Windlass Henry VIII sword review
Oct 12, 2010 8:03:43 GMT
Post by serge021974 on Oct 12, 2010 8:03:43 GMT
Windlass Henry VIII sword review
Windlass Steelcrafts are well known for making some of the most historically accurate budget swords on the market today.
For this sword they claim that it was the sword that Henry VIII used in the series “The Tudors”. The Tudors is a historical fiction television series created and entirely written by British screenwriter Michael Hirst. The series is loosely based upon the early reign of English monarch Henry VIII.
Events in the series differ from events as they actually happened in history. Liberties are taken with character names, relationships, physical appearance and the timing of events. As creator Hirst noted, "Showtime commissioned me to write an entertainment, a soap opera, and not history ... And we wanted people to watch it." He added that some changes were made for production considerations and some to avoid viewer confusion, and that "any confusion created by the changes is outweighed by the interest the series may inspire in the period and its figures."
Time is conflated in the series, giving the impression that things happened closer together than they actually did or along a different timeline. By the time of most of the events in this series, King Henry VIII was already in his mid-to-late 30s and at least a decade older than Anne Boleyn; they were not married until he was in his early 40s. In The Tudors, the two are cast younger (and seemingly closer in age) and the courtship lasts about ten episodes. Historically, Cardinal Wolsey died in Leicester en route to London to answer charges of treason, while in the series he is imprisoned and commits suicide (though the fictional Henry insists that this be covered up). Wolsey's death came in 1530, three years before the death of Henry's sister; in the series, the two events are juxtaposed. In episode 2.7, Katherine dies, May Day is celebrated and Anne discovers she is pregnant. In episode 2.8, Anne miscarries. Historically, Anne's miscarriage and Catherine's death happened on the same day, on 29 January 1536 and not in May.
The character of Henry's sister, called "Princess Margaret" in the series, is actually a composite of his two sisters: the life events of his youngest sister, Princess Mary Tudor, coupled with the name of his eldest sister, Margaret Tudor (to avoid confusion with Henry's daughter, Mary I of England). Historically, Henry's sister Princess Mary first married the French King Louis XII. The union lasted approximately three months, until his death; Louis was succeeded by his cousin Francis I, who was married to Louis' daughter Claude of France. Mary subsequently married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. As The Tudors begins, Henry is already negotiating a peace treaty with Francis; the series' Princess Margaret thus marries the Portuguese king, who lives only a few days until she smothers him in his sleep. By the time of the events of this series, the historical Brandon (who was already in his early 40s) and Princess Mary were long married with three children. Henry's eldest sister, Margaret Tudor, was actually married to King James IV of Scotland and became the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots.
While Bessie Blount was famously one of Henry VIII's mistresses and did give Henry an illegitimate son (Henry FitzRoy), historically, her son did not die as a small child. FitzRoy died at the age of 17 in 1536, roughly 10 years before the death of his father, Henry VIII. Blount was also not married until after the birth of Henry FitzRoy.
The papal politics depicted in the first several episodes of the series also have no clear relation to actual events. A Pope Alexander is depicted as on his death bed at the time of the Field of the Cloth of Gold meeting between Henry and Francis (in 1520), whereas the actual pope at that time, Leo X, died suddenly at the very end of 1521, and there had not been a pope named Alexander since 1503, before the beginning of Henry's reign. A Cardinal Orsini is depicted as being elected following the death of the fictional Alexander, which, again, does not correspond to actual history, when the Emperor's tutor Adrian of Utrecht was elected to succeed Leo, and, following his death just a year later, Cardinal Medici, who as Clement VII would refuse to permit Henry's divorce, was elected to the papal throne.
William Brereton did not confess to adultery with Queen Anne and was not a Papal agent. He was in fact a wealthy magnate who had large landholdings in the Welsh Marches, where he was ruthless and unpopular, and is believed to have been accused due to Thomas Cromwell's desire to remove a festering political problem. Brereton's assassination attempt on Anne during her coronation procession in episode 2.3 was also invented by the series.
This is a beautiful solid sword, but what I don’t understand is why they don’t take the other beautiful sword (from the series) into production (see under)?
The sword used in the series is slightly different with the original sword we found of this royalty. The original sword was more a scimitar-like sword.
Henry VIII sword in the Royal collection at Windsor Castle
But when doing some research brought us to the reason why the series (and Windlass) took this sword in the series.
What we see on this picture is a sword that looks alike our Windlass Henry VIII sword (only it’s shorter and more detailed). Henry VIII loved the finer things in life. Women, Armor, Swords, poetry, music, sports, hunting. Swords. Women. Other stuff. Swords. Women.
Yes, Henry was a renaissance man if there ever was such a thing. He was a scholar, an athlete, a poet, a warrior and a musician (Ever heard of Greensleeves? He wrote the thing). His love of swords and armor almost matched his love of women. Then again, it may have exceeded it . he had many more suits of armor and swords than wives. Then again, if we count all of the women he had that were not his wife, I think the swords and armor would lose out. But it would be close.
Windlass henry viii sword
Review by Winckelmans Serge, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
This absolutely stunning sword is a perfect reproduction of Henry's cut-and-thrust weapon from the series "The Tudors." It's a king's sword. Everything about it screams "I am the king. Now bring me food, women and weapons. Not necessarily in that order!"
The Guard and pommel are plated in gold (seriously). The grip is made from the finest hardwoods, covered in leather and wrapped with a golden wire braid. It's one of the most attractive swords we've seen in a long, long time. There is a handsome Tudor Rose carved into the gold of the pommel that gives it a regal, powerful look. Elegantly sloping, beveled crossguards are sculpted with floral patterns. These sloping guards along with a relatively short grip and the circular wheel pommel identify this as a true knightly sword, probably a Family F for you Oakeshott enthusiasts.
The sword blade is a fully tempered 36 inches and deeply fullered for strength and lightness. The entire sword is 43 inches long and weighs a svelte 3lbs. 4oz. it comes with a beautifully decorated scabbard (wood covered with leather, with splendid tip flourish).
THE BLADE
The blade is well polished, very long and with a fuller for about 3/4 of the blade. The tip is very pointy.
GRIP
This is the masterpiece of the sword. Gold-plated, well defined and a pleasure to take in hand. The golden wire isn’t slippy at all, and interrupted with leather accents.
GUARD
The guard is made of gold plated, solid steel and fits very well in the blade as on the grip, almost perfect.
AND POMMEL
Beautiful flower design and also gold plated. I haven’t tried to screw of the pommel because it was to good fixed. I didn’t want to ruin my sword. I’m sorry for that.
THE SCABBARD
Standard Windlass leather cover, but the gold plated throat and drag make it for a very decent looking piece.
FIT AND FINISH
Overall, this is very nice looking sword. Windlass used very attractive and decent materials creating this sword. I like the gold plated accents. If this all would be solid steel, the sword would be less interesting for me.
CUTTING AND HANDLING
CHAAAARGE!!!!!!!!!
cutting some plastic bottles.
Some excuses from my side when cutting the 5 liter can. I thought it would be gone easy and didn’t used enough power cutting this bottle. I compensate it when I did the tatami mat. ;D
[yoytube]5J4wja7W5i0[/youtube]
I’ve seen nicer cuts than these, but overall are the cuts good enough for such a beautiful sword.
cutting a tatami mat
I didn’t expect this (because the 5 liter bottle failed), but for me are this nice clean cuts.
CONCLUSION
A very well done, truly beautiful sword from Windlass. It is a series accurate and beautiful detailed functional sword.
I would recommend this sword for any collection as a functional but most of all as a display sword.
It’s very light in hand and a pleasure to use. It was a risk to test this sword because I didn’t wanted to abuse this nice piece, but now, after all I know this is a good and functional sword (and that’s definitely a nice feeling knowing to have a beautiful BUT functional sword).
THE VERDICT
Historical Accuracy: 2/5
Movie Accuracy : 5/5
Fit and Finish: 5/5
Handling: 4/5 (5 ltr bottle!)
Structural Integrity: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
OVERALL: 5/5 (BUY IT NOW!)
WHERE TO BUY
Normally this sword retails for $344 –but I bought mine here at Imperial Weapons where it goes out the door for $265.50. But just because it is available right now, don’t sit on it too long – Windlass are somewhat notorious for discontinuing their swords regardless of how well received they are (and we don’t know how long this series (the Tudors) wil be on our screens), so if you want one – you had better act quickly while they are still in production!
Windlass Steelcrafts are well known for making some of the most historically accurate budget swords on the market today.
For this sword they claim that it was the sword that Henry VIII used in the series “The Tudors”. The Tudors is a historical fiction television series created and entirely written by British screenwriter Michael Hirst. The series is loosely based upon the early reign of English monarch Henry VIII.
Events in the series differ from events as they actually happened in history. Liberties are taken with character names, relationships, physical appearance and the timing of events. As creator Hirst noted, "Showtime commissioned me to write an entertainment, a soap opera, and not history ... And we wanted people to watch it." He added that some changes were made for production considerations and some to avoid viewer confusion, and that "any confusion created by the changes is outweighed by the interest the series may inspire in the period and its figures."
Time is conflated in the series, giving the impression that things happened closer together than they actually did or along a different timeline. By the time of most of the events in this series, King Henry VIII was already in his mid-to-late 30s and at least a decade older than Anne Boleyn; they were not married until he was in his early 40s. In The Tudors, the two are cast younger (and seemingly closer in age) and the courtship lasts about ten episodes. Historically, Cardinal Wolsey died in Leicester en route to London to answer charges of treason, while in the series he is imprisoned and commits suicide (though the fictional Henry insists that this be covered up). Wolsey's death came in 1530, three years before the death of Henry's sister; in the series, the two events are juxtaposed. In episode 2.7, Katherine dies, May Day is celebrated and Anne discovers she is pregnant. In episode 2.8, Anne miscarries. Historically, Anne's miscarriage and Catherine's death happened on the same day, on 29 January 1536 and not in May.
The character of Henry's sister, called "Princess Margaret" in the series, is actually a composite of his two sisters: the life events of his youngest sister, Princess Mary Tudor, coupled with the name of his eldest sister, Margaret Tudor (to avoid confusion with Henry's daughter, Mary I of England). Historically, Henry's sister Princess Mary first married the French King Louis XII. The union lasted approximately three months, until his death; Louis was succeeded by his cousin Francis I, who was married to Louis' daughter Claude of France. Mary subsequently married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. As The Tudors begins, Henry is already negotiating a peace treaty with Francis; the series' Princess Margaret thus marries the Portuguese king, who lives only a few days until she smothers him in his sleep. By the time of the events of this series, the historical Brandon (who was already in his early 40s) and Princess Mary were long married with three children. Henry's eldest sister, Margaret Tudor, was actually married to King James IV of Scotland and became the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots.
While Bessie Blount was famously one of Henry VIII's mistresses and did give Henry an illegitimate son (Henry FitzRoy), historically, her son did not die as a small child. FitzRoy died at the age of 17 in 1536, roughly 10 years before the death of his father, Henry VIII. Blount was also not married until after the birth of Henry FitzRoy.
The papal politics depicted in the first several episodes of the series also have no clear relation to actual events. A Pope Alexander is depicted as on his death bed at the time of the Field of the Cloth of Gold meeting between Henry and Francis (in 1520), whereas the actual pope at that time, Leo X, died suddenly at the very end of 1521, and there had not been a pope named Alexander since 1503, before the beginning of Henry's reign. A Cardinal Orsini is depicted as being elected following the death of the fictional Alexander, which, again, does not correspond to actual history, when the Emperor's tutor Adrian of Utrecht was elected to succeed Leo, and, following his death just a year later, Cardinal Medici, who as Clement VII would refuse to permit Henry's divorce, was elected to the papal throne.
William Brereton did not confess to adultery with Queen Anne and was not a Papal agent. He was in fact a wealthy magnate who had large landholdings in the Welsh Marches, where he was ruthless and unpopular, and is believed to have been accused due to Thomas Cromwell's desire to remove a festering political problem. Brereton's assassination attempt on Anne during her coronation procession in episode 2.3 was also invented by the series.
This is a beautiful solid sword, but what I don’t understand is why they don’t take the other beautiful sword (from the series) into production (see under)?
The sword used in the series is slightly different with the original sword we found of this royalty. The original sword was more a scimitar-like sword.
Henry VIII sword in the Royal collection at Windsor Castle
But when doing some research brought us to the reason why the series (and Windlass) took this sword in the series.
What we see on this picture is a sword that looks alike our Windlass Henry VIII sword (only it’s shorter and more detailed). Henry VIII loved the finer things in life. Women, Armor, Swords, poetry, music, sports, hunting. Swords. Women. Other stuff. Swords. Women.
Yes, Henry was a renaissance man if there ever was such a thing. He was a scholar, an athlete, a poet, a warrior and a musician (Ever heard of Greensleeves? He wrote the thing). His love of swords and armor almost matched his love of women. Then again, it may have exceeded it . he had many more suits of armor and swords than wives. Then again, if we count all of the women he had that were not his wife, I think the swords and armor would lose out. But it would be close.
Windlass henry viii sword
Review by Winckelmans Serge, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
This absolutely stunning sword is a perfect reproduction of Henry's cut-and-thrust weapon from the series "The Tudors." It's a king's sword. Everything about it screams "I am the king. Now bring me food, women and weapons. Not necessarily in that order!"
The Guard and pommel are plated in gold (seriously). The grip is made from the finest hardwoods, covered in leather and wrapped with a golden wire braid. It's one of the most attractive swords we've seen in a long, long time. There is a handsome Tudor Rose carved into the gold of the pommel that gives it a regal, powerful look. Elegantly sloping, beveled crossguards are sculpted with floral patterns. These sloping guards along with a relatively short grip and the circular wheel pommel identify this as a true knightly sword, probably a Family F for you Oakeshott enthusiasts.
The sword blade is a fully tempered 36 inches and deeply fullered for strength and lightness. The entire sword is 43 inches long and weighs a svelte 3lbs. 4oz. it comes with a beautifully decorated scabbard (wood covered with leather, with splendid tip flourish).
THE BLADE
The blade is well polished, very long and with a fuller for about 3/4 of the blade. The tip is very pointy.
GRIP
This is the masterpiece of the sword. Gold-plated, well defined and a pleasure to take in hand. The golden wire isn’t slippy at all, and interrupted with leather accents.
GUARD
The guard is made of gold plated, solid steel and fits very well in the blade as on the grip, almost perfect.
AND POMMEL
Beautiful flower design and also gold plated. I haven’t tried to screw of the pommel because it was to good fixed. I didn’t want to ruin my sword. I’m sorry for that.
THE SCABBARD
Standard Windlass leather cover, but the gold plated throat and drag make it for a very decent looking piece.
FIT AND FINISH
Overall, this is very nice looking sword. Windlass used very attractive and decent materials creating this sword. I like the gold plated accents. If this all would be solid steel, the sword would be less interesting for me.
CUTTING AND HANDLING
CHAAAARGE!!!!!!!!!
cutting some plastic bottles.
Some excuses from my side when cutting the 5 liter can. I thought it would be gone easy and didn’t used enough power cutting this bottle. I compensate it when I did the tatami mat. ;D
[yoytube]5J4wja7W5i0[/youtube]
I’ve seen nicer cuts than these, but overall are the cuts good enough for such a beautiful sword.
cutting a tatami mat
I didn’t expect this (because the 5 liter bottle failed), but for me are this nice clean cuts.
CONCLUSION
A very well done, truly beautiful sword from Windlass. It is a series accurate and beautiful detailed functional sword.
I would recommend this sword for any collection as a functional but most of all as a display sword.
It’s very light in hand and a pleasure to use. It was a risk to test this sword because I didn’t wanted to abuse this nice piece, but now, after all I know this is a good and functional sword (and that’s definitely a nice feeling knowing to have a beautiful BUT functional sword).
THE VERDICT
Historical Accuracy: 2/5
Movie Accuracy : 5/5
Fit and Finish: 5/5
Handling: 4/5 (5 ltr bottle!)
Structural Integrity: 5/5
Value for Money: 5/5
OVERALL: 5/5 (BUY IT NOW!)
WHERE TO BUY
Normally this sword retails for $344 –but I bought mine here at Imperial Weapons where it goes out the door for $265.50. But just because it is available right now, don’t sit on it too long – Windlass are somewhat notorious for discontinuing their swords regardless of how well received they are (and we don’t know how long this series (the Tudors) wil be on our screens), so if you want one – you had better act quickly while they are still in production!
