Karabela
{{Short description|Type of sabre widely used in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth}}
{{Expand Polish|date=February 2017}}
File:Karabela of Sigismund III Vasa.JPG]]
A karabela was a type of Polish sabre ({{lang|pl|szabla}}) popular in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Polish fencer Wojciech Zabłocki defines a karabela as a decorated sabre with the handle stylized as the head of a bird and an open crossguard.Wojciech Zabłocki, Cięcia prawdziwą szablą, {{ISBN|8321726011}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=xUBLAAAAIAAJ&q=karabela p. 12]
Etymology
The word "{{lang|pl|karabela}}" does not have well-established etymology, and different versions are suggested."Bulletin de la Société polonaise de linguistique", [http://www.ptj.civ.pl/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_view/gid,16/ vol. 58] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111172356/http://www.ptj.civ.pl/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_view/gid,16/ |date=2014-01-11 }}, p. , [https://books.google.com/books?id=fwEpAQAAIAAJ&q=karabela]
- Zygmunt Gloger suggests derivation from the name of the Iraqi city of Karbala, known for trade of this kind of sabres.Zygmunt Gloger, "Księga rzeczy polskich" 1896, [https://books.google.com/books?id=7t4qAAAAYAAJ&dq=karabela&pg=PA148 p. 148]
- Around 1670, the karabela (from Turkish karabela "black bane"){{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} evolved, based on Ottoman Janissary kilij sabres; it became the most popular sword-form in the Polish army. During 17th and 18th centuries, curved sabers that evolved from Ottoman kilij were widespread throughout Europe.
Another suggestion is that the name originated from the most popular Seljuk sword named Kara-bela. Other suggestion is that its name derives from the Turkish town of Karabel, in the vicinity of İzmir, or the Karabel district in Crimea.{{cite book|title=An Outline History of Polish Applied Art|author=Zdzisław Żygulski|publisher=Interpress Publisher|year=1987|page=38}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- Włodzimierz Kwaśniewicz "1000 słów o broni białej i uzbrojeniu ochronnym" MON, Warszawa 1981, {{ISBN|83-11-06559-4}}
- PWN Leksykon: Wojsko, wojna, broń, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2001, {{ISBN|978-83-01-13506-5}}
- Włodzimierz Kwaśniewicz: Dzieje szabli w Polsce, Dom Wydawniczy Bellona, Warszawa 1999, {{ISBN|83-11-08921-3}}
{{Swords by region}}
Category:Early Modern European swords
Category:Turkish words and phrases
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