Names of sabres in the Black Sea region in archival sources

Abstract

The article is devoted to the origin and use of the names of sabre types appearing in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century archival sources of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The aim of the study is to determine the etymology of these names and identify their connection with the Black Sea region. The research is based on the analysis of archival sources, primarily estate inventories of the Polish nobility. The author demonstrates that from the second half of the seventeenth century Polish sources contain the names of four types of sabres: ordynka, czeczuga, karabela, and multanka. These names are of Crimean, Moldavian-Wallachian, or Ukrainian origin and reflect the strong cultural influence of the Black Sea region on the material culture of the Commonwealth. The research also indicates that the appearance of new names did not signify the introduction of new types of weapons but rather a change in the terminology used for already existing sabre forms. Particular attention is devoted to the karabela, whose name became widespread relatively late despite the earlier existence of the weapon type itself.