Everything about Cutlass totally explained
» This article is about the sword. For other uses see Cutlass (disambiguation).
A
cutlass is a short, thick
sabre or slashing
sword, with a straight or slightly curved
blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a
hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped
guard.
Etymology
The word
cutlass, recorded in English since 1594, is probably derived from the Italian
coltellaccio (diminutive form of
coltello, 'knife'), the name of a short, broad-bladed sabre popular in Italy during the 16th century, via the French
coutelas, or
coutelace, a form of
coutel, modern
couteau, a
knife, from Latin
cultellus, diminutive of
culter, a ploughshare, or cutting instrument. A soldier armed with it can be called
coutillier.
Two variations appear in English:
curtelace, where the
r represents probably the
l of the original Latin word, or is a further variant of the second variation; and
curtelaxe, often spelled as two words,
curtal axe, where the prefix
curtal is confused with various English words derived from the Latin
curtus such as curtan, curtal and curtail, which all mean shortened; the word thus wrongly derived was supposed to refer to some non-existent form of battle-axe. In every case the weapon to which these various forms apply is a broad cutting or slashing sword.
History and use
The cutlass is best known as the
sailor's weapon of choice, the naval
side arm, likely because it was also robust enough to hack through heavy ropes, canvas, and wood. It was also short enough to use in relatively close quarters, such as during boarding actions, in the rigging, or below decks. Another advantage to the cutlass was its simplicity of use. The cutlass required less training than the
rapier or
small sword, and was more effective as a combat weapon than the full-sized sword. The cutlasses portrayed in films about
pirates are historically incorrect, often 19th-century weapons.
It was also used on land, particularly by cavalrymen such as the
Mamelukes, since its curved blade made it useful for slashing combat. In time of peace the Ottoman state supplied no arms, and the
janissaries on service in the capital were armed only with clubs; they were forbidden to carry any arm save a cutlass, the only exception being at the frontier-posts.
A cutlass is as often an agricultural implement and tool, as a weapon (cf.
machete, to which the same comment applies), being used commonly in
rain forest and
sugar cane areas, such as the
Caribbean and
Central America. Woodsmen and soldiers in the 17th and 18th centuries used a similar short and broad
backsword called
hanger.
Cutlasses are famous for being used by
pirates, although there's no reason to believe that Caribbean
buccaneers invented them, as has sometimes been claimed. However, the subsequent use of cutlasses by pirates is well documented in contemporary sources, notably by the pirate crews of
William Fly,
William Kidd, and
Stede Bonnet.
Exquemelin reports the buccaneer
Francois l'Ollonais using a cutlass as early as
1667. Pirates used these weapons for intimidation as much as for combat, often needing no more than to grip their hilts to induce a crew to surrender, or beating captives with the flat of the blade to force their compliance or responsiveness to interrogation.
In 1936 the
Royal Navy announced that from now on cutlasses would only be carried for ceremonial duties and not used in landing parties. A U.S. Marine engineer NCO is reported to have killed an enemy with a model 1941 cutlass at
Inchon during the
Korean War..
The cutlass remained an official weapon in the
U.S. Navy stores until 1949, though seldom used in training after the early 1930s. The last new model of cutlass adopted by the U.S.Navy was the Model 1917. A cutlass is still carried by the RCPO of recruit divisions at U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cutlass'.
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