Limited Edition Recreation Project

The Official

Lady Vivamus ©

from Heinlein's Glory Road



The sword is fully endorsed

by the

Robert A. and Virginia

Heinlein Prize Trust



The trust promotes and awards the Heinlein Prize for advances in commercial space activities

"What did I want?

I wanted the hurtling moons of Barsoom. I wanted Storisende and Poictesme, and Holmes shaking me awake to tell me, "The games' afoot!" I wanted to float down the Mississippi on a raft and elude a mob in company with the Duke of Bilgewater and the Lost Dauphin. I wanted Prester John and Excalibur held by a moon-white arm out of a silent lake. I wanted to sail with Ulysses and with Tros of Samothrace and eat the lotus in a land that seemed always afternoon.

I wanted the feeling of romance and the sense of wonder I had known as a kid. I wanted the world to be what they had promised me it was going to be -- instead of the tawdry, lousy, fouled-up mess it is."

-- Glory Road, Robert Heinlein



This is the only official Lady Vivamus, endorsed by the Heinlein Prize Trust, in a limited edition of 100 swords, based on the sword described in the Robert Heinlein classic, Glory Road.



This has been a dream sword of Howy and Jody's since they were kids. They teamed up with Lars, Jason and Steve to come up with this design based on Heinlein's very detailed description:



"...and [I] found there the blade that suited me the way Excalibur suited Arthur.

I've never seen one quite like it, so I don't know what to call it. A saber, I suppose, as the blade was faintly curved and razor sharp on the edge and sharp rather far on the back. But it had a point as deadly as a rapier and the curve was not enough to keep it from being used for thrust and counter quite as well as chopping away meat-axe style. The guard was a bell curved back around the knuckles into a semi-basket but cut away enough to permit full moulinet from any guard.

It balanced in the forte less than two inches from the guard, yet the blade was heavy enough to chop bone. It was the sort of sword that feels like an extension of your body.

The grip was honest sharkskin, molded to my hand. There was a motto chased on to the blade but it was so buried in curlicues that I did not take time to study it out. This girl was mine, we fitted! I returned it and buckled belt and scabbard to my bare waist, wanting the touch of it and feeling like Captain John Carter, and the Gascon and his three friends all in one."



"I drew my sword and glanced along it, feeling its exquisite balance while noting again the faint ripples left by the feather-soft hammerblows of some master swordsmith. I tossed it and caught it by the forte. "Read the motto, Star."

She traced it out. "Dum vivimus, vivamus! -- 'While we live, let us live!' "

-- Glory Road, Robert Heinlein



Similar to a military or fencing sabre and suitable for both thrust and heavy cutting, the slightly curved, hollow-ground blade comes to a rapier-like point, and is sharp 10" along the back edge. Only a limited number of these swords can be made in the course of a year. The sword ships in a specially designed handmade wooden box that can easily be converted into a display box for your sword. Limited Edition

Lady Vivamus $3,000

Reservations can be placed with a deposit of $500. Convenient payment plans available. As with all Albion Mark swords, these pieces are guaranteed for life against defects in materials and workmanship.

This guarantee does not apply to damage caused by your modifications, neglect, inappropriate use, and natural wear and tear. Refurbishing services for your sword, when necessary, are available for a reasonable fee.



Specifications for

Lady Vivamus

Overall length: 42" (106 cm)

Blade length: 35.25" (89.5 cm)

Blade width (at bell): 1.375"

CoB: 3.75" from Guard (9.53 cm)

CoP: 23" from Guard (58.4 cm)

Weight: 2.75 lbs (1.25 kilos) Features Double hollow-ground 1075 steel blade designed by Master Swordmaker Jody Samson

Etched Latin motto "dum vivimus, vivamus" or

"while we live, let us live!" on both sides of the blade

Hand-hammered deep steel bell-guard with investment cast thumb-rest,/ferrule, backstrap/pommel

by Lars Hansen

Leather covered felt hand-pad lining the guard

Black rayskin-wrapped molded wood grip, with German silver braided wire overwrap

The spine "feature" of the genuine rayskin is visible one one side.

Fully functional, sharpened



Lars' design for the inscription on the blade (7.133 " in length)



About the Inscription

The Latin phrase "dum vivimus, vivamus" is believed to have been an Epicurean motto, sometimes attributed to the Latin poet Horace (QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS 65-8 B.C.) and is generally translated as "While we live, let us live!"



The meaning of this phrase was expanded upon somewhat by Puritan pastor, author and hymnwriter Philip Doddridge (1702-1751) in an epigram on his family coat of arms, which included this motto:

"Live whilst you live,"

the Epicure would say,

And seize the pleasures

of the present day.

"Live whilst you live,"

the sacred preacher cries,

And give to God each moment as it flies.

Lord, in my views, let both united be;

I live in pleasure whilst I live to Thee.



Dum Vivimus, Vivamus

Let Us Live While We Live

Poet Emily Dickenson also quoted this latin phrase in a poem written for St. Valentine's Day, 1852:



"Sic transit gloria mundi,"

"How doth the busy bee,"

"Dum vivimus vivamus,"

I stay mine enemy!

Adam Lindsay Gordon [British-born Australian Steeple-Chase Rider and Poet -- 1833-1870] also quotes this motto in his poem Ye Wearie Wayfarer, hys Ballad In Eight Fyttes.



Thy riddles grow dark, oh! drifting cloud,

And thy misty shapes grow drear,

Thou hang'st in the air like a shadowy shroud,

But I am of lighter cheer;

Though our future lot is a sable blot,

Though the wise ones of earth will blame us, Though our saddles will rot,

and our rides be forgot,

"DUM VIVIMUS, VIVAMUS!" And the phrase also appears in one of the toasts of the Brotherhood of Elks

DUM VIVIMUS VIVAMUS

While we live, let's live in clover,

For when we're dead, we're dead all over.

Heinlein himself explained the inscription's meaning this way (in the pidgen language of Center) in Glory Road:



"Touch?" she said pleadingly. "Touch." "Touch twice?" ("Please, may I handle it enough to get the feel of it? Pretty please, with sugar on it! I ask too much and it is your right to refuse, but I guarantee not to hurt it" - they get mileage out of words, but the flavor is in the manner.) I didn't want to, not the Lady Vivamus. But I'm a sucker for pretty girls.

"Touch... twice," I grudged. I drew it and handed it to her...

She spotted the inscription. "Means?" Dum vivimus, vivamus doesn't translate well, not because they can't understand the idea but because it's water to a fish. How else would one live? But I tried. "Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh. "

Sword design/specifications ©2005 Albion Swords Ltd LLC



Robert Heinlein, all text from Glory Road and Lady Vivamus ©2005 The Heinlein Prize Trust, used with permission.



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