A sword is an
edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a
knife
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
or
dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
, is attached to a
hilt
The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet is its handle, 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. ...
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, the sword developed in the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
, evolving from the dagger; the
earliest specimens date to about 1600 BC. The later
Iron Age sword
Swords made of iron (as opposed to Bronze Age sword, bronze) appear from the Early Iron Age (c. 12th century BC), but do not become widespread before the 8th century BC.
Early Iron Age swords were significantly different from later steel swords. ...
remained fairly short and without a crossguard. The
spatha
The spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between 0.5 and 1 m (19.7 and 39.4 in), with a handle length of between 18 and 20 cm (7.1 and 7.9 in), in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries AD ...
, as it developed in the
Late Roman army
In modern scholarship, the "late" period of the Roman army begins with the accession of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 284, and ends in 480 with the death of Julius Nepos, being roughly coterminous with the Dominate. During the period 395–476, ...
, became the predecessor of the European sword of the Middle Ages, at first adopted as the
Migration Period sword
The Migration Period sword was a type of sword popular during the Migration Period and the Merovingian period of European history (c. 4th to 7th centuries AD), particularly among the Germanic peoples. It later gave rise to the Carolingian or V ...
, and only in the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...
, developed into the classical
arming sword
In the European High Middle Ages, the typical sword (sometimes academically categorized as the knightly sword, arming sword, or in full, knightly arming sword) was a straight, double-edged weapon with a single-handed, cruciform (i.e., cross-shape ...
with crossguard. The word ''
sword
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 ti ...
'' continues the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
, ''
sweord''.
The use of a sword is known as
swordsmanship
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 a ...
or, in a modern context, as
fencing
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...
. In the
early modern period, western sword design diverged into two forms, the thrusting swords and the sabres.
Thrusting swords such as the
rapier
A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
Impor ...
and eventually the
smallsword
The small sword or smallsword (also court sword, Gaelic: or claybeg, French: or dress sword) 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 ...
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 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.
The
sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
and similar blades such as the
cutlass
A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...
were built more heavily and were more typically used in warfare. Built for slashing and chopping at multiple enemies, often from horseback, 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 kept tens of thousands of sturdy cutlasses in their armory well into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and many were issued to Marines in the Pacific as jungle
machetes
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
.
Non-European weapons classified as swords include single-edged weapons such as the Middle Eastern
scimitar
A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...
, the Chinese
Dao
Dao, Dão or DAO may refer to:
* Tao (Chinese: "The Way" 道), a philosophical concept
* Dao (Chinese sword) (刀), a type of Chinese sword
* Dao (Naga sword), a weapon and a tool of Naga people
People and language
* Yao people, a minority ethnic ...
and the related Japanese
katana
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
. The Chinese jiàn is an example of a non-European double-edged sword, like the European models derived from the double-edged
Iron Age sword
Swords made of iron (as opposed to Bronze Age sword, bronze) appear from the Early Iron Age (c. 12th century BC), but do not become widespread before the 8th century BC.
Early Iron Age swords were significantly different from later steel swords. ...
.
History
Prehistory and antiquity
Bronze Age
The first weapons that can be described as "swords" date to around 3300 BC. They have been found in
Arslantepe
Melid, also known as Arslantepe, was an ancient city on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates rising in the Taurus Mountains. It has been identified with the modern archaeological site of Arslantepe near Malatya, Turkey.
It was ...
, Turkey, are made from
arsenical bronze
Arsenical bronze is an alloy in which arsenic, as opposed to or in addition to tin or other constituent metals, is combined with copper to make bronze. The use of arsenic with copper, either as the secondary constituent or with another component s ...
, and are about long. Some of them are inlaid with
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
.
The sword developed from the knife or dagger. The sword became differentiated from the dagger during the Bronze Age (''c.'' 3000 BCE), 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
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
in that a knife has only one cutting surface, while a dagger has two cutting surfaces. Construction of longer blades became possible during the 3rd millennium BC in the Middle East, first in
arsenic copper, then in tin-bronze.
Blades longer than were rare and not practical until the late Bronze Age because the
Young's modulus
Young's modulus E, the Young modulus, or the modulus of elasticity in tension or compression (i.e., negative tension), is a mechanical property that measures the tensile or compressive stiffness of a solid material when the force is applied leng ...
(stiffness) of
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
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
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...
, dated to about 1700 BC, reaching a total length of more than . These are the "type A" swords of the
Aegean Bronze Age
Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age civilizations of Greece around the Aegean Sea. There are three distinct but communicating and interacting geographic regions covered by this term: Crete, the Cyclades and the Greek mainland ...
.
One of the most important, and longest-lasting, types swords of the
European Bronze Age
The European Bronze Age is characterized by bronze artifacts and the use of bronze implements. The regional Bronze Age succeeds the Neolithic and Copper Age and is followed by the Iron Age. It starts with the Aegean Bronze Age in 3200 BC
(succ ...
was the ''Naue II'' type (named for
Julius Naue
Julius Naue (17 June 1835, Köthen – 14 March 1907, Munich) was a German painter, illustrator and archaeologist.
A student of August von Kreling, he came to work for Moritz von Schwind in Munich where he remained until 1866.
As an archaeologi ...
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
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
(or a general
Urnfield
The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and p ...
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
)
, image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg
, image_size=300
, alt =
, caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit
, map_type = Near East#Syria
, map_alt =
, map_size = 300
, relief=yes
, location = Latakia Governorate, Syria
, region = F ...
, beginning about 1200 BC, i.e. just a few decades before the final collapse of the palace cultures in the
Bronze Age collapse
The Late Bronze Age collapse was a time of widespread societal collapse during the 12th century BC, between c. 1200 and 1150. The collapse affected a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean (North Africa and Southeast Europe) and the Near Ea ...
. Naue II swords could be as long as 85 cm, but most specimens fall into the 60 to 70 cm range.
Robert Drews
Robert Drews (born March 26, 1936) is an American historian who is Professor of Classical Studies Emeritus at Vanderbilt University. He received his B. A. from Northwestern College, his M. A. from University of Missouri and his Ph.D. from Johns Ho ...
linked the Naue Type II Swords, which spread from Southern Europe into the Mediterranean, with the
Bronze Age collapse
The Late Bronze Age collapse was a time of widespread societal collapse during the 12th century BC, between c. 1200 and 1150. The collapse affected a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean (North Africa and Southeast Europe) and the Near Ea ...
. 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 the hilt.
Sword production in China is attested from the Bronze Age
Shang Dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
. 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
The Sword of Goujian ( zh, c=越王勾践剑, p=Yuèwáng Gōujiàn jiàn, links=no) is a tin bronze sword, renowned for its unusual sharpness, intricate design and resistance to tarnish rarely seen in artifacts of similar age. The sword is gene ...
). Also unique for Chinese bronzes 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
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
that iron completely replaced bronze.
[
In the ]Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, earliest available Bronze age sword
Bronze Age swords appeared from around the 17th century BC, in the Black Sea region and the Aegean, as a further development of the dagger. They were replaced by iron swords during the early part of the 1st millennium BC.
From an early time the ...
s of copper were discovered in the Indus Valley civilization
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
sites in the northwestern regions of South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
. Swords have been recovered in archaeological findings throughout the Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
- Jamuna Doab
''Doab'' () is a term used in South Asia Quote: "Originally and chiefly in South Asia: (the name of) a strip or narrow tract of land between two rivers; spec. (with) the area between the rivers Ganges and Jumna in northern India." for the tract ...
region of Indian subcontinent, consisting of bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
but more commonly copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
.[Allchin, pp. 111–14] Diverse specimens have been discovered in Fatehgarh
Fatehgarh is a cantonment town in Farrukhabad district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located on the south bank of the Ganges River. It is the administrative headquarters of Farrukhabad District. Fatehgarh derives its name from a ...
, 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 Age
Iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
became increasingly common from 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 the raw material for the first time permitted the equipment 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
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
graves, the sword and the scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and Lever action, lever-action ...
were bent at 180 degrees. It was known as killing the sword. Thus they might have considered swords as the most potent and powerful object.
Indian antiquity
High-carbon steel for swords, which would later appear as Damascus steel
Damascus steel was the forged steel of the blades of swords smithed in the Near East from ingots of Wootz steel either imported from Southern India or made in production centres in Sri Lanka, or Khorasan, Iran. These swords are characterize ...
, was likely introduced in India around the mid-1st millennium BCE. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...
mentions swords of Indian iron and steel being exported from ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
to Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.[Prasad, chapter IX] Blades from the Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
made of Damascus steel also found their way into Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Greco-Roman antiquity
By the time of Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
and the Parthian Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
and Sassanid Empires in Iran, iron swords were common. The Greek xiphos
The ''xiphos'' ( grc, ξίφος ; plural ''xiphe'', grc, ξίφη ) is a double-edged, one-handed Iron Age straight shortsword used by the ancient Greeks. It was a secondary battlefield weapon for the Greek armies after the dory or javelin. ...
and the Roman gladius
''Gladius'' () is a Latin word meaning "sword" (of any type), but in its narrow sense it refers to the sword of ancient Roman foot soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called '' xiphe'' (plural; singular ''xi ...
are typical examples of the type, measuring some . The late Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
introduced the longer spatha
The spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between 0.5 and 1 m (19.7 and 39.4 in), with a handle length of between 18 and 20 cm (7.1 and 7.9 in), in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries AD ...
(the term for its wielder, spatharius The ''spatharii'' or ''spatharioi'' (singular: la, spatharius; el, σπαθάριος, literally "spatha-bearer") were a class of Late Roman imperial bodyguards in the court in Constantinople in the 5th–6th centuries, later becoming a purely ho ...
, became a court rank in Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
), and from this time, the term ''longsword
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximatel ...
'' 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
Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...
or capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
by decapitation. The use of a sword, an honourable weapon, was regarded in Europe since Roman times
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
as a privilege reserved for the nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
and the upper classes.
Persian antiquity
In the first millennium BC the Persian armies used a sword that was originally of Scythian design called the akinaka (acinaces
The acinaces, also spelled akinakes (Ancient Greek, Greek ) or akinaka (unattested Old Persian ''*akīnakah'', Sogdian language, Sogdian ''kynʼk'') is a type of dagger or xiphos (short sword) used mainly in the first millennium BCE in the eastern ...
). However, the great conquests of the Persians made the sword more famous as a Persian weapon, to the extent that the true nature of 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
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and Lever action, lever-action ...
than the weapon itself; the scabbard usually has 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
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
had introduced the curved shamshir
A shamshir ( fa, شمشیر) is a type of Persian/Iranian sword with a radical curve. The name is derived from the Persian word ''shamshīr'', which means "sword". The curved "scimitar" sword family includes the shamshir, kilij, talwar, pulwar an ...
to Persia, and this was in extensive use by the early 16th century.
Chinese antiquity
Chinese iron swords made their first appearance in the later part of the Western Zhou Dynasty
The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong nomad ...
, but iron and steel swords were not widely used until the 3rd century BC Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
. The Chinese Dao
Dao, Dão or DAO may refer to:
* Tao (Chinese: "The Way" 道), a philosophical concept
* Dao (Chinese sword) (刀), a type of Chinese sword
* Dao (Naga sword), a weapon and a tool of Naga people
People and language
* Yao people, a minority ethnic ...
(刀 pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
dāo) is single-edged, sometimes translated as sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
or broadsword
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 mod ...
, and the Jian
The ''jian'' (pronunciation (劍), English approximation: ) 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 BCE, during the Spring and ...
(劍 or 剑 pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
jiàn) is double-edged. The zhanmadao
The ''zhanmadao'' () was a single-bladed anti-cavalry Chinese sword. It originated during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and was especially common in Song China (960–1279).
General characteristics
The zhanmadao is a single-edged sabre ...
(literally "horse chopping sword"), an extremely long, anti-cavalry sword from the Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
era.
Middle Ages
Early medieval Europe
During the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
sword technology improved, and the sword became a very advanced weapon. The spatha
The spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between 0.5 and 1 m (19.7 and 39.4 in), with a handle length of between 18 and 20 cm (7.1 and 7.9 in), in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries AD ...
type remained popular throughout the Migration period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
and well into the Middle Ages. Vendel Age
In Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period ( sv, Vendeltiden; 540–790 AD) appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish church, Uppland. This is a period wit ...
spathas were decorated with Germanic artwork (not unlike the Germanic bracteate
A bracteate (from the Latin ''bractea'', a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold medal worn as jewelry that was produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age (including the Vende ...
s fashioned after Roman coins). The Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
saw again a more standardized production, but the basic design remained indebted to the spatha.
Around the 10th century, the use of properly quenched hardened and tempered steel
Tempering is a process of heat treating, which is used to increase the toughness of iron-based alloys. Tempering is usually performed after hardening, to reduce some of the excess hardness, and is done by heating the metal to some temperature be ...
started to become much more common than in previous periods. The Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
'Ulfberht
The Ulfberht swords are a group of about 170 medieval swords found primarily in Northern Europe, dated to the 9th to 11th centuries, with blades inlaid with the inscription ''+VLFBERH+T or +VLFBERHT+''. The word "Ulfberht" is a Frankish person ...
' blades (the name of the maker inlaid in the blade) were of particularly consistent high quality. Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...
tried to prohibit the export of these swords, as they were used by Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
in raids against the Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
.
Wootz steel
Wootz steel, also known as Seric steel, is a crucible steel characterized by a pattern of bands and high carbon content. These bands are formed by sheets of microscopic carbides within a tempered martensite or pearlite matrix in higher carbon st ...
which is also known as Damascus steel
Damascus steel was the forged steel of the blades of swords smithed in the Near East from ingots of Wootz steel either imported from Southern India or made in production centres in Sri Lanka, or Khorasan, Iran. These swords are characterize ...
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
Cementite (or iron carbide) is a compound of iron and carbon, more precisely an intermediate transition metal carbide with the formula Fe3C. By weight, it is 6.67% carbon and 93.3% iron. It has an orthorhombic crystal structure. It is a hard, brit ...
in a matrix of pearlite
Pearlite is a two-phased, lamellar (or layered) structure composed of alternating layers of ferrite (87.5 wt%) and cementite (12.5 wt%) that occurs in some steels and cast irons. During slow cooling of an iron-carbon alloy, pearlite forms ...
. The use of Damascus steel in swords became extremely popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.
It was only from the 11th century that Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
swords began to develop the crossguard
On a sword, the crossguard, or cross-guard, the individual bars on either side known as quillon, is a bar of metal at right angles to the blade, placed between the blade and the hilt. The crossguard was developed in the European sword around the ...
(quillons). During the Crusades of the 12th to 13th century, this Cruciform#Cruciform sword, cruciform type of arming sword remained essentially stable, with variations mainly concerning the shape of the Hilt#Pommel, pommel. These swords were designed as cutting weapons, although effective points were becoming common to counter improvements in armour, especially the 14th-century change from Mail (armour), 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 "Classification of swords#Longsword, 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 a two-handed sword for a more powerful blow.[Gravett, p. 47]
In the Middle Ages, the sword was often used as a symbol of the Logos (Christianity), 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.
Later Middle Ages
From around 1300 to 1500, in concert with improved armour, innovative sword designs evolved more and more rapidly. The main transition was the lengthening of the grip, allowing Classification of swords#Handedness, 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 ''Fechtbuch, Fechtbücher'' offering instructions on their use survive. Another variant was the specialized armour-piercing swords of the estoc type. The longsword
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximatel ...
became popular due to its extreme reach and its cutting and thrusting abilities.
The estoc became popular because of its ability to thrust into the gaps between plates of armour. The grip was sometimes wrapped in wire or coarse Hide (skin), animal hide to provide a better grip and to make it harder to knock a sword out of the user's hand.[McLean, p. 178]
A number of Martial arts manual#Historical European martial arts, 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 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 long, with the one ascribed to Frisian warrior Pier Gerlofs Donia being long. The gigantic blade length was perfectly designed for manipulating and pushing away enemy Pole weapon, pole-arms, 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 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 the late Renaissance, with duels being a preferred way to honourably settle disputes.
The Spada da lato, 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 the ricasso to improve the grip (a practice that would continue in the rapier
A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
Impor ...
) 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" 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 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 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.[
]
Middle East and Africa
The earliest evidence of curved swords, or scimitar
A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...
s (and other regional variants as the arab people, Arabian Arab sword, saif, the Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
n shamshir
A shamshir ( fa, شمشیر) is a type of Persian/Iranian sword with a radical curve. The name is derived from the Persian word ''shamshīr'', which means "sword". The curved "scimitar" sword family includes the shamshir, kilij, talwar, pulwar an ...
and the Turkic peoples, Turkic kilij) is from the 9th century, when it was used among soldiers in the Greater Khorasan, Khurasan region of Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
File:Pala type of kilij.jpg, Kilij
File:Sabel, Shamsir (Persien) - Livrustkammaren - 13938.tif, Shamshir
File:State Gifts Presentation Sword.JPG, 20th century akrafena
The takoba is a type of broadsword originating in the Sahel, descended from the various Byzantine and Islam in Africa, Islamic swords used across North Africa. Strongly associated with the Tuaregs, it has a straight double-edged blade measuring about 1 meter in length, usually imported from Europe.
Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinian swords related to the Persian shamshir are known as shotel.
The Ashanti people adopted swords under the name of akrafena. They are still used today in ceremonies, such as the Odwira festival.
East Asia
As steel technology improved, single-edged weapons became popular throughout Asia. Derived from the China, Chinese Jian
The ''jian'' (pronunciation (劍), English approximation: ) 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 BCE, during the Spring and ...
or Dao (Chinese sword), dao, the Korean hwandudaedo are known from the early medieval Three Kingdoms of Korea, Three Kingdoms. Production of the Japanese tachi, a precursor to the katana
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
, is recorded from c. AD 900 (see Japanese sword).
Japan 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
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
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 the rise of the samurai caste include the Tsurugi (sword), 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 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'').[Takeo Tanaka. (2012) ''Wokou'' p.104. Kodansha. ][''歴史人'' September 2020. p40. ]
South and Southeast Asia
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 (knife), ''parang'', ''klewang'' and ''golok'' were more popular as weapons. These daggers are shorter than a sword but longer than a common dagger.
In the Philippines, traditional large swords known as the Kampilan and the Panabas were used in combat by the natives. A notable wielder of the ''kampilan'' was Lapu-Lapu, the king of Mactan and his warriors who defeated the Spaniards and killed Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan at the Battle of Mactan on 27 April 1521. Traditional swords in the Philippines were immediately banned, but the training in swordsmanship
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 a ...
was later hidden from the occupying Spanish Colonial Era (Philippines), Spaniards by practices in Philippine dance, dances. But because of the banning, Filipinos were forced to use swords that were disguised as farm tools. Bolo knife, Bolos and baliswords were used during the Philippine Revolution, revolutions against the colonialists not only because ammunition for guns was scarce, but also for concealability while walking in crowded streets and homes. Bolos were also used by young boys who joined their parents in the revolution and by young girls and their mothers in defending the town while the men were on the battlefields. During the Philippine–American War in events such as the Balangiga Massacre, most of an American company was hacked to death or seriously injured by bolo knife, bolo-wielding guerillas in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Balangiga, Samar. When the Japanese Imperial Army, Japanese took control of the country, several American special operations groups stationed in the Philippines were introduced to the Filipino Martial Arts and swordsmanship, leading to this style reaching America despite the fact that natives were reluctant to allow outsiders in on their fighting secrets.
The ''Khanda (sword), 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 the weapon as a symbol of Shiva. It is a common weapon in the martial arts in the Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
.[M.L.K. Murty (2003), p. 91] 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 (sword), Firangi (, derived from the Arabic term for a Western European a "Franks, Frank") was a sword type which used blades manufactured in Western Europe and imported by the Portuguese India, 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 was also widely used by Sikhs and Rajputs.[Stone and LaRocca, p. 229]
The Talwar ( hi, तलवार) is a type of curved sword from India and other countries of the Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, 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 ( ta, சுருள் பட்டாக்கத்தி , lit. curling blade; si, එතුණු කඩුව ; Hindi: ) is a "sword" with a flexible whip-like blade.
File:Indian tulwar - talwar sword.jpg, Talwar
File:Pata-1-Archit-Patel.jpg, Pata (sword), Pata
File:Mumtaz Mahal Museum, Red Fort - Firangi.jpg, Firangi
Early modern history
Military sword
A single-edged type of Sidearm (weapon), sidearm used by the Hussites was popularized in 16th-century Germany under its Czech name ''Dusack'', also known as ''Säbel auf Teutsch gefasst'' ("sabre fitted in the German manner"). A closely related weapon is the ''schnepf'' or Swiss sabre used in Early Modern Switzerland.
The cut-and-thrust mortuary sword 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 long. Later in the 17th century, the swords used by cavalry became predominantly backsword, single-edged. The so-called walloon sword (''épée wallone'') was common in the Thirty Years' War and Baroque era. Its hilt was ambidextrous with shell-guards and knuckle-bow that inspired 18th century continental hunting hangers. Following their campaign in the Netherlands in 1672, 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.
Duelling sword
The rapier
A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
Impor ...
is believed to have evolved either from the Spanish ''espada ropera'' or from the swords of the Nobility of Italy, Italian nobility somewhere in the later part of the 16th century. The rapier differed from most earlier swords in that it was not a military weapon but a primarily civilian sword. Both the rapier and the Italian schiavona developed the crossguard into a basket-hilted sword, basket-shaped guard for hand protection.[
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the shorter small sword became an essential fashion accessory in European countries and the New World, though in some places such as the Scottish Highlands large swords as the basket-hilted broadsword were preferred, and most wealthy men and military officers carried one slung from a belt. Both the small sword and the rapier remained popular European dueling sword, dueling swords well into the 18th century.
As the wearing of swords fell out of fashion, walking stick (device), canes took their place in a gentleman's wardrobe. This developed to the gentlemen in the Victorian era to use the umbrella. Some examples of canes—those known as sword canes or swordsticks—incorporate a concealed blade. The French martial art ''la canne'' developed to fight with canes and swordsticks and has now evolved into a sport. The English martial art singlestick is very similar.
With the rise of the Duelling pistol, pistol duel, the duelling sword fell out of fashion long before the practice of duelling itself. By about 1770, English duelists enthusiastically adopted the pistol, and sword duels dwindled. However, the custom of duelling with epées persisted well into the 20th century in France. Such modern duels were not fought to the death; the duellists' aim was instead merely to draw blood from the opponent's sword arm.][The last known French duel of public note fought with epées took place in 1967, when Gaston Defferre insulted René Ribière at the French Parliament and was subsequently challenged to a duel fought with swords. René Ribière lost the duel, being wounded twice.]
Late modern history
Military sidearm
Towards the end of its useful life, the sword served more as a weapon of self-defence than for use on the battlefield, and the military importance of swords steadily decreased during the Modern Age. Even as a personal sidearm, the sword began to lose its preeminence in the early 19th century, reflecting the development of reliable handguns.
However, swords were still normally carried in combat by cavalrymen and by officers of other branches throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, both in colonial and European warfare. For example, during the Aceh War the Aceh Sultanate, Acehnese Klewangs, a sword similar to the machete, proved very effective in close quarters combat with Dutch troops, leading the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army to adopt a heavy cutlass
A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...
, also called klewang (very similar in appearance to the US Navy Model 1917 Cutlass) to counter it. Mobile troops armed with carbines and klewangs succeeded in suppressing Aceh resistance where traditional infantry with rifle and bayonet had failed. From that time on until the 1950s the Royal Dutch East Indies Army, Royal Dutch Army, Royal Dutch Navy and Dutch police used these cutlasses called Klewang.
Swords continued in general peacetime use by cavalry of most armies during the years prior to World War I. The British Army formally adopted a completely new design of 1908 and 1912 Pattern British Army Cavalry Swords, cavalry sword in 1908, almost the last change in British Army weapons before the outbreak of the war. At the outbreak of World War I infantry officers in all combatant armies then involved (French, German, British, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, Belgian and Serbian) still carried swords as part of their field equipment. On mobilization in August 1914 all serving British Army officers were required to have their swords sharpened as the only peacetime use of the weapon had been for saluting on parade. The high visibility and limited practical use of the sword however led to it being abandoned within weeks, although most cavalry continued to carry sabres throughout the war. While retained as a symbol of rank and status by at least senior officers of infantry, artillery and other branches the sword was usually left with non-essential baggage when units reached the front line. It was not until the late 1920s and early 1930s that this historic weapon was finally discarded for all but ceremonial purposes by most remaining horse mounted regiments of Europe and the Americas.
In China troops used the long anti-cavalry Miao dao well into the Second Sino-Japanese War. The last units of British heavy cavalry switched to using Armored car (military), armoured vehicles as late as 1938. Swords and other dedicated melee weapons were used occasionally by many countries during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but typically as a secondary weapon as they were outclassed by coexisting firearms. A notable exception was the Imperial Japanese Army where, for cultural reasons, all officers and warrant officers carried the Type 94 ''shin-gunto'' ("new military sword") into battle from 1934 until 1945.
Ceremonial use
Swords are commonly worn as a ceremonial weapon, ceremonial item by officers in many military and naval services throughout the world. Occasions to wear swords include any event in dress uniforms where the rank-and-file carry arms: parades, reviews, Swords in courts-martial, courts-martial, Military tattoo, tattoos, and changes of command. They are also commonly worn for officers' weddings, and when wearing dress uniforms to church—although they are rarely actually worn in the church itself.
In the British forces they are also worn for any appearance at Court (royal), Court. In the United States, every Naval officer at or above the rank of Lieutenant Commander is required to own a sword, which can be prescribed for any formal outdoor ceremonial occasion; they are normally worn for changes of command and parades. For some Navy parades, cutlasses are issued to Petty Officers and Chief Petty Officers.
In the U.S. Marine Corps every officer must own a sword, which is prescribed for formal parades and other ceremonies where dress uniforms are worn and the rank-and-file are under arms. On these occasions depending on their billet, Marine Non-Commissioned Officers (E-4 and above) may also be required to carry swords, which have hilts of a pattern similar to U.S. Naval officers' swords but are actually sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
s. The USMC United States Marine Corps noncommissioned officer's sword, Model 1859 NCO Sword is the longest continuously-issued edged weapon in the U.S. inventory
The Marine officer swords are of the Mameluke sword, Mameluke pattern which was adopted in 1825 in recognition of the Marines' key role in the capture of the Tripoli, Libya, Tripolitan city of Battle of Derna (1805), Derna during the First Barbary War. Taken out of issue for approximately 20 years from 1855 until 1875, it was restored to service in the year of the Corps' centennial and has remained in issue since.
=Religious
=
In the occult practices of Wicca, a sword or knife often referred to as an athame is used as a Magical tools in Wicca, magical tool.
Sword replicas
The production of replicas of historical swords originates with 19th-century historicism (art), historicism. Contemporary replicas can range from cheap factory produced look-alikes to exact recreations of individual artifacts, including an approximation of the historical production methods.
Some kinds of swords are still commonly used today as weapons, often as a side arm for military infantry. The Japanese katana, wakizashi and tanto are carried by some infantry and officers in Japan and other parts of Asia and the kukri is the official melee weapon for Nepal. Other swords in use today are the sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
, the scimitar
A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...
, the shortsword and the machete.
* In the case of a rat-tail tang (tools), tang, the maker welds a thin rod to the end of the blade at the crossguard; this rod goes through the grip.
* In traditional construction, Swordsmiths peening, peened such tangs over the end of the pommel, or occasionally welded the hilt furniture to the tang and threaded the end for screwing on a pommel. This style is often referred to as a "narrow" or "hidden" tang. Modern, less traditional, replicas often feature a threaded pommel or a pommel nut which holds the hilt together and allows dismantling.
* In a "full" tang (most commonly used in knives and machetes), the tang has about the same width as the blade, and is generally the same shape as the grip. In European or Asian swords sold today, many advertised "full" tangs may actually involve a forged rat-tail tang.
Morphology
The sword consists of the blade and the hilt
The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet is its handle, 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. ...
.
The term ''scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and Lever action, lever-action ...
'' applies to the cover for the sword blade when not in use.
Blade
There is considerable variation in the detailed design of sword blades. The diagram opposite shows a typical Medieval European sword.
Early iron blades have rounded points due to the limited metallurgy of the time. These were still effective for thrusting against lightly armoured opponents. As armour advanced, blades were made narrower, stiffer and sharply pointed to defeat the armour by thrusting.
Dedicated cutting blades are wide and thin, and often have grooves known as fuller (weapon), fullers which lighten the blade at the cost of some of the blade's stiffness. The edges of a cutting sword are almost parallel. Blades oriented for the thrust have thicker blades, sometimes with a distinct midrib for increased stiffness, with a strong taper and an acute point. The geometry of a cutting sword blade allows for acute edge angles. An edge with an acuter angle is more inclined to degrade quickly in combat situations than an edge with a more obtuse angle. Also, an acute edge angle is not the primary factor of a blade's sharpness.
The part of the blade between the center of percussion (CoP) and the point is called the ''foible'' (weak) of the blade, and that between the center of gravity, center of balance (CoB) and the hilt is the ''forte'' (strong). The section in between the CoP and the CoB is the ''middle''.
The ''ricasso'' or ''shoulder'' identifies a short section of blade immediately below the guard that is left completely unsharpened. Many swords have no ricasso. On some large weapons, such as the Germany, German ''Zweihänder'', a metal cover surrounded the ricasso, and a swordsman might grip it in one hand to wield the weapon more easily in close-quarter combat.[
The ricasso normally bears the trademark, maker's mark.
The tang (tools), tang is the extension of the blade to which the hilt is fitted.
On Japanese blades, the maker's mark appears on the tang under the grip.
]
Hilt
The hilt
The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet is its handle, 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. ...
is the collective term for the parts allowing for the handling and control of the blade; these consist of the Hilt#Grip, grip, the Hilt#Pommel, pommel, and a simple or elaborate Guard (weapon), guard, which in post-Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Ger ...
swords could consist of only a crossguard
On a sword, the crossguard, or cross-guard, the individual bars on either side known as quillon, is a bar of metal at right angles to the blade, placed between the blade and the hilt. The crossguard was developed in the European sword around the ...
(called a cruciform hilt or quillons). The pommel was originally designed as a stop to prevent the sword slipping from the hand. From around the 11th century onward it became a counterbalance to the blade, allowing a more fluid style of fighting.
It can also be used as a blunt instrument at close range, and its weight affects the centre of percussion. In later times a ''Hilt#Sword knot, sword knot'' or ''Hilt#Sword knot, tassel'' was sometimes added. By the 17th century, with the growing use of firearms and the accompanying decline in the use of armour, many rapier
A rapier () or is a type of sword with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade that was popular in Western Europe, both for civilian use (dueling and self-defense) and as a military side arm, throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
Impor ...
s and European dueling sword, dueling swords had developed elaborate basket hilts, which protect the palm of the wielder and rendered the Gauntlet (glove), gauntlet obsolete.
In late medieval and Renaissance era European swords, a flap of leather called the ''chappe'' or ''rain guard'' was attached to a sword's crossguard
On a sword, the crossguard, or cross-guard, the individual bars on either side known as quillon, is a bar of metal at right angles to the blade, placed between the blade and the hilt. The crossguard was developed in the European sword around the ...
at the base of the hilt to protect the mouth of the scabbard and prevent water from entering.
Sword scabbards and suspension
Common accessories to the sword include the scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and Lever action, lever-action ...
, as well as the 'sword belt'.
* The scabbard, also known as the sheath, is a protective cover often provided for the sword blade. Over the millennia, scabbards have been made of many materials, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel. The metal fitting where the blade enters the leather or metal scabbard is called the throat, which is often part of a larger scabbard mount, or locket, that bears a carrying ring or stud to facilitate wearing the sword. The blade's point in leather scabbards is usually protected by a metal tip, or chape, which on both leather and metal scabbards is often given further protection from wear by an extension called a drag, or shoe.
* A sword belt is a belt (clothing), belt with an attachment for the sword's scabbard, used to carry it when not in use. It is usually fixed to the scabbard of the sword, providing a fast means of drawing the sword in battle. Examples of sword belts include the Balteus (sword belt), Balteus used by the Roman legionary.
Typology
Sword typology is based on morphological criteria on one hand (blade shape (cross-section, taper, and length), shape and size of the hilt and pommel)
and age and place of origin on the other (Bronze Age sword, Bronze Age, Iron Age sword, Iron Age, European (medieval, early modern, modern), Asian).
The relatively comprehensive Oakeshott typology was created by historian and illustrator Ewart Oakeshott as a way to define and catalogue European swords of the medieval period based on physical form, including blade shape and hilt configuration. The typology also focuses on the smaller, and in some cases contemporary, single-handed swords such as the arming sword.
Single and double-edged
As noted above, the terms longsword
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximatel ...
, broad sword, great sword, and Claymore, Gaelic claymore are used relative to the era under consideration, and each term designates a particular type of sword.
Jian
In most Asian countries, a sword (jian 劍, geom (검), ken/tsurugi (剣) is a double-edged straight-bladed weapon, while a knife or sabre (Dao (Chinese sword), dāo 刀, do (도), to/katana
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
(刀) refers to a single-edged object.
Kirpan
Among the Sikhs, the sword is held in very high esteem. A single-edged sword is called a kirpan, and its double-edged counterpart a khanda or tega.
Churika
The South Indian ''churika'' is a handheld double-edged sword traditionally used in the Malabar region of Kerala. It is also worshipped as the weapon of Vettakkorumakan, the hunter god in Hinduism.
Backsword and falchion
European terminology does give generic names for single-edged and double-edged blades but refers to specific types with the term 'sword' covering them all. For example, the backsword may be so called because it is single-edged but the falchion which is also single-edged is given its own specific name.
Single vs two-handed use
Two-handed
A two-handed sword is any sword that usually requires two hands to wield, or more specifically the very large swords of the 16th century.
Throughout history two-handed swords have generally been less common than their one-handed counterparts, one exception being their common use in Japan.
Hand and a half sword
A Hand and a half sword, colloquially known as a "bastard sword", was a sword with an extended grip and sometimes pommel so that it could be used with either one or two hands. Although these swords may not provide a full two-hand grip, they allowed its wielders to hold a shield or parrying dagger in their off hand, or to use it as a two-handed sword for a more powerful blow.[ These should not be confused with a ]longsword
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximatel ...
, two-handed sword, or Zweihänder, which were always intended to be used with two hands.
Laws on carrying a sword
The Visigothic Code of Ervig (680-687) made ownership of a sword mandatory for men joining the Visigothic army, regardless whether the men were Goth or Roman. A number of Charlemagne capitularies made ownership of a sword mandatory, for example, those who owned a warehouse needed to also own a sword.
In fiction
In fantasy, magic swords often appear, based on their use in myth and legend. The science fiction counterpart to these is known as an energy sword (sometimes also referred to as a "beam sword" or "laser sword"), a sword whose blade consists of, or is augmented by, concentrated energy. A well known example of this type of sword is the lightsaber, shown in the ''Star Wars'' franchise.
See also
* Arabic swords
* Chinese swords
* Classification of swords
* Japanese swords
* List of blade materials
* List of sword manufacturers
* List of swords
* Oakeshott typology
* Sword making
* Swordsmanship
* Types of swords
* Waster
References
;Footnotes
;Citations
;Bibliography
* Allchin, F.R. in ''South Asian Archaeology 1975: Papers from The Third International Conference of The Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe, Held in Paris'' (December 1979) edited by J.E. van Lohuizen-de Leeuw. Brill Academic Publishers, Incorporated. 106–18. .
* Prasad, Prakash Chandra (2003). ''Foreign Trade and Commerce in Ancient India''. Abhinav Publications. .
* Edgerton; et al. (2002). ''Indian and Oriental Arms and Armour''. Courier Dover Publications. .
* Withers, Harvey J S; (2006). ''World Swords 1400–1945''. Studio Jupiter Military Publishing . .
* Naish, Camille (1991). ''Death Comes to The Maiden: Sex and Execution, 1431–1933''. Taylor & Francis Publishing. .
* Burton, Richard F. (2008).''The Book of The Sword''. Cosimo, Inc. .
*
* Wertime, Theodore and Muhly, J.D.(1980) eds.''The Coming of The Age of Iron''. Yale University Press. .
* Kirkland, J. Michael (2006). ''Stage Combat Resource Materials: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography''. Greenwood Publishing Group. .
*
* Green, Thomas A. (2001). ''Martial Arts of The World: An Encyclopedia''. V. 1. ABC-CLIO. .
*
* Smith, William (1843). ''A dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities''. Michigan University Press.
* Comnena, Anna. (1928). ''The Alexiad.'' Ed. and trans. Elizabeth A. Dawes. London: Routledge
Available at the Internet History Sourcebook
External links
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