Grant Hall wrote:Hey guys, I'm trying to research 17th century weapons, and combat, both civilian, but more importantly, battlefield.
Most swords I've looked into seem to go out of use by the late 16th century or earlier.
It seems pretty clear that civilians made use of Rapiers, but what was the soldier's sword?
Look just that little bit harder. 17th-century military swords were direct descendants of 16th-century types and generally looked rather similar. The cavalry and the better sort of officers often went with swords quite similar to the A&A
Town Guard sword or the
Cavalier rapier or Pappenheimers like the
Dresden rapier. In fact, you could see almost any style of 17th-century rapier hilt made with wider blades capable of some serious cutting. Later on (especially from the 1670s/80s onwards) you start seeing Walloon swords and the like, which (once again) were the direct descendants of earlier 17th-century forms like Pappenheimers and Mortuaries. There were also simpler hilt styles for common soldiers' swords--think of the forerunners of 18th-century hangers and briquets.
Finally, how predominant were firearms on the battlefield, is this the century that saw armies of pikemen and swordsman replaced by entire armies of gunmen?
Not really. Firearms became steadily more important, but by the end of the century there were many European armies that still retained a number of pikemen in their infantry units (though in a smaller proportion, usually one Pike to two or three Shot) because pikes were still seen as useful for instilling an aggressive spirit, with a particularly powerful effect in driving bayonet charges ahead. The Swedes were particularly successful with this (in the early 18th century!) until the Russians attritioned them to death in the Great Northern War.
