I must end by mentioning the funda, or slings, and leaden plummets (glandes), which were thrown so dexterously by the slingers of the Balearic Islands. The slingers of this province are mentioned with great praise by ancient authors. (V. Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Funda.)
During the Visigothic domination, some modifications must have been introduced in the form and number of the arms used, probably owing to the tradition of the Gothic race, and the Byzantine or Oriental influences, which they accept in every sphere; but the names and explanation of these weapons, given by San Isidoro in his "Etimologies," lib. xviii., indicate that the Roman system was adopted as a general rule. The chief modification which may be established for the Visigoths, and the greater part of the European races, is that from their time the breast-plates and metallic pieces, which served as a protection for the legs and arms, fell into disuse, and were substituted by coats of mail or chain armour. This is deduced from San Isidoro's not describing these metallic plates; although he gives numerous details on different sorts of coats of mail, including those made of coarse stuffs woven in Silisia. At this time, the use of planks or boards to protect the body was abandoned, and did not prove acceptable until the end of the 13th century, when they again became very generally adopted in Spain.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Spanish Christians continued to use the same weapons as in other European states. The history of Spanish arms, in like manner with its artistic history and civilization, is similar to that of other nations; it frequently occurs that objects of this kind are classified with those of other countries, the only exceptions to this general rule being those which result from the Moorish conquest and influence.
The Arabs, after they took possession of Spain at the beginning of the 8th century, imported, with their arts and industries, special arms and weapons, the greater part of which were copied from Persian models; their swords, helmets, and shields deserve special attention; in other weapons the difference is not so great; and, indeed, in the two first it is chiefly confined to their decoration.
None of the arms made by the Moors have been so justly celebrated, or so delicately worked as their swords. An Arabic author, El Camus, says the Arabs had as many as 1000 names to designate swords. In the first years of the Hegira, their historians praise the swords made at Yemen, and in India; later on, those of Syria; Damascus was, however, the great centre where arms of all kinds were made. Several interesting Arabic manuscripts are known on this subject, such as the Treatise on steel blades in the library of Gotha, that on Different kinds of arms, with the properties of lances, swords, and horses, in the Library of Leyden, and numerous articles by Oriental scholars, which have appeared in the "Journal Asiatique," and other reviews. The manufacture in Syria decayed in the 15th century; other centres gained in importance, specially those in Egypt, Morocco, and Spain, which had rivalled the East in this industry during the Middle Ages.
The Arabs introduced their forms and manner of decorating arms when they invaded the Peninsula; it is, however, highly probable that the traditions still existed at Bilbilis and Toledo of the manner of tempering steel. It is known that Abd-er Rahman II. (A.D. 822-852) reformed the manufacture of arms at Toledo, and that in A.D. 965, Al Hakem II. sent a rich present of specimens made in the locality to Don Sancho, King of Leon. Notwithstanding the high reputation of the industries of Cordova, the great centre and court of the Spanish Arabs during the earlier period of their domination, "it never became famous for its working steel," as Fernandez Gonzalez tells us in his study on Spanish moresque swords, from which much of this information has been derived. (V. Mus. Esp. de Antiguedades, V. I. and V.). Almeria, Murcia, Seville, and Granada were greatly distinguished in this manufacture during the domination of the Arabs in Spain.
We know that Almeria, during the 12th and 13th centuries, "was also famous for the fabrication of all sorts of vases and utensils of iron, copper, or glass." (Mohamadan Dynasties in Spain, by Al-Makkari, vol. i. p. 51.) Abou Said, in writing in the 13th century of Murcia, says, "Objects are made there of latteen and ron, consisting of knives and scissors, with an ornamentation in gold. Other similar utensils, proper for the outfit of a bride, or a soldier, in such large quantities, that the mere thought of it confuses the imagination."
The same author, when speaking of the swords of Seville, says, "The steel which is made at Seville is most excellent; it would take too much time to enumerate the delicate objects of every kind which are made in this town." These industries must have continued in the hands of the Moors after the town was conquered by Spaniards in the 13th century. In the following century we find in the will of King Dn. Pedro, "I also endow my son with my Castilian sword, which I had made here in Seville, ornamented with stones and gold."
No specimens of Hispaño moresque swords exist previous to the 15th century. We possess some highly interesting examples of this period, all, or the most part, of which were made at Granada, the last centre of civilization of the Spanish Arabs. The most important are the sword, dagger, and double-handed sword and knife, which, with the authentic costume, belonging to Boabdil, the last king of Granada, are now in the possession of the Marquis of Villaseca, at Madrid. These objects were gained by an ancestor of the marquis, who took Boabdil prisoner in 1482 at the battle of Lucena. In compliance with the chivalrous practice of the time, the arms of the conquered king went to the conqueror, and have been kept as heirlooms since that time.
The sword of Villaseca is 39 inches long, this includes 12 inches of the hilt. (See woodcut.) "The steel blade," says Sr. Fernandez, in his article, vol. v. p. 395, "is of a later date, and appears to have been added to the sword after the older one had disappeared. It is a Toledo blade, marked with the letter S, similar to the one used by Alonso Sahagun the elder, and with a hollow line in the centre."