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Details
LOT 1139
Medieval Iron Grappling Hook
15TH-16TH CENTURY A.D.
8 5/8 in. (598 grams, 22 cm).
Retaining a free-running suspension loop. [No Reserve]
Provenance
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
Literature
Cf. Tarassuk, L. & Blair, C., Complete Encyclopaedia of Arms & Weapons, London, 1982, p.199 s.v. grappling iron.
Footnotes
The device (manus ferreae) was invented by the Romans in approximately 260 B.C.The grappling hook was originally used in naval warfare to catch ship rigging so that it could be boarded (the famous harpax of Agrippa at the battle of Actium in 31 B.C.), then widely employed in the siege wars.
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