Sword
Sword (from
Old English sweord, cognate to
Old High German Schwert, literally "wounding tool" from a
Proto-Indo-European root
*swer- "to wound, to hurt") is a term for a long edged weapon, fundamentally consisting of a
blade, usually with two edges for striking and cutting, a point for thrusting, and a
hilt for gripping. The basic intent and
physics of
swordsmanship remain fairly constant, but the actual techniques vary among cultures and periods as a result of the differences in blade design and purpose. The names given to many swords in
mythology,
literature, and
history reflect the high prestige of the weapon (see
list of swords).
Bronze Age
Humans have manufactured and used bladed weapons from the
Bronze Age onwards. The sword developed from the
dagger when the construction of longer blades became possible, from the early
2nd millennium BC. Swords longer than 3 feet were very uncommon and not practical during the bronze age as this length exceeds the
tensile strength of bronze. It was not until the development of stronger alloys such as
steel, that longswords became practical for
combat.
The hilt at first simply allowed a firm grip, and prevented the hand from slipping onto the blade when executing a stab.
Bronze Age swords with typical leaf-shaped blades first appear near the
Mediterranean and the
Black Sea, and in
Mesopotamia. Swords from the
Nordic Bronze Age from ca.
1400 BC show characteristic spiral patterns.Sword production in
China is attested from the Bronze Age
Shang Dynasty.
Iron Age
Iron swords became increasingly common from the
13th century BC. The
Hittites, the
Mycenean Greeks, and the
Proto-Celtic Hallstatt culture figured among the early users of iron swords. Iron has the advantage of mass-production due to the wider availability of the raw material. Early iron swords were not comparable to later
steel blades; being brittle, they were even inferior to good bronze weapons, 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 fully equipped with bronze weapons.
Eventually
smiths learned that by adding an amount of
carbon (added during
smelting in the form of
charcoal) in the iron, they could produce an improved alloy (now known as
steel). Several different methods of swordmaking existed in ancient times, including, most famously,
pattern welding. Over time, different methods developed all over the world.
By the time of
Classical Antiquity and the Parthian and Sassanid Empires in Iran, iron swords were common. The Greek
xiphos and the Roman
gladius are typical examples of the type, measuring some 60 to 70 cm. The late
Roman Empire introduced the longer
Spatha (the term for its wielder,
spatharius, became a court rank in Constantinople), and from this time, the term "
long sword" is applied to swords comparatively long for their respective periods.
Chinese steel swords make their appearance from the
3rd century BC Qin Dynasty. The Chinese
Dao (刀
pinyin dāo) is single-edged, sometimes translated as
sabre or
broadsword, and the
Jian (劍
pinyin jiàn) double edged.
Middle Ages
|
replica of a Roman Spatha |
The Spatha type remained popular throughout the
Migration period and well into the
Middle Ages.
Vendel Age Spathas were decorated with Germanic artwork (not unlike the Germanic
bracteates fashioned after Roman coins). The
Viking Age sees again a more standardized production, but the basic design remains indebted to the Spatha.
It is only from the
11th century that
Norman swords begin to develop the
quillons or
crossguard. During the
Crusades of the
12th to (
13th) century, this cruciform type of
arming sword remains essentially stable, with variations mainly concerning the shape of the
pommel. These swords were designed as cutting weapons, although effective points were becoming common to counter improvements in armour.Single-edged weapons became popular throughout Asia. Derived from the
Chinese Dao, the
Korean
Hwandudaedo are known from the early medieval
Three Kingdoms. The
Japanese
Katana (刀; かたな), production of which is recorded from ca.
900 AD (see
Japanese sword), is also derived from the Dao.
Late Middle Ages and Renaissance
From around
1300, in concert with improved
armour, innovative sword designs evolved more and more rapidly. The main transition was the lengthening of the grip, allowing two-handed use, and a longer blade. By
1400 this type of sword, at the time called
langes Schwert (longsword) or
spadone, were common, and a number of
15th and
16th century Fechtbücher teaching their use survive. Another variant was the specialization of armour-piercing swords of the
Estoc type. The
longsword became popular due to is extreme reach and cutting and thrusting abilities. The
estoc became popular because of its ability to thrust into the gaps in-between plates of armor.The grip was sometimes wrapped in wire or coarse animal hide to make it harder to knock a sword out of the hand and to prevent the sword from slipping out.
In the
16th century, the large
Dopplehänder (called the
Zweihänder today; both German names refer to the use of both hands) concluded the trend of ever increasing sword sizes (mostly due to the beginning of the decline of plate armor and the advent of firearms), and the early Modern Age returned to lighter one-handed weapons.
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 find a greater role in civilian self-defense than in military use as technology changed warfare.
Modern Age
The
rapier evolved from the Spanish
espada ropera in the
16th century. Both the rapier and the Italian
schiavona developed the crossguard into a basket for hand protection. During the
17th and
18th centuries, the shorter
smallsword became an essential fashion accessory in European countries, and most wealthy men carried one. Both the smallsword and the rapier remained popular
dueling swords well into the 18th century.
As the wearing of swords fell out of fashion,
canes took their place in a gentleman's wardrobe. 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.
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, paralleling the development of reliable
handguns.
Swords continued in use, but were increasingly limited to military Commissioned
officers' and Noncommissioned officers' ceremonial
uniforms, although most armies retained heavy cavalry until well after
World War I. For example, the British Army formally adopted a completely new design of
cavalry sword in
1908, almost the last change in British Army weapons before the outbreak of the war. The last units of British heavy cavalry switched to using
armoured vehicles as late as
1938.
Cavalry charges still occurred as late as
World War II during which Japanese and
Pacific Islanders also occasionally used swords, but by then an enemy armed with
machine guns,
barbed wire and
armored vehicles would usually completely outmatch swordsmen.
 |
Sword_parts.jpg |
The sword consists of the
blade and the
hilt. The name
scabbard applies to the case which covers the sword when not in use.
Blade
Three types of attacks can be performed with the blade: striking, cutting, and thrusting. The blade can be double-
edged or single-edged, the latter often having a secondary "false edge" near the tip; when handling the sword, the
long or
true edge is the one used for straight cuts or strikes, while the
short or
false edge is the one used for backhand strikes. Some hilt designs define which edge is the 'long' one, whilemore symmetrical designs allow the long and short edges to be inverted by turning the sword.
The blade may have grooves or
fullers for the purpose of lightening and stiffening the blade while allowing it to retain its strength, in the same manner as an
"I" beam in construction. The blade may taper more or less sharply towards a point, used for thrusting. 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 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 forward of the guard that is left completely unsharpened, and can be gripped with a finger to increase tip control. Many swords have no ricasso. On some large weapons, such as the
German Zweihänder, a leather 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
maker's mark. On Japanese blades this mark appears on the
tang (part of the blade that extends into the hilt) under the grip.
* In the case of a rat-tail tang, the maker welds a thin rod to the end of the blade at the crossguard; this rod goes through the grip (in 20th-century and later construction). This occurs most commonly in decorative replicas, or cheap
sword-like objects. Traditional sword-making does not use this construction method, which does not serve for traditional sword usage as the sword can easily break at the welding point.
* In traditional construction, the
swordsmith forged the tang as a part of the sword rather than welding it on. Traditional tangs go through the grip: this gives much more durability than a rat-tail tang. Swordsmiths 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.
From the
18th century onwards, swords intended for slashing, i.e. with an edge, have been curved with the radius of curvature equal to the distance from the swordman's body at which it was to be used. This allowed the blade to have a sawing effect rather than simply delivering a heavy cut. European swords, intended for use at
arm's length, had a
radius of
curvature of around a meter.
Middle Eastern swords, intended for use with the arm bent, had a smaller radius.
Hilt
The
hilt is the collective term of the parts allowing the handling of the blade, consisting of the
grip, the
pommel, and a simple or elaborate
guard, which in post-
Viking Age swords could consist of only a
crossguard (called
cruciform hilt). The pommel, in addition to improving the sword's balance and grip, can also be used as a blunt instrument at close range. It may also have a
tassel or
sword knot.
The
tang consists of the extension of the blade structure through the hilt.
Swords can fall into categories of varying scope. The main distinguishing characteristics include blade shape (cross-section, tapering and length), shape and size of hilt and pommel, age and place of origin.
For any other type than listed below, and even for uses other than as a weapon, see the article
Sword-like objectSingle-edged and Double-edged swords
As noted above, the terms
longsword,
broad sword and
great sword (and
Gaelic claymore) are used relative to the era under consideration and do themselves designate a particular type of sword.
One strict definition of a sword restricts it to a straight, double-edged bladed weapon designed for both slashing and stabbing. However, general usage of the term remains inconsistent and it has important cultural overtones, so that commentators almost universally recognize the single-edged swords such as Asian weapons (
dāo 刀,
Katana 刀) as "swords", simply because they have a prestige very similar to that which attaches to the European sword.
Europeans also frequently refer to their own single-edged weapons as swords — generically
backswords, including
sabres. Other terms include
falchion,
scimitar,
cutlass, or
mortuary sword. Many of these refer to essentially identical weapons, and the different names may relate to their use in different countries at different times.
A
machete as a
tool resembles such a single-edged sword and serves to cut through thick vegetation, and indeed many of the terms listed above describe weapons that originated as farmers' tools used on the battlefield.
Single-handed
*
Bronze Age swords, length ca. 60 cm, leaf shaped blade.
*
Iron Age swords like the
Xiphos,
Gladius and
Jian 劍, similar in shape to their Bronze Age predecessors.
*
Spatha, measuring ca. 80–90 cm.
*The classical
arming sword of the
Crusades, measuring up to ca. 110 cm.
*The late medieval Swiss
baselard and the Renaissance Italian
Cinquedea and German
Katzbalger essentially re-introduce the functionality of the Spatha, coinciding with the strong cultural movement to emulate the Classical world.
*The
cut & thrust swords of the Renaissance, similar to the older arming sword but balanced for increased thrusting.
*Light
duelling swords, like the
rapier and the
smallsword, in use from
Early Modern times.
*The Japanese short sword, or
Wakizashi*(Bastard/hand and a half sword)
Two-handed
|
Katana of the 16th or 17th Century, with its saya. |
*The Japanese samurai sword, or
Katana,
Tachi and
Nodachi*The
longsword (and bastard sword/hand and a half sword) of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
*The 16th century Dopplehänder or
Zweihänder.
*The Chinese anti-cavalry sword,
zhanmadao , of the Song Dynasty.
*The East Indian Kris, with a wavy 2-edged blade.
Training swords
In both Europe and Asia, wooden "swords" were created to practice fencing without the physical danger of a real sword. These were known as
wasters in Europe and
bokken in Japan. Special sparring weapons, such as the bamboo
shinai, the wooden
singlestick, and the steel
Federschwerter, were also devised and used.
Certain martial arts styles, such as
kendo, use shinai as their primary weapons, both in training and in competition.
Classification
Jan Petersen in
De Norske Vikingsverd ("The Norwegian Viking Swords",
1919) introduced the most widely-used classification.
Ewart Oakeshott in
The Sword in The Age of Chivalry (
1964, revised 1981) introduced a system of classification for medieval sword blades into types, numbered X – XXII as a continuation of Wheeler's system.
*Real swords can be used to administer various
physical punishments: to perform either capital punishment by decapitation (the use of the sword, an honourable weapon on military men, was regarded a privilege) or non-surgical
amputation.
*Similarly paddle-like sword-like devices for
physical punishment are used in Asia, in western terms for
paddling or
caning, depending whether the implement is flat or round. For example, the Chinese movie
Farewell to my concubine (1993 - see IMDb [
1]) shows how a flat, not even very hard type of paddle, called the master's sword, is used intensively to discipline young opera trainees both on the (usually bared) buttock and on the hand (even drawing blood).
*The
shinai, a practice sword, is also used in Japan as a
spanking implement, more common in prized private extracurricular schools (illustrated in these 1975 and 1977 articles [
2] & [
3]) than the US school paddling; in fact hundreds of cases of illegal corporal punishment were reported from public schools as well.
*
The sword can
symbolise
violence,
combat, or
military intervention. Jesus' statement, "Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword" uses the term in this sense. The Arabic expression
Jihad bis saif 'struggle by the sword' means 'holy' war for IslamAnother example of this metaphorical significance comes in the old saying "The
pen is mightier than the sword" -- attributed to
Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
In the following cases, the sword stands for arms in general, and has often been retained as a symbol even after it had in operational practice been replaced with firearms etcetera.
*Swords form a suit in the
Tarot deck (replaced by spades in the
French deck of
playing cards). In the Tarot the sword represents air, as well as intelligence.
*The sword often functions as a symbol of
masculinity and particularly -since its form lends itself to this, especially in erect position- as a
phallic symbol of
virility. For example, "
sword swallowing" is used as an
euphemism of
fellatio.
*Swords are also used as emblem or insignia (in or on formal dress such as uniforms, badges, various objects, even coats of arms), especially:
** as symbol of power, such as a
Sword of State,
Sword of Mercy,
Curtana and
Sword of Justice (all can be used as
regalia, in England five in total during the coronation);
** as symbol of armed force, or of a corps entitled to use force as the strong arm of the law, as in military and police insignia, or of a unit (e.g. regiment) of such a corps - as these are numerous, inevitably many variations and combinations (two crossed swords, or with a laurel wreath, crown, national or founder/patron's emblem etcetera) are used.
*Its symbolic meaning is also reflected in the existence of prestigious titles, linking people of valor to it, such as (in Islamic traditions):
**
Sword of religion**
sword of the faith**
Sword of the State**
Sword of War*It can be awarded as an honorary attribute, like a decoration, known as
sword of honour*Crossed swords have their own particular symbolism, and are in the
Miscellaneous Symbols area of
Unicode at U+2694 ("):
**On a map: a
site of battle**In
genealogy or
biography: signifying that a person was
killed in action*It is also not unusual for swords to represent reason - as in "cutting through" a series of elements in a problem in order to leave only those with proven relevance, for example.
*Symbol for bravery for fighting a juste cause,
Lady Justice sword symbolize bravery of witnesses to stay neutral even against own kin.
Apart from the abovementioned types of symbolical swords, the following individually named swords are noteworthy:
Swords in History
*
Snake Sword, which was wielded by the great king
Asoka.
*
Sword of Gou Jian, a historical artifact from the
Spring and Autumn Period.
*
Green Dragon Crescent Blade, Sword of
Guan Yu, a military general of ancient China during the
Three Kingdoms period.
*the
Seven-Branched Sword, which
Wa received from
Baekje.
*
Honjo Masamune, Sword of the
Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603.
*
Jewelled Sword of Offering, Sword of
King George IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1820-1830).
*Sword of
Boabdil, Sword of the last Moorish King in Spain.
*
Tizona,
El Cid personal sword which exist to this day in
Spain as a national treasure.
Swords of Myth and Legend
|
Artist Britton LaRoche. In Welsh legend, Arthur's sword is known as Caledfwlch. |
|
In this painting Ravana is seen cutting the wings of Jatayu with his sword Chandrahas. |
*Arondight - Sword of
Lancelot*
Attila the Hun's sword, which he claimed was the sword of Mars, the Roman god of war
*
Balmung (
Nothung)- Sword of
Siegfried, hero of the
Nibelungenlied*
Caladbolg - Sword of
Fergus mac Róich*Chandrahas (Moon blade) - King
Ravana's swotd in the
Indian epics
Ramayana and
Mahabharatha*
Claíomh Solais - Sword of Nuada Airgeadlámh, legendary king of Ireland
*
Crocea Mors - Sword of
Julius Caesar*
Curtana - Sword of
Ogier the Dane , a legendary Danish hero
*
Durandal - Sword of
Roland, one of
Charlemagne's knights
*
Excalibur/Caliburn/Caledflwch - Sword of
King Arthur*
Fragarach - Sword of
Manannan mac Lir and
Lugh Lamfada*
Gram - Sword of
Siegfried*
Hauteclere - Sword of
Olivier, a French hero depicted in the
Song of Roland*
Hrunting - Sword of
Beowulf*
Joyeuse - Sword of
Charlemagne*
Kusanagi - Sword of
Susanoo*
Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegar - Sword of
King Solomon*
Tyrfing - Cursed sword that causes eventual death to its wielder and their kin
*
Zulfiqar - Sword of
MuhammadSwords of Modern Fiction
*
Lightsaber: Sword concept featured in the
Star Wars universe.
*
Various swords from
J. R. R. Tolkien's
Middle Earth, including
Narsil (later
Andúril),
Sting,
Glamdring,
Orcrist,
Ringil.
*Various swords, and variations thereof, are found in the video game series
Final Fantasy, including the
Masamune and
others.
*The
Vorpal blade is a sword from the poem
Jabberwocky. It has been adopted into the
Dungeons & Dragons mythos as a type of magic sword, has since become common in fantasy.
*
Master Sword used by Link in the Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time
*
Types of swords*
Swordsmanship**
Historical European Martial Arts***
German school of swordsmanship***
Italian school of swordsmanship**
Chinese martial arts**
Eskrima (Filipino Martial Arts)
**
Fencing**
Kenjutsu*
Backsword**
Katana*
sword-like objects**
maquahuitl*
myArmoury.com Featured Content and Articles*
A Beginner's Glossary of Sword Terms*
Anatomy of the Sword*
How Were Swords Really Made? by John Clements (ARMA)
*
How Stuff Works: How Sword Making Works*
Medieval Sword Resource Site (vikingsword.com)
*
Swords around the World*
Multi-Era and Collectable Swords Site*
The Oakeshott Institute*
Japanese Sword Arts FAQ*
Korean sword arts by Master craftsman Hong Seok-hyeon*
Sword Forum International*
Wikibooks:Sword construction
