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The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification, or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a single-edged or double-edged knife.
Historical terms without a universal consensus of definition (i.e. "arming sword", "broadsword", "long sword", etc.) were used to label weapons of similar appearance but of different historical periods, regional cultures, and fabrication technology. These terms were often described in relation to other unrelated weapons, without regard to their intended use and fighting style. In modern history, many of these terms have been given specific, often arbitrary meanings that are unrelated to any of their historical meanings.
Some of these terms originate contemporaneously with the weapons which they describe. Others are modern or early modern terms used by antiquarians, curators, and modern-day sword enthusiasts for historical swords.
Terminology was further complicated by terms introduced [2] or misinterpreted [3] [4] [5] in the 19th century by antiquarians and in 20th century pop culture, [6] and by the addition of new terms such as "great sword", " Zweihänder " (instead of Beidhänder ), and "cut-and-thrust sword". [7] Historical European Martial Arts associations have turned the term spada da lato [8] into "side-sword". Furthermore, there is a deprecation of the term "broadsword" by these associations. All these newly introduced or redefined terms add to the confusion of the matter.
The most well-known systematic typology of blade types of the European medieval sword is the Oakeshott typology, although this is also a modern classification and not a medieval one. Elizabethans used descriptive terms such as "short", "bastard", and "long" which emphasized the length of the blade, and "two-handed" for any sword that could be wielded by two hands.
The term two-handed sword may refer to any large sword designed to be used primarily with two hands:
The term "hand-and-a-half sword" is modern (late 19th century). [9] During the first half of the 20th century, the term "bastard sword" was used regularly to refer to this type of sword, while "long sword" or "long-sword" referred to the rapier (in the context of Renaissance or Early Modern fencing). [10]
The term "single-handed sword" or "one-handed sword" was coined to distinguish from "two-handed" or "hand-and-a-half" swords. "Single-handed sword" is used by Sir Walter Scott. [11] It is also used as a possible gloss of the obscure term tonsword by Nares (1822); [12] "one-handed sword" is somewhat later, recorded from c. 1850.
Some swords were designed for left-hand use, although left-handed swords have been described as "a rarity". [13]
Great swords or greatswords are related to the long swords of the Middle Ages. [14] [15] [16] [ dubious – discuss ] The great sword was developed during the Renaissance, but its earlier cousin the Scottish Claymore was very similar in size and use, like the "outsized specimens" between 160 and 180 cm (63 and 71 in) (approx. the same height as the user) such as the Oakeshott type XIIa or Oakeshott type XIIIa. These swords were too heavy to be wielded one-handed and possessed a large grip for leverage.
The Scottish name "claymore" (Scottish Gaelic : claidheamh mór, lit. "large/great sword") [17] [18] can refer to either the longsword with a distinctive two-handed grip, or the basket-hilted sword.[ citation needed ] The two-handed claymore is an early Scottish version of a greatsword.
The Zweihänder ("two-hander") or Beidhänder ("both-hander") is a true two-handed sword, in the sense that it cannot be wielded in only one hand. It was a specialist weapon wielded by certain Landsknechte (mercenary soldiers), so-called Doppelsöldners .
These are double-edged, usually straight-bladed swords, designed for optimized balance, reach and versatility.
Jian (simplified Chinese :剑; traditional Chinese :劍; pinyin :jiàn; Cantonese: gim) is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BC during the Spring and Autumn period; [19] one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian. Historical one-handed versions have blades varying from 45 to 80 cm (18 to 31 in) in length. The weight of an average sword of 70 cm (28 in) blade-length would weigh about 700 to 900 g (1.5 to 2.0 lb). [20] There are also larger two-handed versions used by ancient and medieval armies and for training by many styles of Chinese martial arts. Two handed jians from the time of the Chu and Han dynasty were up to 58 in (150 cm) long.
In modern times, the term longsword most frequently refers to a late Medieval and Renaissance weapon designed for use with two hands. The German langes Schwert ("long sword") in 15th-century manuals did not necessarily denote a type of weapon, but the technique of fencing with both hands at the hilt.[ citation needed ]
The French épée bâtarde and the English bastard sword originate in the 15th or 16th century,[ citation needed ] originally having the general sense of "irregular sword or sword of uncertain origin". It was "[a sword] which was neither French, nor Spanish, nor properly Landsknecht [German], but longer than any of these sturdy swords." [21] Espée bastarde could also historically refer to a single-handed sword with a fairly long blade compared to other short swords. [22]
Joseph Swetnam states that the bastard sword is midway in length between an arming sword and a long sword, [23] and Randall Cotgrave's definition seems to imply this, as well. The French épée de passot was also known as épée bâtarde[ citation needed ] (i.e., bastard sword) and also coustille à croix [24] (literally a cross-hilted blade). The term referred to a medieval single-handed sword optimized for thrusting. [25] The épée de passot was the sidearm of the franc-archers (French or Breton bowmen of the 15th and 16th centuries). [26] The term passot comes from the fact that these swords passed (passaient) the length of a "normal" short sword. [26]
The "Masters of Defence" competition organised by Henry VIII in July 1540 listed [27] "two hande sworde", "bastard sworde", and "longe sworde" as separate items (as it should in Joseph Swetnam's context). [28] [29] [30] [ self-published source? ]
Antiquarian usage in the 19th century established the use of "bastard sword" as referring unambiguously to these large swords. [31] However, George Silver and Joseph Swetnam refer to them merely as "two hande sworde". The term "hand-and-a-half sword" is modern (late 19th century). [9] During the first half of the 20th century, the term "bastard sword" was used regularly to refer to this type of sword. [10]
The Elizabethan long sword (cf. George Silver [32] and Joseph Swetnam) is a single-handed "cut-and-thrust" sword with a 4 ft (1.2 m) blade [23] similar to the long rapier. "Let thy (long) Rapier or (long) Sword be foure foote at the least, and thy dagger two foote." Historical terms (15th to 16th century) for this type of sword included the Italian spada longa (lunga) and French épée longue.
The term longsword has been used to refer to different kinds of sword depending on historical context:
The spatha was a double-edged longsword used by the Romans. The idea for the spatha came from the swords of ancient Celts in Germany and Britain. It was longer than the gladius , and had more reach, so the spatha was most popular with soldiers in the cavalry. The blade could range between 0.5 and 1 m (1 ft 8 in and 3 ft 3 in) long while the handle was usually between 18 and 20 cm (7 and 8 in).
The term "broadsword" was never used historically to describe the one-handed arming sword.[ citation needed ] The arming sword was wrongly labelled a broadsword by antiquarians as the medieval swords were similar in blade width to the military swords of the day (that were also sometimes labeled as broadswords) and broader than the dueling swords and ceremonial dress swords.[ citation needed ]
Knives such as the seax and other blades of similar length between 30 and 60 cm (1 and 2 ft), they are sometimes construed as swords because of their longer blades. This is especially the case for weapons from antiquity, made before the development of high quality steel that is necessary for longer swords, in particular:
Oversized two-handers used as parade swords or ceremonial weapons often exceeded the length and weight of practical weapons of war.
The edgeless swords category comprises weapons which are related to or labelled as "swords" but do not emphasise hacking or slashing techniques or have any cutting edges whatsoever. The majority of these elongated weapons were designed for agility, precision and rapid thrusting blows to exploit gaps in the enemy's defences; the major joints of the arms, the opening in a visor. However they mainly saw prominence outside the battlefield as a duelling weapon.
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. In modern times, this variety of sword is also sometimes referred to as the broadsword. [37] [38]
The Spartiatēs were always armed with a xiphos as a secondary weapon. Among most Greek warriors, this weapon had an iron blade of about 60 cm (24 in). The Spartan version of the sword typically had a blade about 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 in) in length. The Spartan's shorter weapon proved deadly in the crush caused by colliding phalanx formations, as it was far more capable of being thrust through gaps in the enemy's shield wall and armour, where there was little to no room for longer edged weapons. The groin and throat were among the favourite targets.
The term "rapier" appeared in the English lexicon via the French épée rapière which either compared the weapon to a rasp or file; it may be a corruption of "rasping sword" [39] which referred to the sound the blade makes [40] when it comes into contact with another blade. There is no historical Italian equivalent to the English word "rapier". [5]
Some swords categorised as rapiers are completely edgeless or have only a partially sharpened blade, however the majority have effective cutting blades.
The Panzerstecher ("armour stabber") is a German and East European weapon with a long, edgeless blade of square or triangular cross-section for penetrating armour. [41] [42] [43] Early models were either two-handers or "hand-and-a-half" hilted, [44] while later 16th and 17th century models (also known as koncerz ) were one-handed and used by cavalry. [45]
The "tuck" (French estoc , Italian stocco)[ citation needed ] is an edgeless blade of square or triangular cross-section used for thrusting.[ citation needed ] In French, estoc also means thrust or point; and estoc et taille means cut and thrust.[ citation needed ]
The tuck may also get its name from the verb "to tuck" which means "to shorten".[ citation needed ]
The small sword or smallsword (also court sword or dress sword, French : épée de cour)[ citation needed ] is a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting[ citation needed ] which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance.[ citation needed ] The height of the small sword's popularity was between the mid-17th and late 18th century.[ citation needed ] It is thought to have appeared in France and spread quickly across the rest of Europe.[ citation needed ] The small sword was the immediate predecessor of the Épée de Combat from which the Épée developed [46] and its method of use—as typified in the works of such authors as Sieur de Liancour, Domenico Angelo, Monsieur J. Olivier, and Monsieur L'Abbat—developed into the techniques of the French classical school of fencing.[ citation needed ] Small swords were also used as status symbols and fashion accessories; for most of the 18th century anyone, civilian or military, with pretensions to gentlemanly status would have worn a small sword on a daily basis.[ citation needed ]
These are single-cutting edged, usually thick or curved construction bladed swords, typically designed for slashing, chopping, severing limbs, tripping or broad sweeping techniques; but were often very poorly designed for stabbing. Swordsmen were trained to use the dulled side for defensive and blocking techniques.
The backsword was a single-edged, straight-bladed sword, typically for military use. This type of sword had a thickened back to the blade (opposite the cutting edge), which gave the blade strength. The backsword blade was cheaper to manufacture than a two-edged blade. This type of sword was first developed in Europe in the 15th century and reflected the emergence of asymmetric guards, which made a two-edged blade somewhat redundant. The backsword reached its greatest use in the 17th and 18th century when many cavalry swords, such as the British 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword, were of this form.
Dao are single-edged Chinese swords, primarily used for slashing and chopping. The most common form is also known as the Chinese sabre , although those with wider blades are sometimes referred to as Chinese broadswords . In China, the dao is considered one of the four traditional weapons, along with the gun (stick or staff), qiang (spear), and the jian (sword). It is considered "The General of All Weapons".
The hook sword, twin hooks, fu tao or shuang gou (simplified Chinese :钩; traditional Chinese :鈎 or 鉤; pinyin :Gou), also known as hu tou gou (tiger head hook), is a Chinese weapon traditionally associated with northern styles of Chinese martial arts and Wushu weapons routines, but now often practiced by southern styles as well.
Unlike the xiphos, which is a thrusting weapon, the kopis was a hacking weapon in the form of a thick, curved single edged iron sword. In Athenian art, Spartan hoplites were often depicted using a kopis instead of the xiphos, as the kopis was seen as a quintessential "villain" weapon in Greek eyes. [47]
The khopesh is an ancient Egyptian curved short sword with a overall length of approx. 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24 in) and was typically made of bronze or iron.
Historically, katana (刀) were one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (日本刀, nihontō ) [48] [49] that were used by the samurai of feudal Japan. [50] Modern versions of the katana are sometimes made using non-traditional materials and methods. The katana is characterized by its distinctive appearance: a curved, slender, single-edged blade usually with a round guard and long grip to accommodate two hands.
The hanger (obs. whinyard, whinger, cuttoe), wood-knife, or hunting sword is a long knife or short sword that hangs from the belt and was popular as both a hunting tool and weapon of war. [51] [52]
The falchion (French braquemart, [53] Spanish bracamarte) proper is a wide straight-bladed but curved edged hanger or long knife. [54] The term 'falchion' may also refer to the early cutlass.
The cutlass or curtal-axe also known as a falchion (French badelaire, braquemart, [55] coutelas, [56] malchus; Italian coltellaccio, storta; German messer, [57] dussack, malchus) is a broad-bladed curved hanger or long knife. In later usage, 'cutlass' referred to the short naval boarding sabre.[ citation needed ]
The British sabre, American saber, French shable, Spanish sable, Italian sciabola, German Säbel, Russian sablya, Hungarian szablya, Polish szabla, and Ukrainian shablya is a single-edged curved bladed cavalry sword. [58]
The scimitar (French cimeterre, Italian scimitarra) is a type of saber that came to refer in general to any sabre used by the Turks or Ottomans ( kilic ), Persians ( shamshir ) and more specifically the Stradioti [59] (Albanian and Greek mercenaries who fought in the French-Italian Wars and were employed throughout Western Europe). [60] [61] The scimitar proper was the Stradioti saber, [62] [63] and the term was introduced into France by Philippe de Commines (1447 – 18 October 1511) as cimeterre, [64] Italy (especially the Venetian Republic who hired the stradioti as mercenaries) as scimitarra, and England as cimeter or scimitar via the French and Italian terms.
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than 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.
A rapier or espada ropera is a type of sword originally used in Spain The name designates a sword with a straight, slender and sharply pointed two-edged long blade wielded in one hand. It was widely popular in Western Europe throughout the 16th and 17th centuries as a symbol of nobility or gentleman status.
The hilt is the handle of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet, consisting of a guard, grip, and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel.
This is a list of types of swords.
A longsword is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use, a straight double-edged blade of around 80 to 110 cm, and weighing approximately 2 to 3 kg.
The small sword or smallsword is a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance. The height of the small sword's popularity was during the 18th century, when any civilian or soldier with pretensions to gentlemanly status would have worn a small sword daily.
The French estoc is a type of sword, also called a tuck in English, in use from the 14th to the 17th century. It is characterized by a cruciform hilt with a grip for two-handed use and a straight, edgeless, but sharply pointed blade around 36 to 52 in in length. It is noted for its ability to pierce mail armor.
A flame-bladed sword or wave-bladed sword has a characteristically undulating style of blade. The wave in the blade is often considered to contribute a flame-like quality to the appearance of a sword. The dents on the blade can appear parallel or in a zig-zag manner. The two most common flame-bladed swords are rapiers or Zweihänders. A flame-bladed sword was not exclusive to a certain country or region. The style of blade can be found on swords from modern-day Germany, France, Spain, and Switzerland.
Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword. The formation of the English word "swordsman" is parallel to the Latin word gladiator, a term for the professional fighters who fought against each other and a variety of other foes for the entertainment of spectators in the Roman Empire. The word gladiator itself comes from the Latin word gladius, which is a type of sword.
In martial arts, a waster is a practice weapon, usually a sword, and usually made out of wood, though nylon (plastic) wasters are also available. Nylon is safer than wood, due to it having an adequate amount of flex for thrusts to be generally safe, unlike wooden wasters. Even a steel feder has more flex than most wooden wasters. The use of wood or nylon instead of metal provides an economic option for initial weapons training and sparring, at some loss of genuine experience. A weighted waster may be used for a sort of strength training, theoretically making the movements of using an actual sword comparatively easier and quicker, though modern sports science shows that an athlete would most optimally train with an implement which is closest to the same weight, balance, and shape of the tool they will be using. Wasters as wooden practice weapons have been found in a variety of cultures over a number of centuries, including ancient China, Ireland, Iran, Scotland, Rome, Egypt, medieval and renaissance Europe, Japan, and into the modern era in Europe and the United States. Over the course of time, wasters took a variety of forms not necessarily influenced by chronological succession, ranging from simple sticks to clip-point dowels with leather basket hilts to careful replicas of real swords.
A spadroon is a light sword with a straight-edged blade, enabling both cut and thrust attacks. This English term first came into use in the early 18th century, though the type of sword it referred to was in common usage during the late 17th century. They were primarily used as a military sidearm in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and for officers and NCOs in the latter part of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The type of sword also saw widespread use across Europe and America, though the term 'spadroon' is unique to the Anglophone world.
A ricasso is an unsharpened length of blade just above the guard or handle on a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet. Blades designed this way appear at many periods in history in many parts of the world and date back to at least the Bronze Age—essentially, as long as humans have shaped cutting tools from metals.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fencing:
The Oakeshott typology is a way to define and catalogue the medieval sword based on physical form. It categorises the swords of the European Middle Ages into 13 main types, labelled X through XXII. The historian and illustrator Ewart Oakeshott introduced it in his 1960 treatise The Archaeology of Weapons: Arms and Armour from Prehistory to the Age of Chivalry.
The Zweihänder, also Doppelhänder ("double-hander"), Beidhänder ("both-hander"), Bihänder, or Bidenhänder, is a large two-handed sword that was used primarily during the 16th century.
The parrying dagger is a category of small handheld weapons from the European late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. These weapons were used as off-hand weapons in conjunction with a single-handed sword such as a rapier. As the name implies they were designed to parry, or defend, more effectively than a simple dagger form, typically incorporating a wider guard, and often some other defensive features to better protect the hand as well. They may also be used for attack if an opportunity arises. The general category includes two more specific types, the swordbreaker and trident dagger.
A claymore is either the Scottish variant of the late medieval two-handed sword or the Scottish variant of the basket-hilted sword. The former is characterised as having a cross hilt of forward-sloping quillons with quatrefoil terminations and was in use from the 15th to 17th centuries.
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.
In the European High Middle Ages, the typical sword was a straight, double-edged weapon with a single-handed, cruciform hilt and a blade length of about 70 to 80 centimetres. This type is frequently depicted in period artwork, and numerous examples have been preserved archaeologically.
This is a glossary of terms used in fencing.