romans. It was popular throughout the Middle Ages in all parts of Europe, and was depicted at that time in a form very similar to today's tambourine.
Cymbals are thin metal plates that are usually played in pairs and produce sound when struck together. When they are grated one against the other, cymbals produce a pleasing metallic rumble. The technique used when a single cymbal is called for is produced by striking it with a drumstick, or "rolling" with a soft mallet, usually felt-tipped.
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and is the oldest known alloy. It is also the material that has always been used for cymbals. In Asia it was first used around 3000 BC. The earliest cymbals, therefore, may go back some 5000 years.
It is hardly surprising that the Chinese word for percussion also means "war." As far back as 2500 years ago, the Chinese used cymbals, and their characteristic "crash," to scare their adversaries with a cacophony of clashing metal, a technique that appears to have been used in Korea as recently as 1950.
Finger cymbals, also called crotales, sagats, or zil, are smaller than the full-size cymbal with which most readers would be most familiar. Although less well-known, they are as old as any other form of cymbal and date from the middle of the first millennium BC. The are often made of brass, rather than bronze, to allow for a more resonant tone, less encumbered by the overtones of larger cymbals.
The player holds the small cymbals by means of a
leather thong at the center of each metal disc. They can be
played in pairs, sometimes one pair in each hand, and often a
single cymbal in each hand, one held by the thong and the other
used as a striker against the other.
The former technique produces short, staccato sounds, often strung together in intricate rhythmic patterns. The latter form of play is used to evoke the resonant, almost bell-like tone of the instrument, and is primarily used when finger cymbals are called for in orchestral compositions.
Used to accompany dances, and sometimes held by the dancers themselves, they are still used in modern times, typically among Islamic cultures and on the Indian subcontinent.