Chape has had various meanings in English, but the predominant one is a protective fitting at the bottom of a

scabbard A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and lever-action rifles on the ...

or sheath for a

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed tip ...

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use def ...

(10 in the diagram). Historic blade weapons often had

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs ...

scabbards with metal fittings at either end, sometimes decorated. These are generally either in some sort of U shape, protecting the edges only, or a pocket shape covering the sides of the scabbard as well. The reinforced end of a single-piece metal scabbard can also be called the chape. The scabbard chape is not to be confused with the ''chappe'', a French term -

rain-guard A rain-guard or chappe is a piece of leather fitted to the crossguard of European swords of the later medieval period. The purpose of this leather is not entirely clear, but it seems to have originated as a part of the scabbard, functioning as a ...

in English - on the sword itself, a fitting at the top of the blade in late medieval weapons, just below the crossguard of the

hilt The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel. ...

. The chappe fitted outside the scabbard, presumably helping to hold the sword snugly and preventing rain coming in (4 in the diagram). This would typically have been of leather, though everything about these is uncertain as no original examples have survived, and they are mainly known from art.

Etymology

The word derives from the Latin "cappa", meaning hood or cape, or tip or head.

Archaeology

With the "locket" or "throat" fitting at the top, open, end of the scabbard (9 in the diagram; confusingly, in French this is a ''chappe''), the chape is often the only part of a scabbard to survive in the ground for archaeologists to find. Notable scabbard chapes include the Germanic

Thorsberg chape The Thorsberg chape (a bronze piece belonging to a scabbard) is an archeological find from the Thorsberg moor, Germany, that appears to have been deposited as a votive offering.Tineke Looijenga, ''Texts & Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptio ...

, with an inscription in

runes Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

, from about 200 AD. A striking silver chape terminating in the heads of animals or monsters from the

St Ninian's Isle St Ninian's Isle is a small tied island connected by the largest tombolo in the UK to the south-western coast of the Mainland, Shetland, in Scotland. It is part of the civil parish of Dunrossness on the South Mainland. The tombolo, known local ...

Treasure is now in the

Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. This might be

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

or Scottish or Pictish, and dates to about 800 AD. Perhaps the most interesting period for chapes is

Celtic art Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and styli ...

, where a variety of shapes and ornament were used.

Buckle chape

A buckle chape is the plate or fitting connecting some

buckle The buckle or clasp is a device used for fastening two loose ends, with one end attached to it and the other held by a catch in a secure but adjustable manner. Often taken for granted, the invention of the buckle was indispensable in securing tw ...

s to their belt or strap.

OED The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

"Chape", 4.

Notes

References

* Kavar, Boris and Martina B., in ''Celtic Art in Europe: Making Connections'', Eds, Christopher Gosden, Sally Crawford, Katharina Ulmschneider, pp. 265–271, 2014, Oxbow Books,
Google Books
* Oakeshott, R. Ewart, ''The Archaeology of Weapons: Arms and Armor from Prehistory to the Age of Chivalry'', Dover Military History, Weapons, Armor Series, 1960, Courier Corporation, * Youngs, Susan (ed), ''"The Work of Angels", Masterpieces of Celtic Metalwork, 6th–9th centuries AD'', pp. 108–112, 1989, British Museum Press, London, * Webster, Leslie, ''Anglo-Saxon Art'', 2012, British Museum Press,

External links

*{{cite EB1911, wstitle=Chape , volume=5 , short=x Blade weapons Metalworking Archaeological artefact types