French Musketeer Company Cavalry Sword – Universal Swords

The French Musketeers, personal protectors of the French Crown of the Ancien Rime, were the impetuous and dashing men immortalized by the tale of the Three Musketeers. Experts in blade, shot and horse, the Musketeer companies were the Royal Guard of the King when he was outside of his palace. They were also known to fight on foot in the line of battle in companies of 250 men.

The ranks of the Musketeers were largely reserved for sons of the nobility, and unlike other regiments, were open to the lower ranks of the nobility. Though born noble, much of the nobility of France were noble only in name – many lived in poverty. These ambitious young men sought to become officers in the military or become a horseman of the royal household cavalry. They were required to have several years of service before qualifying for these positions. Spending these years as a Musketeer was ideal and the Musketeer regiments gained an institutional reputation for bravado as these heady men sought to catch the eye of their superiors for their own advancement.

Though the Musketeers had a long history that dated to 1622, they were swept away by a foe they could not fight – namely the economic and agricultural crises that foundered the monarchy of the Ancien Rime. The troubles became evident when even the esteemed Musketeers were disbanded in 1776 by Louis XVI due to budgeting shortfalls. They were refounded in 1789 on the eve of the French Revolution, but the military of the French monarchy would dissolve in the turmoil to follow.

The Musketeers enjoyed a brief revival beginning on July 6th, 1814 under Louis XVIII of the 1st Bourbon Restoration after Napoleons defeat and exile. When Napoleon returned from Elba most of the Musketeers deserted, whilst others followed the ousted Louis into exile. When the Monarchy was restored for the second time after Napoleons final defeat, the Musketeers were then officially disbanded on January 1, 1816.

This Musketeer sword is a recreation of the blades carried by the Musketeers after their 1814 reformation. The spine of the blade bears the dated 1814 signature of the Klingenthal manufactory – the favored swordmaker of France during both the Monarchy and the Napoleonic Empire. The base of the blade is stamped with period production and inspection markings. The unsharpened blade is crafted from tempered high carbon steel and the elaborate hilt is of cast brass with a blackened cross design on the swept hilt guard. The grip is covered in tight black leather and is overlaid with spiralled brass wire. The scabbard is of steel with two steel hanging rings.