Bronze Age swordBronze Age swords were a type of weapon prominent during the Bronze Age. They were replaced by iron swords during the early part of the 1st millennium BC. Typical Bronze Age swords were between 60 and 80 cm long, significantly shorter weapons are categorized as short swords or daggers. From an early time swords with lengths in excess of 100 cm were also produced. Some Bronze Age swords have also been referred to as antenna swords due to their design.
Iron Age swordSwords made of iron (as opposed to 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. They were work-hardened, rather than quench-hardened, which made them generally comparable to, and sometimes inferior to, high-quality bronze swords in strength and hardness. This meant that they could still be bent out of shape during use.
Knightly swordIn 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-shaped) hilt and a blade length of about 70 to 80 centimetres (28 to 31 in). This type is frequently depicted in period artwork, and numerous examples have been preserved archaeologically.
Migration Period swordThe 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 Viking sword type of the 8th to 11th centuries AD. The blade was normally smooth or showed a very shallow fuller, and often had multiple bands of pattern-welding within the central portion.
DaggerA dagger is a fighting knife typically with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or thrusting weapon. Daggers have been used throughout human history for close combat confrontations, and many cultures have used adorned daggers in ritual and ceremonial contexts. The dagger's distinctive shape and historic usage have made it iconic and symbolic.
Edged and bladed weaponsAn edged weapon, or bladed weapon, is a hand-to-hand combat weapon with a cutting edge. Bladed weapons include swords, daggers, knives, and bayonets. Edged weapons are used to cut, hack, or slash; some edged weapons (such as many kinds of swords) may also permit thrusting and stabbing. Edged weapons contrast with blunt weapons such as maces, and with pointed weapons such as spears.
Bronze AgeHistorical period (c. 3300–1200 BCE)Diffusion of metallurgy in Europe and Asia Minor—the darkest areas are the oldest.LocationAsiaNear EastEuropeNorth AfricaKey eventsExtensive bronze metallurgyLate Bronze Age collapseDevelopment of writingDevelopment of the chariotOne of the Alaca Höyük bronze standards from a pre-Hittite tomb dating to the 3rd millennium BC, from the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in AnkaraThe Bronze Age is an archaeological and anthropological term defining a phase in the development of material culture among ancient societies in Asia, the Near East and Europe.
SpathaThe spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between 0.5 and 1 metre (20 and 40 inches), with a handle length of between 18 and 20 centimetres (7 and 8 inches), in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries AD. Later swords, from the 7th to 10th centuries, like the Viking swords, are recognizable derivatives and sometimes subsumed under the term spatha. The Roman spatha was used in war and in gladiatorial fights.
KnifeA knife (pl.: knives; from Old Norse knifr '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 by the Oldowan tools.
HiltThe hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) is the handle of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet, consisting of a guard, grip, and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel. PommelLook up in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Late Roman armyIn 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.
High Middle AgesThe High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history between c. 1000 and c. 1300; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended c. 1500 according to historiographical convention.
swordRelated word or term.sweordRelated word or term.Appendix:Proto-Indo-European/swer-Related word or term.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.