A Call to Arms
Posted By Randy on November 20, 2010
“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.”
~ Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon, 1942 ~
If you follow me here, then you know I regularly encounter subject matter that’s too big for one article to hold. Well, I’m at it again.
Normally I like to introduce a subject before getting to my point, but today I’m just going to let my starter quotation from Robert Heinlein do that for me. From there, I’m posting a title from the 2004 documentary mini-series Weapons That Made Britain. Presented by that Master of ancient and antique weaponry, Michael Loades. I give you The Sword.
As its title states, the documentary you are about to see deals with what has been called the Queen of weapons, and its significance to society in the assurance of not only national freedoms, but individual ones as well. While the study and practice of swordsmanship may seem anachronistic today, this article and those that follow its theme will confront the widely promoted position that humans have civilized beyond the need for weapons and skill at arms with the opposing premise that we not only haven’t attained such a state, we probably never will, nor can we afford to live our lives as though we have. So now, dear reader, decant a draught of your favourite libation and settle back for a treat.
Fascinating !!! Thoroughly enjoyed. This article and the videos have initiated an appetite for the history of this (taken for granted by me) mysterious and awesome weapon. There is constant programming and media focus on the guns and tanks of WW1 and WW2, and occasional attention to muskets and cannons, so I found this to be refreshing. Almost like a reverse paradigm.
Many thanks Leroy. It’s true that since the invention of firearms we’ve become all about the big bang. Nevertheless, the sword and its art are still worthy of admiration and study.
You’ll be happy to note that this was the first in a thread. Not a sequential series like my Dark Sentiments posts, but this topic will go on for some time addressing the issues impinging on possession and use of personal; i. e. civilian; arms.