Chronology of bladed weapons

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Weapons of the Bronze Age, Romania Bronze age weapons Romania.jpg
Weapons of the Bronze Age, Romania

The different types of bladed weapons (swords, dress-swords, sabers, rapiers, foils, machetes, daggers, knives, arrowheads, etc..) have been of great importance throughout history. In addition to its use for fighting, or in wars, the bladed weapons have been the object of special considerations forming part of funerary rituals, mythology and other ancestral traditions.

Contents

History

The present chronology is a compilation that includes diverse and relatively uneven documents about different families of bladed weapons : swords, dress-swords, sabers, rapiers, foils, machetes, daggers, knives, arrowheads, etc..., with the sword references being the most numerous but not the unique included among the other listed references of the rest of bladed weapons .

Prehistoric Era

The oldest known Oldowan tools were found in Gona, Ethiopia. These are dated to about 2.6 mya. [1]

Early examples of hand axes date back to 1.6 mya in the later Oldowan (Mode I), called the "developed Oldowan" by Mary Leakey. [2] These hand axes became more abundant in mode II Acheulean industries that appeared in Southern Ethiopia around 1.4 mya. [3] Some of the best specimens come from 1.2 mya deposits in Olduvai Gorge. [4]

Bronze swords

Swords found next to Nebra sky disk Nebra Schwerter.jpg
Swords found next to Nebra sky disk

Copper daggers appeared first in the early Bronze Age, in the 3rd millennium BC, [5] and copper daggers of Early Minoan III (2400–2000 BC) were recovered at Knossos. [6]

The earliest known depiction of a khopesh is from the Stele of the Vultures, depicting King Eannatum of Lagash wielding the weapon; this would date the khopesh to at least 2500 BC. [7] The khopesh evolved from the epsilon or similar crescent-shaped axes that were used in warfare. [8]

The first known bronze swords with a length equal to or greater than 60 cm date from the 17th century BC in regions of the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. A sword must be constructed from the correct alloy, have the right shape, and have the necessary thermal (and finishing) treatments applied to it for it to be useful in combat. In a longer sword, the stresses (bending and buckling) are more important. What is needed is a weapon that is hard enough (to cut), fairly flexible (without being fragile) and quite durable enough to withstand blows.[ citation needed ]

The manufacturing process is summarized as follows: The bronze swords were cast into moulds, heated to a certain temperature and allowed to cool slowly before being cold hammered (a process whereby they are hit with a hammer on a type of anvil) to increase their hardness.

5th century BC-5th century AD

Spring and Autumn period bronze dagger hilt Spring & Autumn Bronze Dagger 06.jpg
Spring and Autumn period bronze dagger hilt
Falcata from the 4th century BC Falcata ibera (M.A.N. Madrid) 01.jpg
Falcata from the 4th century BC

Middle Ages

The longsword emerges in the 14th century, as a military steel weapon of the earlier phase of the Hundred Years' War. It remains identifiable as a type during the period of about 1350 to 1550. [32] Use of the two-handed Great Sword or Schlachtschwert by infantry (as opposed to their use as a weapon of mounted and fully armoured knights) seems to have originated with the Swiss in the 14th century. [33]

In the Nanboku-chō period (1336–1392), long weapons such as ōdachi were popular, and along with this, sasuga (刺刀), a kind of tantō (short sword or knife) used by lower-ranking samurai lengthened and finally became katana . [34]

The Turko-Mongol sabre was used by a variety of nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes, including Turkic and Mongolic groups, primarily between the 8th and 14th centuries. [35] [36] [37] [38]

sword of Francis I of France exposed in the "Musee de l'Armee" in Paris. Forged in Valencia by Antonivs. Epee de Francois 1er.JPG
sword of Francis I of France exposed in the "Musée de l'Armée" in Paris. Forged in Valencia by Antonivs.
Sword of San Galgano nailed to the rock. Year 1181. Galgano Sword.jpg
Sword of San Galgano nailed to the rock. Year 1181.

....Item. Senyor los dits privilegis, capítols e ordinacions vees(?) plaurets a Déu a justícia (e) egualtat car axí son stats obtenguts per la spaseria de ciutat vostra de Barchinonae per vos atorgats (a) aquella segons han pres los prohomens de la spaseria de la dita vostra ciutat de Valencia...1425...Alfonsi Dei gratia Regis Aragonum, Sicilie, Valencie, Majoricam, Sardinie et ... [53]

They had to present:“4 fulles d’espases e recapte per a guarniment de aquelles. Ço és la una fulla de dues mans la qual haie a guarnir vermella. E l’altra fulla sia de una mà la qual haie a esser guarnida mitadada de dues colors. E l’altra de una mà que sia buydada e guarnida tota negra. E la quarta ço és un estoch d’armes tot blanch los quals guarniments se vien(?) e haien a fer per lo volent usa(n)t de la dita spaseria dins la casa e habitació de un dels dits diputats...”

1450-1700 AD

Bilbo, a cut-and-thrust sword were forged in Toledo from Basque bilbo steel and exported to Americas in 16th century. [56]

Claymore in use from the 15th to 17th centuries, The word claymore was first used in reference to basket-hilted swords during the 18th century in Scotland and parts of England. [57]

The first known mention of the use of bayonets in European warfare was in the memoirs of Jacques de Chastenet, Vicomte de Puységur. He described the French using crude 1-foot (0.30 m) plug bayonets during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648).

1700-1950 AD

The Dirk was the traditional sidearm of the Highland Clansman and later used by the officers, pipers, and drummers of Scottish Highland regiments around 1725 to 1800 [77]

The modern Épée (épée) derives from the 19th-century épée de combat, [78] a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. [79]

Miyamoto Musashi. Miyamoto Musashi Self-Portrait.jpg
Miyamoto Musashi.

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