Spain can be explored for a lifetime, and you will still only see part of it. The Iberian Peninsula has been an attractive land for thousands of years – and you won’t have to travel far to understand why. Castles and fortifications tower over the landscape and are reminiscent of a story where battle and conflict have been the themes more than once. Perhaps no wonder that Spain, in their time, developed some of the world’s most coveted weapons? In the city of Toledo, local blacksmiths forged swords which were to become world famous as early as 500 BC. The Carthaginians used swords from Toledo when fighting the mighty Roman Empire. Throughout history, Toledo swords have been used by Moors and Christian knights, and they remain mythical to this day. Toledo Swords, for example, appear in the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”. The invention of gunpowder and the transition to more modern and not least industrially produced weapons dramatically reduced the importance of Toledo’s gunsmiths. Today, the city’s blacksmiths and metal artists mainly produce more peaceful products than weapons of war. But metal tools from Toledo are still first-class – albeit perhaps more for hobby use.
Toledo is centrally located in Spain, 67 kilometers south of the capital Madrid. Nowadays it is a peaceful city with just under 80,000 inhabitants. The old town is beautifully situated on a cliff well-guarded by double walls that testify to battles over territories for a long time. Here Carthaginians and Romans have been at each other’s throats, and for hundreds of years the city was on the front line between Christian and Muslim empires on the Iberian Peninsula.
Today, Toledo’s Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here you take a walk through narrow streets, see magnificent buildings and enjoy a cozy atmosphere. On the hill, Alcázar reigns, the castle with ancestry dating back to Roman times and was besieged by Spanish government forces as late as in 1936 and suffered major damage in the ensuing confrontation.
Falcata – Toledo becomes world famous
Sword production in Toledo dates back to 500 BC. Blacksmiths in Toledo had already developed a sword called the falcata, with properties that surpassed most of what was otherwise on the market at the time. The shape of the falcata is reminiscent of a sickle, i.e. an old agricultural tool. But the falcata has a significantly flatter curve and is heavier at the tip than the sickle making it a more efficient chopping tool.
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Toledo’s blacksmiths had access to high-quality iron ore locally and developed unsurpassed methods for shaping and hardening iron. The metal in the falcata’s exterior was hard, but the core of the sword was softer. The hard surface made the sword resistant to chopping, the slightly softer core absorbed the energy in the chopping so that the sword was not so easily damaged.
The quality of the Toledo blacksmiths’ work did not go unnoticed. Their products were in demand by wealthy warriors around the world. Kings, emperors and nobility came to the city from near and far with their orders. And Toledo’s wealth and influence grew – the city can largely be said to be built on the huge revenues from the sale of weapons and armor.
The first non-Iberians who knew how to appreciate the skilled metalworkers in Toledo came from Carthage. Their legendary army commander Hannibal was a good customer and contributed greatly to making the falcata popular.
Stocked with Toledo swords, Hannibal prepared for battle in the 200s BC – with troops and elephants he began his famous march across the Alps into the Roman Empire. It went amazingly well for Hannibal and the Carthaginians – at least in the beginning.
After some initial battles and bitter losses on the battlefield, the Romans, Hannibal’s arch-enemies, realized that they too had to acquire the same type of weapon. Toledo’s customer lists grew steadily.
The Romans started equipping their centurions with the falcata. And they eventually beat the Carthaginians. Maybe they thought it wise to control the production of the best weapons of their time? In any case, they invaded the Iberian Peninsula.
A city built on weapons
The insight and skills of the blacksmiths in Toledo, led to booming trade revenues. This wealth was used for wonderfully decorated castles, religious buildings, art in the form of paintings and statues and much more. The old town of Toledo is well worth a visit if you have not had the opportunity to go there yet.
In the early eighth century, Muslim troops were ready to occupy the Iberian Peninsula. Rumors of the tough Toledo swords had already reached them. By the way, their weapon technology was not far behind either – with the excellent Damascus steel used in many of the swords of victorious troops originating in the Arab world.
Already in 711 AD. Muslim Berber troops occupied Toledo. It was to be the start of a 373-year period of Muslim rulers in the prosperous city. Toledo’s skilled smiths eventually began making swords from their famous steel with an Arabic design. One of the types of swords we know from this period is the double-edged scimitar. The scimitar has a long, slender and curved blade, well suited for chopping. The form dates back to the Abbasid caliphate in the ninth century AD.
The Spanish national hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, also known as El Cid, used swords made in Toledo when he ravaged the 1000s AD. His legendary sword was called Tizona (sometimes referred to as Tízon). It was long, double-edged and richly decorated. El Cid’s sword must have been feared by the Muslim forces that Christian Spain was fighting against at the time.
Knights in shiny Toledo armor
Toledo’s artisans also made armor that protected the body in battle, that is – only the very rich could afford it. Mighty men from many corners of the world had their armor forged in the Spanish city – and the decorations on the armor often marked the wearer’s status and position. By the way, armor from the European Middle Ages can consist of more than 250 different parts and weigh up to 30 kg (about 66 lbs). It was not until the 13th century that techniques were mastered that made it possible to make “cover-all” armor for riders and even horses that was possible to move around in.
Toledo’s blacksmiths were the obvious choice to make swords and armor for the wealthy in the 11th to the 13th century crusades to Jerusalem.
Sometime later, Japanese samurai also became acquainted with the Toledo sword. Spanish explorers, merchants, and Jesuit missionaries talked about them when arriving in the East in the beginning of the 16th century. Bloody civil wars in which various warlords fought long and hard battles for power, drove demand for the ultimate in weapon technology. Toledo steel is said to have been used in Japanese samurai swords.
Throughout many eras and in different parts of the world, the demand for metal and swords from Toledo has caused people to come to the city from near and far to shop. Toledo swords have been used on four continents and this weapon technology made it an important trading center. No wonder Toledo became a prosperous city with castles and cathedrals and developed into a center for architecture, research and art.
Blacksmiths nowadays
The swordsmiths in Toledo continued to draw large revenues to Toledo until gunpowder and mass-produced firearms pushed swords and armor out of the market. Today, the last few craftsmen are struggling to keep their businesses going – despite some special orders such as two Toledo swords for the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”. Toledo attracts many tourists, but few arms buyers nowadays.
Still, there is more than souvenirs and decorative value to be had if you seek out one of the last craftsmen who still masters the subject. Mariano Zamorano is one of the few remaining sword makers, his family has been metalworkers in Toledo for several generations. You can see their website here: https://www.marianozamorano.com/en/products/swords/.
Today, most swords from Toledo are produced in factories, mostly for decoration only. If you come across one of the city’s most “most prolific” sellers, they may claim that you bought a real Toledo sword from the time of the Crusades or maybe even from the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of Spain.
But you can actually get “the real stuff” – though most products are of the far less lethal kind. If you want a souvenir that you can enjoy for many years, we can recommend a pair of Toledo steel scissors. Dangerously sharp, beautifully decorated and at least at Find Your Spain, they have stayed just as sharp since we got them.
The Find Your Spain team!
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