Arms & Armor Musketeer Rapier

Please contact us to inquire for pricing for this sword. This sword is not actually 0.00 and under no circumstance will be sold at this price – please contact us to receive a price as it is considered a custom item from Arms and Armor and pricing is subject to change. Please inquire for latest price.

The Arms & Armor Musketeer sword is based on an original dated to 1590 which is now kept in the Kienbusch Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It has a sharpened blade of 6150 high carbon steel tempered to 50 HRC. The elaborate steel guard and pommel has been blackened and the grip is wire wrapped with a combination of steel wire and braided, blackened steel wire.

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.