| Medieval and Renaissance Sword Forms & Companion Implements
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| Medieval & Renaissance Sword Forms and
Companion Implements In the continuing effort to bring greater learning and
scholarship to the serious study and practice of European weaponry, HACA as the premier
Internet site for presents the following general definitions. These are intended to aid in
dispelling some of the many myths and misconceptions surrounding this subject. A term popularly misapplied as a generic synonym for medieval swords or any long, wide
military blade. The now popular misnomer "broadsword" in reference to medieval
blades actually originated with Victorian collectors in the early 19th century. They
described swords of Long-Swords The various kinds of long bladed Medieval swords that had handles long enough to be
used in two hands were deemed long-swords (German "Langenschwert" or Italian
"spada longa"). Long-swords, war-swords, or great swords are characterized by
having both a long grip and a long blade (they must have both to qualify). We know at the
time that Medieval warriors did distinguished war-swords or great-swords ("grant
espees" or "grete swerdes") from "standard" swords in general,
but long-swords were really just those larger versions of typical one-handed swords,
except with stouter blades. They were "longer swords", as opposed to single-hand
swords (or just "swords"). They could be used on foot or mounted and sometimes
even with a Great-Swords Those blades long and weighty enough to demand a double grip are great-swords. They are infantry swords which cannot be used in a single-hand. Originally the term "great-sword" ("gret sord", "grant espees" or "grete swerdes"), only meant a war-sword (long-sword), but it has now more or less come to mean a sub-class of those larger long-swords/war-swords that are still not true two-handers. Although they are "two hand" swords, great-swords not are the specialized weapons of later two-handed swords. They are the swords which are antecedents to the even larger Renaissance versions. Great-swords are also the weapons often depicted in various German sword manuals. A Medieval great-sword might also be called a "twahandswerds" or "too honde swerd". Whereas other long-swords could be used on horseback and some even with shields, great swords however were infantry weapons only. Their blades might be flat and wide or later on, more narrow and hexagonal or diamond shaped. These larger swords capable of facing heavier weapons such as pole-arms and larger axes were devastating against lighter armors. Long, two-handed swords with narrower, flat hexagonal blades and thinner tips (such as the Italian "spadone") were a response to plate-armor. Against plate armor such rigid, narrow, and sharply pointed swords are not used in the same chop and cleave manner as with flatter, wider long-swords and great swords. Instead, they are handled with tighter movements that emphasize their thrusting points and allow for greater use of the hilt. Those of the earlier parallel-edged shape are known more as war-swords, while later the thicker, tapering, sharply pointed form were more often called bastard-swords. Bastard Swords Later in the mid 1400's a form of long-sword with specially shaped grips for one or two hands, became known as a "bastard sword". This may be because they were neither true one-handed nor true great-swords/two-handed ones, and thus not a member of either "family". Since newer types of shorter swords were coming into use, the term "bastard-sword" came to distinguish this form of long-sword. Bastard-swords typically had longer handles with special "half-grips" which could be used by either one or both hands. These handles have recognizable "waist" and "bottle" shapes (such grips were later used on the Renaissance two-handed sword). The unique bastard-sword half-grip was a versatile and practical innovation. Although, once again classification is not clear since the term "bastard-sword" appears to have not been entirely exclusive to those swords with so-called "hand-and-a-half" handles as older styles of long-sword were still in limited use. Bastard-swords varied and they might have either a flat blade or narrow hexagonal one for fighting plate-armor. Some were intended more for cutting while others were better for thrusting. Bastard swords continued to be used by knights and men-at-arms into the 1500's. Their hilt style leads toward the shorter cut & thrust sword forms of the Renaissance. Strangely, in the early Renaissance the term bastard-sword was also sometimes used to refer to single-hand arming-swords with compound-hilts. A form of German arming sword with a bastard-style compound hilt was called a "Reitschwert" ("cavalry sword") or a "Degen" ("knight's sword"). Two-handed Swords The term "two-hander" or "two-handed sword" is really a classification of sword applied both to Medieval great-swords as well Renaissance swords (the true two-handed swords). Such weapons saw more use in the later Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Technically, true two-handed swords (epee's a deux main) were actually Renaissance, not Medieval weapons. They are really those specialized forms of the later 1500-1600's, such as the Swiss/German "Dopplehander" ("both-hander") or "Bidenhander" ("double-hander") or "Zweihander / Zweyhander" are relatively modern not historical terms. English ones were sometimes referred to as "slaughterswords" after the German "Schlachterschwerter" ("battle swords"). These weapons were used primarily for fighting against pike-squares where they would hack paths through lobbing the tips off the poles. In Germany, England, and elsewhere schools also taught their use for single-combat. In True two-handed swords have compound-hilts with side-rings and enlarged cross-guards of up to 12 inches. Most have small, pointed lugs or flanges protruding from their blades 4-8 inches below their guard. These "parrierhaken" or parrying hooks act almost as a secondary guard for the ricasso to prevent other weapons from sliding down into the hands. They make up for the weapon's slowness on the defence and can allow another blade to be momentarily trapped or bound up. They can also be used to strike with. The most well-known of "twa handit swordis" is the Scottish "Claymore" (Gaelic for "claidheamh-more" or great-sword) which developed out of earlier Scottish great-swords with which they are often compared. They were used by the Scottish Highlanders against the English in the 1500's. Another sword of the same name is the later Scots basket-hilt broadsword (a relative of the Renaissance Slavic-Italian schiavona) whose hilt completely enclosed the hand in a cage-like guard. Both swords have come to be known by the same name since the late 1700's. Certain wave or flame-bladed two-handed swords have come to be known by collectors as "flamberges", although this is inaccurate. Such swords developed in the early-to-mid 1500's and are more appropriately known as "flammards" or "flambards" (the German" Flammenschwert"). The flamberge was also a term later applied to certain types of rapiers. The wave-blade form is visually striking but really no more effective in its cutting than a straight one. There were also huge two-handed blades known as "bearing-swords" or "parade-swords" ("Paratschwert'), weighing up to 12 or even 15 pounds and which were intended only for carrying in ceremonial processions and parades. The Estoc A form of long, rigid, pointed, triangular or square bladed and virtually edgeless sword designed for thrusting into plate-armor was the estoc. Called a "stocco" in Italian and a "tuck" in English, they were used with two hands and similar to great-swords (but were unrelated to later rapiers). They were used in two hands with the second hand often gripping the blade. Rapiers are sometimes mistakenly referred to as tucks, and there is evidence that during the Renaissance some rapiers may have been referred to as such by the English. The Claymore Identified with the Scot's symbol of the warrior, the term "Claymore" is Gaelic for "claidheamh-more" (great sword). This two-handed broadsword was used by the Scottish Highlanders against the English in the 16th century and is often confused with a Basket-hilt "broadsword" (a relative of the Italian schiavona) whose hilt completely enclosed the hand in a cage- like guard. Both swords have come to be known by the same name since the late 1700's. The Falchion A rarer form of sword that was little more than a meat cleaver, possibly even a simple kitchen and barnyard tool adopted for war. Indeed, it may come from a French word for a sickle, "fauchon". It can be seen in Medieval art being used against lighter armors by infidels as well as footman and even knights. The weapon is entirely European and not derived from eastern sources. More common in the Renaissance, it was considered a weapon to be proficient with in addition to the sword. The falchion is similar to the German "dusack" (or "dusagge"), and has been dubiously suggested as possibly related to the Dark Age long knife "seax" (scramanseax), and even later curved blades such as sabres (or sabels). Similar to an Arabian "scimitar", the falchion's wide, heavy blade weighted more towards the point could deliver tremendous blows. Several varieties were known, most all with single edges and rounded points. Renaissance Swords Cut & Thrust Swords The term "cut and thrust sword" is a general one which can be applied to a whole range of blade forms. However, the Renaissance military sword is generally characterized by a swept or compound-hilt, a narrow cut & thrust blade with stronger cross-section, and tapering tip. A direct descendant of the medieval knightly sword, the cut and thrust sword was used by lightly armed footmen as well as civilians in the 16th and 17th centuries. During this time they were employed against a range of armored and unarmored opponents. They were popular for sword & buckler and sword & dagger fighting. They utilized an innovative one-handed grip fingering the ricasso (a dull portion of blade just above the guard). Renaissance cut & thrust swords should not be referred to as "early Renaissance swords" since they were actually in use throughout the period. Military and civilian forms of them existed before, during and after the development of the rapier. For example, similar blades (with and without ricassos and compound hilts) saw use in the English Civil War and even later. They should also not be referred to as "sword-rapiers" or "early rapiers", although in a sense, some of them were. Renaissance cut & thrust swords were their own distinct sword type. Although sometimes considered a "transition" form, this is inaccurate as they were both the ancestor and contemporary of the rapier for which they are often misidentified. The Back-Sword The back-sword was a less-common form of single-edged renaissance military cut & thrust blade with a compound-hilt (side-rings or anneus, finger-rings, knuckle-bar, etc.). It was long enough for both mounted and infantry and favored because its single-edge designed allowed for a superior cutting edge. It was very popular in England and Germany. Back- swords may be related to later single-edged European blade forms. The Schiavona A form of agile renaissance cut & thrust sword with a decorative cage-hilt. It is considered the antecedent to the Scottish basket- hilted "broadsword". The name likely derives from a word for Italian Slavonic mercenaries who favored the weapon. The Katzbalger A form of one-handed sword with a shorter blade and "S" shaped guard. It was favored by the Swiss/German Landesknetchs for fighting close in amidst pike-squares. Many were originally longer, wider blades which were cut down and remounted. The name likely derives from a word associated with cat- gut or cat-skin. The Rapier Popular in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the rapier was a dueling weapon whose form was developed from cut and thrust swords. Its use was more brutal and forceful than the light sport fencing that we know of today. As a civilian weapon of urban self-defense, a true rapier was a tip-based thrusting sword that used stabbing and piercing, not slashing and cleaving. It had no true cutting edge such as with military swords for war. Originally in the late 1400's, any civilian sword was often referred to as simply a "rapier", but it quickly took on the meaning of a slender, civilian thrusting sword. Evolving into an edgeless, ideal thrusting weapon, the quick, innovative rapier superseded the cut & thrust sword for personal duel and urban self-defense. Being capable of making only limited lacerations, earlier varieties of rapier are still often confused with the cut and thrust swords which gave gestation to their method. Rapier blades ranged from early flatter triangular blades to thicker, narrow hexagonal ones. Rapier hilts range from swept styles, to later dishes and cups. The "Sword Rapier" The so-called "sword-rapier" is actually a term invented by collectors in the last century and is not a historical one. Increasingly, many Renaissance cut & thrust swords are mistakenly labeled as such. With the ascendancy of rapiers over swords in personal duel and private quarrel, there were many attempts to combine the slashing and cleaving potential of a traditional military sword with the quick, agile thrust of a dueling rapier. This lead to a great deal of experimental blade forms, many of which were dismal failures with neither the cutting power of wider swords, nor the speed and lightness of true rapiers. Made to do both, they typically did neither very well and few examples of these blades forms survive. They do appear to have been popular with high-ranking military officers during the mid 17th century (who of course, would be among those least likely to engage in battlefield hand-to- hand combat). They are also sometimes mistakenly called "cutting rapiers" or assumed to be some form of "transition" blade between swords and rapiers. The Flamberge An unusual waved-bladed rapier popular with officers and upper classes during the 1600s. It was considered to look both fashionable and deadly as well as erroneously believed to inflict a more deadly wound. When parrying with the flamberge, the opponent's sword was slowed slightly as it passed along the length. It also created a disconcerting vibration in the other blade. The term flamberge was also used later to describe a dish-hilted rapier with a normal straight blade. Certain wave or flame-bladed two-handed swords have also come to be known by collectors as "flamberges", although this is inaccurate. Such swords are more appropriately known as "flammards" or "flambards". The Small-Sword Sometimes known as a "court-sword", a "walking-sword", or "town-sword", small-swords developed in the late Renaissance as a personal dueling tool and weapon of self-defense. Most popular in the 1700's it is sometimes confused with the rapier. It consisted almost exclusively of a sharp pointed metal rod with a much smaller guard and finger-rings. Its blade was typically a hollow triangular shape and was much thicker at the hilt. Most had no edge at all, and were merely rigid, pointed, metal rods. They were popular with the upper classes especially as decorative fashion accessories, worn like jewelry. In a skilled hand the small sword was an effective and deadly instrument. Until the early 1800s it continued to be used even against older rapiers and even some cutting swords. It is the small-sword rather than the rapier which leads to the epee and foil of modern sport fencing. Daggers A common long dagger or "poignard" was a favored companion, carried en-suite with a sword or rapier as a backup weapon or even on its own. The dagger was lightweight, deadly, and elegant. Used primarily as a defensive weapon, dagger fighting was an art itself. Technically, a poniard was square or triangular shaped with no edge, while a dagger had a knife-like blade. Generally, daggers in the Middle Ages were employed point down, pommel up, while those in the Renaissance were used point up with the thumb placed on the hilt. Many later daggers for use with rapiers had elaborate guards and were specially designed for trapping and parrying. Bucklers The buckler (or Italian "rondash" or "bochiero") was a small, agile hand-shield. Used since medieval times, bucklers were round or even square, approx. 8-20" and made of metal, wood, or metal trimmed wood. A single handle (or enarme) was used to hold it in a fist grip and smack, deflect or punch at blows and thrusts. The edge could also be used to strike and block. Some had long metal spikes on the front to attack with. On some later bucklers metal hooks or bars were placed on the front to trap the point of an opponent's rapier. More popular for a method of 16th sword & buckler fighting, they declined in use during the early 17th century as they were inconvenient for urban wear and faster rapiers outmaneuvered them. The Targe A targe (or Italian "rondella") was a small wooden shield with a leather cover and leather or metal trim. Some were also covered with metal studs or spikes. Unlike bucklers, targes were worn on the arm as with typical shields. They were also usually flat rather than convex. Though associated with the Scots, the word "targe" actually comes from small "targets" placed on archery practice dummies. Some forms of medium sized steel shields from the Renaissance are often classed as targes. |
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