For most Americans of a certain generation, the name is probably best recalled as Corporal Maxwell Klinger's favorite exclamation on the hit series M*A*S*H.Of course, he was referring to Toledo, Ohio. The fact of the matter is that the North American city was named after the European City of Toledo, Spain.
And this of course segue's back to another, slightly more modern reference from the 1991 "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves".
"Spanish Steel, *much* stronger than our native blades" - Alan Rickman, as the Sherif of Nottingham.
Say what you will about the movie (and I confess to mixed emotions on it myself), but this one line actually has some solid historical precedence to it.
In fact, the phrase "Toledo Steel" is one of the linguistic artifacts from the days when swords were still valued combat arms militarily. In wahtever language it weas spoken, it the words were one of the bnechmarks for blade strength, sharpness, and durability, in the same theme as (though for slightly different reasons then) "Damascus".
The fact of the mater is that the naturally occurring metal deposits in the central and eastern Iberian peninsula do, in fact, produce stronger types of steel than the metals produced in England, and most of northern Europe. The city of Toledo itself, which has roots in the early Roman period (circa 50 BCE), is located almost in 'the dead center' of Spain, and has a tradition of high-end weapon's type metalwork that dates back to the 4th century.
While numbers and figures obviously vary wildly based on time period, records, and situation, it is a known fact that the blacksmiths of the city crafted an appreciable fraction of the weapons for, or that were used by some of the greatest royal guards, knights, footmen and duelist in the European sphere of influence. Spanish blades, and specifically Toledo steel swords, have been found, in historical context, as far away as Iceland, Moscow, and the northern edge of the Sahara dessert.
And this work didn't stop with the rise of firearms, though of course it did shift focuses. All the way into the 1980s, the city still was home to a few hundred career blacksmiths who produced swords full time. Masters of their art, they provided movie props, collectibles, replicas, and in some cases, fantastical constructs to customers around the world.
2020, however, might yet add "Toledo Sword making" to its list of causalities. Already facing stiff competition from a global market and a thoroughly industrialized Chinese replica blade industry, the massive economic slump caused by the COVID-19 epidemic (which is still an ongoing problem as of this writing), is likely to bring the era of Toledo Steel to its twilight, and possibly its end.
A Business Insider article this month chronicled the story of the last two (yes, you read that right, T W O, 2) sword makers in the city. José Ramón Moreno, and Mariano Zamorano, per the article, are the last two, full time, professional swordsmiths in the city. They learned from the men who came before them, but tell a grim story of no one having the ability and the interest to learn what they have to teach now. It is likely, they both say, that the next five years will see the definitive end of the era of Toledo as a sword making center in the world.
After fifteen hundred years of forging swords, and the legacy that went with them, the city of Toledo looks like it may be in thee final hours as part of the world's master blade makers circle, brought down not by better blacksmiths, but by Chinese industrial competition, and the shock of the COVID pandemic.
Or maybe not, only time will tell that tale.
Or maybe not, only time will tell that tale.
His Lordship Ivo Blackhawk
Kingdom of Ansteorra
"Long Live the King!"
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