This has been long in the making, it is finally out: my first peer-reviewed publication related to HEMA!
Le Chevalier, V. (2026). Rapier hilts archetypes. Acta Periodica Duellatorum, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.36950/apd-2026-001 (direct link to PDF)
A.V.B. Norman’s typology of hilts currently serves as the standard for the classification of rapiers. However, its flat structure and minutious granularity make it inconvenient for memorization and discussion. This work proposes a restructuration of Norman’s extensive typology into fewer archetypes that renders it less cumbersome to use and follows the functional developments of complex hilts.
I have started this in early 2020, printing little cut-out images of each hilt type in Norman and seeing if I could group them in some way. Eventually, it all developed into this article. I doubt it will be the final word on rapier hilt typology, but I hope it will be useful to some people, at least in approaching Norman’s work.
Vincent, this is extremely good. Is the observation that the late hilts are all distinguished by being made as an integral whole your own, or did you get it from somewhere? That’s a very salient insight that I can’t remember seeing anywhere else. I take my hat off to you.
Hello,
Thanks for reading!
I don’t think I’ve seen that observation stated like that elsewhere, but this is basically inferred from Norman’s descriptions. At one point there is this sort of switch in construction methods and it seems they began to explore how to achieve the same function through different means, and the outside / inside distinction became less relevant.
To a degree it might still exist in terms of decoration or perhaps shape of shells on smallswords or cup-hilts, for example. Saber hilts, despite not being constructed at all like rapier hilts of course, maintained the asymmetrical shape much for much longer. So in theory the two aspects of changing construction / assembly methods and outside / inside distinction are independent, they just seem to have coincided for thrusting, civilian swords, generally speaking.
“I don’t think I’ve seen that observation stated like that elsewhere”
I didn’t think so either! It really felt like a trenchant insight, a very fine addition to present thinking about rapier types. I thank you again for it. (I have a copy of Norman myself, but it never occurred to me.)
Also, it hopefully goes without saying, but I should probably say anyway that I think your typology is very sensible and useful. It’s also seemed to me that the German complex hilts seem to be a chapter of their own, worth deeper examination – I hope you do it at some point.