The glaive was derived from the Celtic custom of placing a sword with a hollow handle at the end of a pole, called by the natives of Wales "llavnawr"—the blade weapon, and takes its name from the Cleddyv, or Gleddyv, of the Welsh. In an abstract of the grants of the 1st of Richard III., among the Harleian MSS., No. 443, is a warrant to Nicholas Spicer, authorising him to impress smiths for making 2,000 Welsh glaives; and 20s. 6d. are charged for 30 glaives, with their staves, made at Abergavenny and Llanllolved. In the romaunt of Guy, Earl of Warwick, by Walter of Exeter, written in the time of Edward II., also in the Harleian Library of the British Museum, they are called gleves; thus—
"Grant coupes de gleves trenchant
Les escurs ne lur vailut gans."
"Such powerful strokes from cutting gleves,
That the shields were not worth a glove."
They were also in frequent use on the Continent, and the "Chronicle of Flanders" mentions an instance of the cavalry having armed themselves with glaives, which they ornamented with pennoncels. The specimen which we have here engraved is one which was made for the Doge of Venice, during the time that the Emperor Charles V. had the command there, in compliment to whom the centre ornament is the Austrian eagle. Upon this the arms of the succeeding Doge, Francisco Veneri, who held the office from 1554 to 1556, have been deeply incised, no doubt to commemorate the expulsion of the Germans. The pole, at the top of which the weapon was fixed, is omitted in our engraving.
CRUELTY OF FRANCIS CARRARA.
Francis Carrara, the last Lord of Padua, was famous for his cruelties. They shew (at Venice) a little box for a toilette, in which are six little guns, which are so ordered with springs, and adjusted in such a manner, that upon the opening of the trunk, the guns fired and killed the lady to whom Carrara sent it for a present. They show also with this, some little pocket cross-bows and arrows of steel, with which he took pleasure to kill those he met, so secretly, that they could hardly either perceive the blow, or him that gave it.