Friday, July 28, 2023

Skol!

 


Danish Admiral Peter Tordenskjold toasts his enemies, by 19th century artist Christian Mølsted (1862-1930). Date 1925

“On guns and cups”, depicting the episode 27th july 1714 where the Danish frigate Lövendals Galley commanded by Danish-Norwegian officer Tordenskjold encounters the Swedish-owned, former English frigate De Olbing Galley on the Swedish westcoast. After a long fight the Danish ship runs out of gunpowder, and the ships part after a toast between the two opponents.

Peter Jansen Wessel Tordenskiold on 12 November 1720, at the age of 30, he was killed in a duel by Livonian colonel Jakob Axel Staël von Holstein. Tordenskiold was in the hands of the rapier , while von Holstein was armed with a heavy broadsword (belonging to the type “Karolinerverge”, “Karolinska sword”).


3 comments:

  1. Steve the EngineerJuly 29, 2023 at 4:20 AM

    Lovely depiction of brass cannons. That's some serious swashbuckling sh*t right there. And the rules of engagement were if one side runs out of gunpowder you call it quits and come back another day? AWESOME.

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  2. Steve the EngineerJuly 29, 2023 at 5:04 AM

    The Wiki page has some interesting details (I know, wiki - but hey it's a short review and likely is mostly based on written history). Worth a look.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tordenskjold

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  3. Ran out of gunpowder, but still had something to drink.
    The very definition of a sailor.

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