TWO DUCAL HANGERS
THE hanger was a type of short sword that was used from the 15th century onwards for hunting, war and self-defence. Over these years its form altered, as all longer serving weapons did, in line with changing fashion and function.
The hanger usually had a slightly curved and predominately single-edged blade that made it useful in various settings for several centuries. From the 17th century, firearms became increasingly important for the military and for hunting but the hanger’s use continued to grow in both fields.
Especially before the development of the socket bayonet, the hanger was the musket-bearing infantryman’s close combat sidearm. It enabled him to engage in hand-to-hand combat when necessary, yet was not so heavy or long as to be too burdensome to carry or likely to get entangled when marching or fighting in close-order formations. Even long after the socket bayonet’s widespread introduction, military hangers were still carried by many European infantrymen and most nations’ pioneers and artillerymen until well into the era of breech-loading rifles.
Similarly, the hanger’s popularity grew for the hunt as it was of convenient size for wearing when mounted for the chase. It was particularly popular in England, where the main forms of game were stag, hare or fox, and against which a hanger was ample protection. More lethal weapons, such as those employed on continental hunts for bears, boar or wolves, were simply not necessary in England. But the hanger was not only used by the military and when hunting. It was a popular means of self-defence, commonly worn whilst travelling or by gentlemen ‘about town’.
The two hangers illustrated are of particular interest due to their connection to John Montagu (1690-1749), 2nd Duke of Montagu and Master General of the Ordnance (1740-42 and 1743-49). The uppermost sword bears the arms of the Duke (from after he was made Knight of the Garter in 1719) on the guard’s outer shell and ducal crowns around the ferrules at either end of the grip – all of which would be visible when the sword was worn. Yet this hanger, with its finely cast hilt, stag horn grip and good-quality, most likely German blade, was not intended for the Duke’s own use – but by his huntsmen. A number ‘8’ is inscribed on the hilt but hidden from view when worn, marking it as one of a set for such use, the majority of which are still held at Boughton House in Northamptonshire, the current home of the Duke of Buccleuch.
The lower hanger is from a different set, of which others are also still at Boughton House, and all these instead bear the Duke’s arms on the blade. Yet this blade is more military in form and appears to bear the mark of an English cutler who made large quantities of swords for the British military in the mid-18th century. This could suggest that this hunting hanger was perhaps re-bladed to equip the regiment of foot Montagu raised in 1745 in response to the Jacobite Rebellion – further showing the potential usefulness of the hanger in a variety of contexts.
The hangers can be viewed in the Hunting gallery and by appointment at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds, the national museum of arms and armour. The museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Entry is free. For further information, visit: royalarmouries.org