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71-487: The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages . This variety of sword is also sometimes referred to as the broadsword , though this term may also be applied loosely and imprecisely to other swords. The basket-hilted sword
142-424: A knife or dagger , is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed tip. A slashing sword is more likely to be curved and to have a sharpened cutting edge on one or both sides of the blade. Many swords are designed for both thrusting and slashing. The precise definition of a sword varies by historical epoch and geographic region. Historically,
213-564: A court rank in Constantinople ), and from this time, the term longsword is applied to swords comparatively long for their respective periods. Swords from the Parthian and Sassanian Empires were quite long, the blades on some late Sassanian swords being just under a metre long. Swords were also used to administer various physical punishments , such as non-surgical amputation or capital punishment by decapitation . The use of
284-467: A duel but fairly ineffective when used in a slashing or chopping motion. A well aimed lunge and thrust could end a fight in seconds with just the sword's point, leading to the development of a fighting style which closely resembles modern fencing. Slashing swords such as the sabre and similar blades such as the cutlass were built more heavily and were more typically used in warfare. Built for slashing and chopping at multiple enemies, often from horseback,
355-664: A general Urnfield background), and survives well into the Iron Age, with a life-span of about seven centuries. During its lifetime, metallurgy changed from bronze to iron , but not its basic design. Naue II swords were exported from Europe to the Aegean, and as far afield as Ugarit , beginning about 1200 BC, i.e. just a few decades before the final collapse of the palace cultures in the Bronze Age collapse . Naue II swords could be as long as 85 cm, but most specimens fall into
426-491: A large, decorative mount allowing it to be suspended from a belt on the wearer's right side. Because of this, it is assumed that the sword was intended to be drawn with the blade pointing downwards ready for surprise stabbing attacks. In the 12th century, the Seljuq dynasty had introduced the curved shamshir to Persia, and this was in extensive use by the early 16th century. Chinese iron swords made their first appearance in
497-410: A rapier is primarily a thrusting sword, a schiavona is a cut and thrust sword that has extra weight for greater penetration. It was basket-hilted (often with an imbedded quillon for an upper guard) and its blade was double edged. A surviving blade measures 93.2 cm (36.7 in) × 3.4 cm (1.3 in) × 0.45 cm (0.18 in) and bears two fullers or grooves running about 1/4 the length of
568-573: A sword, an honourable weapon, was regarded in Europe since Roman times as a privilege reserved for the nobility and the upper classes. In the first millennium BC, the Persian armies used a sword that was originally of Scythian design called the akinaka ( acinaces ). However, the great conquests of the Persians made the sword more famous as a Persian weapon, to the extent that the true nature of
639-674: A total length of more than 100 cm (39 in). These are the "type A" swords of the Aegean Bronze Age . One of the most important, and longest-lasting, types of swords of the European Bronze Age was the Naue II type (named for Julius Naue who first described them), also known as Griffzungenschwert (lit. "grip-tongue sword"). This type first appears in c. the 13th century BC in Northern Italy (or
710-472: A two-handed sword for a more powerful blow. In the Middle Ages, the sword was often used as a symbol of the word of God . The names given to many swords in mythology , literature , and history reflected the high prestige of the weapon and the wealth of the owner. From around 1300 to 1500, in concert with improved armour , innovative sword designs evolved more and more rapidly. The main transition
781-1040: A variant called the M1941 Cutlass as a makeshift jungle machete during the Pacific War . Non-European weapons classified as swords include single-edged weapons such as the Middle Eastern scimitar , the Chinese dao and the related Japanese katana . The Chinese jiàn 剑 is an example of a non-European double-edged sword , like the European models derived from the double-edged Iron Age sword . The first weapons that can be described as "swords" date to around 3300 BC. They have been found in Arslantepe , Turkey, are made from arsenical bronze , and are about 60 cm (24 in) long. Some of them are inlaid with silver . The sword developed from
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#1732798833107852-457: Is a "sword" with a flexible whip-like blade. In Indonesia , the images of Indian style swords can be found in Hindu gods statues from ancient Java circa 8th to 10th century. However the native types of blade known as kris , parang , klewang and golok were more popular as weapons. These daggers are shorter than a sword but longer than a common dagger. Backsword A backsword
923-520: Is a development of the 16th century, rising to popularity in the 17th century and remaining in widespread use throughout the 18th century, used especially by heavy cavalry up to the Napoleonic era . One of the earliest basket-hilted swords was recovered from the wreck of the Mary Rose , an English warship lost in 1545. Before the find, the earliest positive dating had been two swords from around
994-406: Is a type of sword characterised by having a single-edged blade and a hilt with a single-handed grip. It is so called because the triangular cross section gives a flat back edge opposite the cutting edge. Later examples often have a "false edge" on the back near the tip, which was in many cases sharpened to make an actual edge and facilitate thrusting attacks. From around the early 14th century,
1065-522: Is ambiguous, and can refer to many different types of sword. Though attestations of "broad swords" date from the 11th century, these simply refer to any sword that happens to be broad, rather than a specific type. No style of sword was ever classified as a broadsword before the 17th century. By the late 17th century, "broadsword" came to refer specifically to the swords discussed in this article: double-edged, basket-hilted cutting swords used by contemporary cavalrymen. They were so-called in distinction from
1136-632: Is given as a translation of " Bilbo ". "Sinclair hilt" is the name given by Victorian antiquarians, in the late 19th century, to Scandinavian swords that "bear a certain resemblance" to swords used in the Scottish Highlands in the 17th and 18th centuries. They named the sword for George Sinclair , a Scottish mercenary who died in the Battle of Kringen in Norway (d. 1612). The so-called walloon sword ( épée wallone ) or haudegen (hewing sword)
1207-456: Is sometimes used interchangeably with side-sword. As rapiers became more popular, attempts were made to hybridize the blade, sacrificing the effectiveness found in each unique weapon design. These are still considered side-swords and are sometimes labeled sword rapier or cutting rapier by modern collectors. Side-swords used in conjunction with bucklers became so popular that it caused the term swashbuckler to be coined. This word stems from
1278-707: Is supposed to have owned is now held by the Royal Armouries and displayed at the Tower of London . Two other Mortuary swords also reputed to belong to Cromwell are at the Cromwell Museum and another at the Philadelphia Museum of Art . Mortuary swords remained in use until around 1670. A common weapon among the clansmen during the Jacobite rebellions of the late 17th and early 18th centuries
1349-482: Is the consistent use of high tin bronze (17–21% tin) which is very hard and breaks if stressed too far, whereas other cultures preferred lower tin bronze (usually 10%), which bends if stressed too far. Although iron swords were made alongside bronze, it was not until the early Han period that iron completely replaced bronze. In the Indian subcontinent , earliest available Bronze age swords of copper were discovered in
1420-405: The ricasso to improve the grip (a practice that would continue in the rapier ) led to the production of hilts with a guard for the finger. This sword design eventually led to the development of the civilian rapier, but it was not replaced by it, and the side-sword continued to be used during the rapier's lifetime. As it could be used for both cutting and thrusting, the term "cut and thrust sword"
1491-563: The Doge of Venice , the name came from the fact that the guard consisted largely of the Schiavoni , Istrian and Dalmatian Slavs . It was widely recognizable for its "cat's-head pommel" and distinctive handguard made up of many leaf-shaped brass or iron bars that were attached to the cross-bar and knucklebow rather than the pommel. Classified as a true broadsword, this war sword had a wider blade than its contemporary civilian rapiers . While
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#17327988331071562-526: The Franks . Wootz steel (which is also known as Damascus steel ) was a unique and highly prized steel developed on the Indian subcontinent as early as the 5th century BC. Its properties were unique due to the special smelting and reworking of the steel creating networks of iron carbides described as a globular cementite in a matrix of pearlite . The use of Damascus steel in swords became extremely popular in
1633-601: The Indian subcontinent made of Damascus steel also found their way into Persia . By the time of Classical Antiquity and the Parthian and Sassanid Empires in Iran, iron swords were common. The Greek xiphos and the Roman gladius are typical examples of the type, measuring some 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in). The late Roman Empire introduced the longer spatha (the term for its wielder, spatharius , became
1704-778: The Indus Valley civilization sites in the northwestern regions of South Asia . Swords have been recovered in archaeological findings throughout the Ganges - Jamuna Doab region of Indian subcontinent, consisting of bronze but more commonly copper . Diverse specimens have been discovered in Fatehgarh , where there are several varieties of hilt. These swords have been variously dated to times between 1700 and 1400 BC. Other swords from this period in India have been discovered from Kallur, Raichur . Iron became increasingly common from
1775-588: The Middle Ages , sword technology improved, and the sword became a very advanced weapon. The spatha type remained popular throughout the Migration period and well into the Middle Ages. Vendel Age spathas were decorated with Germanic artwork (not unlike the Germanic bracteates fashioned after Roman coins). The Viking Age saw again a more standardized production, but the basic design remained indebted to
1846-704: The Pattern 1908 and 1912 cavalry swords down to the eve of World War I . One of the last active uses of the Scottish broadsword in war was in World War II by Major Jack Churchill . The Schiavona was a Renaissance sword that became popular in Italy during the 16th and 17th centuries. Stemming from the 16th-century sword of the Dalmatian soldiers who formed the naval infantry regiments and bodyguard unit of
1917-455: The 11th century. From the 15th century to the 16th century, more than 200,000 swords were exported, reaching a quantitative peak, but these were simple swords made exclusively for mass production, specialized for export and lending to conscripted farmers ( ashigaru ). The khanda is a double-edge straight sword. It is often featured in religious iconography, theatre and art depicting the ancient history of India . Some communities venerate
1988-422: The 13th century BC. Before that the use of swords was less frequent. The iron was not quench-hardened although often containing sufficient carbon, but work-hardened like bronze by hammering. This made them comparable or only slightly better in terms of strength and hardness to bronze swords. They could still bend during use rather than spring back into shape. But the easier production, and the better availability of
2059-459: The 14th-century change from mail to plate armour . It was during the 14th century, with the growing use of more advanced armour, that the hand and a half sword, also known as a " bastard sword ", came into being. It had an extended grip that meant it could be used with either one or two hands. Though these swords did not provide a full two-hand grip they allowed their wielders to hold a shield or parrying dagger in their off hand, or to use it as
2130-509: The 16th and 17th centuries. It was only from the 11th century that Norman swords began to develop the crossguard (quillons). During the Crusades of the 12th to 13th century, this cruciform type of arming sword remained essentially stable, with variations mainly concerning the shape of the pommel . These swords were designed as cutting weapons, although effective points were becoming common to counter improvements in armour, especially
2201-460: The 16th century, the large zweihänder was used by the elite German and Swiss mercenaries known as doppelsöldners . Zweihänder , literally translated, means two-hander. The zweihänder possesses a long blade, as well as a huge guard for protection. It is estimated that some zweihänder swords were over 6 feet (1.8 m) long, with the one ascribed to Frisian warrior Pier Gerlofs Donia being 7 feet (2.13 m) long. The gigantic blade length
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2272-498: The 18th century. Descendants of the basket-hilted sword, albeit in the form of backswords with reduced "half" or "three-quarter" baskets, remained in use in cavalry during the Napoleonic era and throughout the 19th century, specifically as the 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword , the Gothic Hilted British Infantry Swords of the 1820s to 1890s, the 1897 Pattern British Infantry Officer's Sword and as
2343-684: The 3rd millennium BC in the Middle East, first in arsenic copper , then in tin-bronze. Blades longer than 60 cm (24 in) were rare and not practical until the late Bronze Age because the Young's modulus (stiffness) of bronze is relatively low, and consequently longer blades would bend easily. The development of the sword out of the dagger was gradual; the first weapons that can be classified as swords without any ambiguity are those found in Minoan Crete , dated to about 1700 BC, reaching
2414-647: The 60 to 70 cm range. Robert Drews linked the Naue Type II Swords, which spread from Southern Europe into the Mediterranean, with the Bronze Age collapse . Naue II swords, along with Nordic full-hilted swords, were made with functionality and aesthetics in mind. The hilts of these swords were beautifully crafted and often contained false rivets in order to make the sword more visually appealing. Swords coming from northern Denmark and northern Germany usually contained three or more fake rivets in
2485-638: The Arabic term for a Western European, a " Frank ") was a sword type which used blades manufactured in Western Europe and imported by the Portuguese , or made locally in imitation of European blades. Because of its length the firangi is usually regarded as primarily a cavalry weapon. The sword has been especially associated with the Marathas , who were famed for their cavalry. However, the firangi
2556-490: The British isles, whether domestically produced or acquired through trade with Italy and Germany. They also influenced the 18th-century cavalry sabre . During the 18th century, the fashion of duelling in Europe focused on the lighter small sword , and fencing with the broadsword came to be seen as a speciality of Scotland. A number of fencing manuals teaching fencing with the Scottish broadsword were published throughout
2627-637: The Netherlands in 1672 (when many of these German-made swords were captured from the Dutch), the French began producing this weapon as their first regulation sword. Weapons of this design were also issued to the Swedish army from the time of Gustavus Adolphus until as late as the 1850s. Sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than
2698-475: The backsword became the first type of European sword to be fitted with a knuckle guard. The term "backsword" can also refer to the singlestick , which is used to train for fighting with the backsword, or to the sport or art of fighting in this fashion. Backswording was an alternative term for singlesticking tournaments in England . Being easier and cheaper to make than double-edged swords, backswords became
2769-402: The blade. Weighing in at around 1.1 kg (2.4 lb), this blade was useful for both cut and thrust. The schiavona became popular among the armies of those who traded with Italy during the 17th century and was the weapon of choice for many heavy cavalry . It was popular among mercenary soldiers and wealthy civilians alike; examples decorated with gilding and precious stones were imported by
2840-617: The classical arming sword with crossguard. The word sword continues the Old English , sweord . The use of a sword is known as swordsmanship or, in a modern context, as fencing . In the early modern period , western sword design diverged into two forms, the thrusting swords and the sabres. Thrusting swords such as the rapier and eventually the smallsword were designed to impale their targets quickly and inflict deep stab wounds. Their long and straight yet light and well balanced design made them highly maneuverable and deadly in
2911-490: The conflict and the face imagery appeared before Charles I died. One possible explanation for the "Mortuary" name is that in the decades after the English Civil Wars, the arms of war heroes were donated to churches. The churches painted the swords black and used them in funeral displays until the 19th century, when many were sold into the antique market. This sword was Oliver Cromwell 's weapon of choice; one he
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2982-453: The execution of King Charles I (1649), basket-hilted swords were made which depicted the face or death mask of the "martyred" king on the hilt. These swords came to be known as " mortuary swords" in the 18th century, and the term has been extended to refer to the entire type of Civil War–era broadswords by some 20th-century authors. Other scholars dispute that the faces etched on the hilt are Charles I. There are examples used on both sides of
3053-529: The gaps between plates of armour. The grip was sometimes wrapped in wire or coarse animal hide to provide a better grip and to make it harder to knock a sword out of the user's hand. A number of manuscripts covering longsword combat and techniques dating from the 13th–16th centuries exist in German, Italian, and English, providing extensive information on longsword combatives as used throughout this period. Many of these are now readily available online. In
3124-635: The hilt. Sword production in China is attested from the Bronze Age Shang dynasty . The technology for bronze swords reached its high point during the Warring States period and Qin dynasty. Amongst the Warring States period swords, some unique technologies were used, such as casting high tin edges over softer, lower tin cores, or the application of diamond shaped patterns on the blade (see sword of Goujian ). Also unique for Chinese bronzes
3195-480: The knife or dagger. The sword became differentiated from the dagger during the Bronze Age ( c. 3000 BC), when copper and bronze weapons were produced with long leaf-shaped blades and with hilts consisting of an extension of the blade in handle form. A knife is unlike a dagger in that a knife has only one cutting surface, while a dagger has two cutting surfaces. Construction of longer blades became possible during
3266-486: The late Renaissance, with duels being a preferred way to honourably settle disputes. The side-sword was a type of war sword used by infantry during the Renaissance of Europe . This sword was a direct descendant of the knightly sword . Quite popular between the 16th and 17th centuries, they were ideal for handling the mix of armoured and unarmoured opponents of that time. A new technique of placing one's finger on
3337-535: The later part of the Western Zhou dynasty , but iron and steel swords were not widely used until the 3rd century BC Han dynasty . The Chinese dao (刀 pinyin dāo) is single-edged, sometimes translated as sabre or broadsword , and the jian (劍 or 剑 pinyin jiàn) is double-edged. The zhanmadao (literally "horse chopping sword") is an extremely long, anti-cavalry sword from the Song dynasty era. During
3408-515: The most versatile for close combat, but it came to decline in military use as technology, such as the crossbow and firearms changed warfare. However, it maintained a key role in civilian self-defence . The earliest evidence of curved swords, or scimitars (and other regional variants as the Arabian saif , the Persian shamshir and the Turkic kilij ) is from the 9th century, when it
3479-657: The name of akrafena . They are still used today in ceremonies, such as the Odwira festival . As steel technology improved, single-edged weapons became popular throughout Asia. Derived from the Chinese jian or dao , the Korean hwandudaedo are known from the early medieval Three Kingdoms . Production of the Japanese tachi , a precursor to the katana , is recorded from c. AD 900 (see Japanese sword ). Japan
3550-574: The new fighting style of the side-sword and buckler which was filled with much "swashing and making a noise on the buckler". Within the Ottoman Empire , the use of a curved sabre called the yatagan started in the mid-16th century. It would become the weapon of choice for many in Turkey and the Balkans . The sword in this time period was the most personal weapon, the most prestigious, and
3621-429: The raw material for the first time permitted the equipping of entire armies with metal weapons, though Bronze Age Egyptian armies were sometimes fully equipped with bronze weapons. Ancient swords are often found at burial sites. The sword was often placed on the right side of the corpse. Many times the sword was kept over the corpse. In many late Iron Age graves, the sword and the scabbard were bent at 180 degrees. It
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#17327988331073692-438: The rise of the samurai caste include the tsurugi (straight double-edged blade) and chokutō (straight one-edged blade). Japanese swordmaking reached the height of its development in the 15th and 16th centuries, when samurai increasingly found a need for a sword to use in closer quarters, leading to the creation of the modern katana . High quality Japanese swords have been exported to neighboring Asian countries since before
3763-511: The sabre's long curved blade and slightly forward weight balance gave it a deadly character all its own on the battlefield. Most sabres also had sharp points and double-edged blades, making them capable of piercing soldier after soldier in a cavalry charge. Sabres continued to see battlefield use until the early 20th century. The US Navy M1917 Cutlass used in World War I was kept in their armory well into World War II and many Marines were issued
3834-615: The same period. The term "broadsword" was used in the 17th and 18th centuries, referring to double-edged basket-hilted swords. The term was introduced to distinguish these cut and thrust swords from the smaller and narrower smallsword. By the 17th century there were regional variations of basket-hilts: the Walloon hilt , the Sinclair hilt , schiavona , mortuary sword , Scottish broadsword , and some types of eastern European pallasches . The mortuary and claybeg variants were commonly used in
3905-451: The spatha. Around the 10th century, the use of properly quenched hardened and tempered steel started to become much more common than in previous periods. The Frankish 'Ulfberht' blades (the name of the maker inlaid in the blade) were of particularly consistent high quality. Charles the Bald tried to prohibit the export of these swords, as they were used by Vikings in raids against
3976-601: The sword developed in the Bronze Age , evolving from the dagger; the earliest specimens date to about 1600 BC. The later Iron Age sword remained fairly short and without a crossguard. The spatha , as it developed in the Late Roman army , became the predecessor of the European sword of the Middle Ages, at first adopted as the Migration Period sword , and only in the High Middle Ages , developed into
4047-836: The swords preferred by civilians: the slender, thrust-oriented rapier and small-sword . This is the proper historic usage of broadsword , and the designation continues to be used in this way by collectors and historical fencing societies. Historians of the 19th century followed suit in designating as a "broadsword" any sword with a wider blade than a contemporary dueling sword. The term was applied imprecisely and ahistorically, coming to be used for many unrelated military swords, like sabres and cutlasses , and "almost all earlier swords that were not rapiers or small-swords." This usage has carried on in non-expert literature, including fantasy fiction and role-playing games , where "broadsword" often refers generically to any medieval sword (i.e. longswords , Viking swords ). The basket-hilted sword
4118-495: The time of the English Civil War . At first the wire guard was a simple design, but as time passed it became increasingly sculpted and ornate. The basket-hilted sword was a cut and thrust sword which found the most use in a military context, contrasting with the rapier , the similarly heavy thrust-oriented sword most often worn with civilian dress which evolved from the espada ropera or spada da lato type during
4189-411: The upper classes to be worn as a combination of fashion accessory and defensive weapon. A similar weapon was the cut-and-thrust mortuary sword which was used after 1625 by cavalry during the English Civil War . This (usually) two-edged sword sported a half-basket hilt with a straight blade some 90–105 cm (35–41 in) long. These hilts were often of very intricate sculpting and design. After
4260-520: The weapon as a symbol of Shiva . It is a common weapon in the martial arts in the Indian subcontinent . The khanda often appears in Hindu , Buddhist and Sikh scriptures and art. In Sri Lanka , a unique wind furnace was used to produce the high-quality steel. This gave the blade a very hard cutting edge and beautiful patterns. For these reasons it became a very popular trading material. The firangi ( / f ə ˈ r ɪ ŋ ɡ iː / , derived from
4331-459: The weapon has been lost somewhat as the name akinaka has been used to refer to whichever form of sword the Persian army favoured at the time. It is widely believed that the original akinaka was a 35 to 45 cm (14 to 18 inch) double-edged sword. The design was not uniform and in fact identification is made more on the nature of the scabbard than the weapon itself; the scabbard usually has
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#17327988331074402-481: Was also widely used by Sikhs and Rajputs . The talwar ( Hindi : तलवार ) is a type of curved sword from India and other countries of the Indian subcontinent , it was adopted by communities such as Rajputs, Sikhs and Marathas, who favored the sword as their main weapon. It became more widespread in the medieval era. The urumi ( Tamil : சுருள் பட்டாக்கத்தி surul pattai , lit. curling blade; Sinhala : එතුණු කඩුව ethunu kaduwa ; Hindi : aara )
4473-564: Was common in Germany , Switzerland , the Netherlands and Scandinavia in the Thirty Years' War and Baroque era. The historian and sword typologist Ewart Oakeshott proposed an English origin for this type of sword, with subsequent development in the Netherlands and Germany. Basket-hilted rapiers and sword-rapiers, characterised by pierced shell-guards, made during the same period are known as Pappenheimer rapiers . The Walloon sword
4544-474: Was famous for the swords it forged in the early 13th century for the class of warrior-nobility known as the Samurai . Western historians have said that Japanese katana were among the finest cutting weapons in world military history. The types of swords used by the Samurai included the ōdachi (extra long field sword), tachi (long cavalry sword), katana (long sword), and wakizashi (shorter companion sword for katana ). Japanese swords that pre-date
4615-466: Was favoured by both the military and civilian gentry. A distinctive feature of the Walloon sword is the presence of a thumb-ring, and it was therefore not ambidextrous. The most common hilt type featured a double shell guard and half-basket, though examples exist with hand protection ranging from a shell and single knuckle-bow to a full basket. The hilt may have influenced the design of 18th century continental hunting hangers . Following their campaign in
4686-452: Was generally in use as a military sword. A true broadsword possesses a double-edged blade, while similar wide-bladed swords with a single sharpened edge and a thickened back are called backswords . Various forms of basket-hilt were mounted on both broadsword and backsword blades. One of the weapon types in the modern German dueling sport of Mensur (" academic fencing ") is the basket-hilted Korbschläger . The designation "broadsword"
4757-405: Was known as killing the sword. Thus they might have considered swords as the most potent and powerful object. High-carbon steel for swords, which would later appear as Damascus steel , was likely introduced in India around the mid-1st millennium BC. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions swords of Indian iron and steel being exported from ancient India to ancient Greece . Blades from
4828-443: Was perfectly designed for manipulating and pushing away enemy polearms , which were major weapons around this time, in both Germany and Eastern Europe. Doppelsöldners also used katzbalgers , which means 'cat-gutter'. The katzbalger's S-shaped guard and 2-foot-long (0.61 m) blade made it perfect for bringing in when the fighting became too close to use a zweihänder . Civilian use of swords became increasingly common during
4899-487: Was the Scottish basket hilted broadsword, commonly known as claidheamh mor or claymore meaning "great sword" in Gaelic. Some authors suggest that claybeg should be used instead, from a purported Gaelic claidheamh beag "small sword". This does not parallel Scottish Gaelic usage. According to the Gaelic Dictionary by R. A. Armstrong (1825), claidheamh mór "big/great sword" translates to "broadsword", and claidheamh dà làimh to "two-handed sword", while claidheamh beag "small sword"
4970-524: Was the lengthening of the grip, allowing two-handed use, and a longer blade. By 1400, this type of sword, at the time called langes Schwert (longsword) or spadone , was common, and a number of 15th- and 16th-century Fechtbücher offering instructions on their use survive. Another variant was the specialized armour-piercing swords of the estoc type. The longsword became popular due to its extreme reach and its cutting and thrusting abilities. The estoc became popular because of its ability to thrust into
5041-425: Was used among soldiers in the Khurasan region of Persia . The takoba is a type of broadsword originating in the western Sahel , descended from various Byzantine and Islamic swords. It has a straight double-edged blade measuring about one meter in length, usually imported from Europe. Abyssinian swords related to the Persian shamshir are known as shotel . The Asante people adopted swords under
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