In the European

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 ...

, 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 Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

(i.e., cross-shaped)

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 a blade length of about . This type is frequently depicted in period artwork, and numerous examples have been preserved archaeologically. The high medieval sword of the

Romanesque period Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic Art, Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 1 ...

(10th to 13th centuries) developed gradually from the Viking sword of the 9th century. In the

Late Medieval period The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

(14th and 15th centuries), late forms of these swords continued to be used, but often as a sidearm, at that point called "arming swords" and contrasting with the two-handed, heavier longswords. Though the majority of late-medieval arming swords kept their blade properties from previous centuries, there are also surviving specimens from the 15th century that took the form of a late-medieval estoc, specialised for use against more heavily armoured opponents. After the end of the medieval period, the arming sword developed into several forms of the early modern one-handed straight swords, such as the side-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. Impo ...

, the cavalry-focused '' Reiterschwert'' and certain types of

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 ...

Terminology

The term "arming sword" () is first used in the 15th century to refer to the single-handed type of sword after it had ceased to serve as the main weapon and was on its way to being used as a side-sword. "Arming sword" in late medieval usage specifically refers to the when worn as a side-arm, but as a modern term it may also refer to any single-handed sword in a late medieval context. The terms "knight's sword" or "knightly sword" are modern terms to specify the sword of the high medieval period. Period terminology for swords is somewhat fluid. Mostly, the common type of sword in any given period would simply be referred to as "sword" (English , French , Latin etc.). During the high medieval period, references to swords as "great sword" (, ) or "small" or "very large sword" (, ) does not necessarily indicate their morphology, but simply their relative size. Oakeshott (1964) notes that this changes in the late medieval period, beginning towards the end of the 20th century, when the "bastard sword" appeared as an early type of what developed into the 1st-century

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 ...

. The term "romanesque sword" does not see significant use in English, but it is more current in French (), German (), and especially in Slavic languages (such as Czech ), identifying the swords as being contemporary with the corresponding

in art history (roughly 1000 to 1300).

History

The knightly sword develops in the 11th century from the Viking sword. The most evident morphological development is the appearance of the crossguard. The transitional swords of the 11th century are also known as Norman swords. Already in the 10th century, some of the "finest and most elegant" of the

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 pers ...

type of "Viking" (actually Carolingian/Frankish) swords began to exhibit a more slender blade geometry, moving the center of mass closer to the hilt to improve wieldability. The one-handed sword of the high medieval period was typically used with a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

buckler A buckler (French ''bouclier'' 'shield', from Old French ''bocle, boucle'' 'boss') is a small shield, up to 45 cm (up to 18 in) in diameter, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss. While being used in Europe since ant ...

. In the late medieval period, when the

came to predominate, the single-handed sword was retained as a common sidearm, especially of the estoc type, and came to be referred to as an "arming sword", later evolving into the cut and thrust swords of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

. File:HeinrichusII.jpg, Great Seal of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin kin ...

, showing the king as an armed horseman, . File:Guido relief.jpg, The so-called ''Guido-Relief'' in the Grossmünster,

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...

, depicts two combatants with helmets and kite shields, one with 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 def ...

, the other with a sword (inscribed ''GVIDO'' on the blade), . File:Goliath sword morgan bible 28v.jpg, Detail of a sword being drawn from its scabbard, '' Morgan Bible'' fol. 28v, . File:Banded mail German.jpg, Soldiers in mail armour with swords, German miniature of the '' Massacre of the Innocents'', . File:Gotland-Gothem kyrka Deckenmalerei 04.jpg, Painting of a fighter with sword, helmet and kite shield, fresco in Gothem Church, . File:Codex Manesse (Herzog) von Anhalt.jpg, Illustration mock combat in a

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

Codex Manesse The Codex Manesse (also Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift or Pariser Handschrift) is a ''Liederhandschrift'' (manuscript containing songs), the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German ''Minnesang'' poetry, written and illustrat ...

(, fol. 17r), . File:Codex Manesse 204r Von Scharpfenberg.jpg, Illustration of combat with sword and buckler,

(, fol. 204r), . File:Ms I33 fol 04v.jpg, Fol. 4v of Royal Armouries MS I.33, a

combat manual Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, specifically designed to be learnt from a book. Many books detailing specific techniques of martial arts are often erroneously called manuals but were written as treatises. Pros ...

on fighting with sword and buckler, . File:Gerichtlicher Zweikampf.jpg,

Judicial combat Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...

with sword and shield depicted in the Dresden ms. of the , 14th century. File:Milanska vzpoura.jpg, Melee combat between knights on horseback (troops of emperor Henry VII defeating the

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

revolt led by Guido della Torre in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, 1311), , . File:Crécy - Grandes Chroniques de France.jpg, Mounted combat with swords at the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...

(1346), fol. 152v, . File:Andrea del Castagno 004.jpg, Painting of Condottiere Pippo Spano by Andrea del Castagno, . At the end of the medieval period, the estoc arming sword develops into the Spanish and the Italian , the predecessors of the early modern

. In a separate development, the was a heavier single-handed sword used by the Dalmatian bodyguard of the

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...

in the 16th century. This type influenced the development of the early modern basket-hilted sword which in turn developed into the modern (Napoleonic era) cavalry sword.

Morphology

The most widespread typology for the medieval sword was developed by

Ewart Oakeshott Ronald Ewart Oakeshott (25 May 1916 – 30 September 2002) was a British illustrator, collector, and amateur historian who wrote prodigiously on medieval arms and armour. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, a Founder Member of the ...

in 1960, mostly based on blade morphology. Oakeshott (1964) introduced an additional typology for pommel shapes. A more recent typology is due to Geibig (1991). Geibig's typology focusses on swords from continental the transitional period from the early to the high medieval period (early 8th to late 12th centuries) and does not extend to the late medieval period. Blade length was usually from ; however, examples exist from . Pommels were most commonly of the 'Brazil-nut' type from around 1000–1200 AD, with the 'wheel' pommel appearing in the 11th and predominating from the 13th to 15th centuries. However, Oakeshott (1991) is emphatic on the point that a medieval sword cannot conclusively be dated based on its morphology. While there are some general trends in the development of fashion, many of the most popular styles of pommels, hilts and blades remain in use throughout the duration of the High Middle Ages.

Blade

The common "knightly swords" of the high medieval period (11th to early 12th centuries) fall under types X to XII. Type X is the

Norman sword 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 A ...

as it developed out of the early medieval Viking sword by the 11th century. Type XI shows the development towards a more tapering point seen during the 12th century. Type XII is a further development, typical throughout the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

period, showing a tapering blade with a shortened fuller. Subtype XIIa comprises the longer and more massive "great-swords" which developed in the mid-13th century, probably designed to counter improvements in mail armour; these are the predecessors of the late medieval longsword (see also Cawood sword). Type XIII is the knightly sword typical of the later 13th century. Swords of this type have long, wide blades with parallel edges, terminating in a rounded or spatulate tip, and with a lens-shaped cross-section. The hilts become somewhat longer, about 15 cm, to allow occasional two-handed use. The pommels are mostly of the brazil-nut or disk shapes. Subtype XIIIa has longer blades and hilts. These are the knightly "great-swords", or ''Grans espées d'Allemagne'' which seamlessly develop into the

type in the 14th century. Subtype XIIIb describes smaller single-handed swords of similar shape. The form classified as type XIV develops towards the very end of the high medieval period, around 1270, and remained popular during the early decades of the 14th century. They are often depicted on the tomb effigies of English knights of the period, but there are few surviving specimens. Continuations of the knightly sword as the "arming sword" type of the late medieval period correspond to Oakeshott types XV, XVI and XVIII. File:Albion Bayeux Medieval Sword 1 (6092216747).jpg, Replica of a type X

, typical of the mid-11th to 12th centuries File:Albion Ritter Medieval Sword 02 (6093341001).jpg, Replica of a type XI sword with a "cocked-hat" pommel (type D), typical of the early 13th century File:The Saint Maurice of Turin 01.jpg, Replica of the "Sword of Saint Maurice" kept in Turin, a type XII sword with "brazil nut" pommel (type A) File:The Tritonia 01.jpg, Replica of the "Tritonia" sword (kept at the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, Sweden, dated to c. 1300), a type XIIIb sword with a rare type of spherical pommel (type R) File:Albion Sovereign Medieval Sword 5 (6093465177).jpg, Replica of a type XIV sword with a "wheel" pommel (type J), typical of the period 1270–1340 File:Albion Lancaster Medieval Sword 5 (6093173363).jpg, Replica of a type XV sword, typical of the early-to-mid 15th century File:Albion Squire Medieval Sword 2 (6094017236).jpg, Replica of a type XVI sword (pommel type K) typical of the early-to-mid 14th century File:Albion Burgundian Medieval Sword 3 (6092797384).jpg, Replica of a type XVIII sword (pommel type V) typical of the late 15th century

Pommel

Oakeshott's pommel typology groups medieval pommel shapes into 24 categories (some with subtypes). Type A is the "brazil-nut" shape inherited from the classical "Viking sword". Type B includes more rounded forms of A, including the "mushroom" or "tea-cosy" shape. Type C is the "cocked-hat" shape also found in Viking swords, with D, E and F derived variants of C. Type G is the disk-pommel found very frequently in medieval swords. Type H is a variant of the disk pommel, with the edges chamfered off. This is one of the most frequently found shapes throughout the 10th to 15th centuries. I, J and K are derived variants of the disk pommel. Types L to S are rare shapes, in many cases difficult to date. Type L has a trefoil-like shape; it is possibly limited to Spain in the 12th to 13th centuries. Type M is a special derived variant of the multi-lobed pommel of the Viking Age, found only in a very limited number of swords (see Cawood sword). Types P ("shield-shaped") and Q ("flower-shaped") are not even known to be attested in any surviving sword and known only from period artwork. R is a spherical pommel, known only from a few specimens. Types T to Z are pommel shapes used in the late medieval period; T is the "fig" or "pear" or "scent-stopper" shape, first used in the early 14th century, but seen with any frequency only after 1360, with numerous derived forms well into the 16th century. U is a "key-shaped" type used only in the second half of the 15th century. V is the "fish-tail" pommel, used in the 15th century. Z is the "cat's head" shape apparently used exclusively in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Blade inscriptions

Many European sword blades of the high medieval period have blade inscriptions. Inscribed blades were particularly popular during the 12th century. Many of these inscriptions are garbled strings of letters, often apparently inspired by religious formulae, especially the phrase ''in nomine domini'' and the word ''benedictus'' or ''benedicat''. The 12th-century fashion for blade inscriptions is based on the earlier, 9th to 11th century, tradition of the so-called

Ulfberht swords 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 pers ...

. A single stray find from Eastern Germany, dated to the late 11th or possibly early 12th century, combines both an ''Ulfberht'' and an ''in nomine domini'' (in this case, ''+IINIOMINEDMN'') inscription. Many blade inscriptions of the later 12th and 13th century are even more indecipherable, bearing no resemblance to the ''in nomine domini'' phrase, sometimes resembling random strings of letters, such as ''ERTISSDXCNERTISSDX'', ''+NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI+'',''+IHININIhVILPIDHINIhVILPN+'' (

Pernik sword The Pernik sword is a medieval double-edged iron sword unearthed in the ruins of the medieval fortress of Krakra near Pernik, western Bulgaria, on 1 January 1921. It bears an inscription in silver inlay on the blade. The sword is preserved in the ...

, Friedrich E. Grünzweig: "Ein Schwert mit Inschrift aus Pernik (Bulgarien)", ''Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik'' 61 (2006). A typology of 8th to 13th century sword blade inscriptions was presented by Geibig (1991).

Notes

References

*Oakeshott, Ewart (1964), ''The Sword in the Age of Chivalry''. * * *Geibig, A. (1991), ''Beiträge zur morphologischen Entwicklung des Schwertes im Mittelalter''. *North, Anthony (1994), "Swords and Hilt Weapons" in: Anne Cope (ed.), ''Swords and Hilt Weapons''. *Peirce, Ian (1990), "The Development of the Medieval Sword ''c.''850–1300", in Christopher Harper-Bill, Ruth Harvey (eds.), ''The Ideals and Practice of Medieval Knighthood III: Papers from the Fourth Strawberry Hill Conference, 1988'', Boydell & Brewer Ltd, pp. 139–158. *Schulze-Dörrlamm (1995). ''Das Reichsschwert: Ein Herrschaftszeichen des Saliers Heinrich IV. und des Welfen Otto IV.'' Jan Thorbecke Verlag Sigmaringen. *Seitz, H. (1967). ''Blankwaffen 1''. Braunschweig: Klinkhardt and Biermann. {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Medieval European swords ru:Романский меч