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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 90 cm were rare 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 thrust. 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

The Naue Type II Swords which spread from Southern Europe into the Mediterranean, have been linked by Robert Drews with the Late Bronze Age collapse.See(1)

Lapse.[edit] Iron Age

Main articles: Iron Age sword and Migration period sword

Iron swords became increasingly common from the 13th century BC.^{[citation
needed]} The

Hittites, the Mycenaean Greeks,^{[citation
needed]} and the Proto-Celtic Hallstatt culture (8^th

century BC) 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 well-manufactured 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 at times 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.

[edit] Middle Ages

Main articles: Viking sword Arming sword

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 saw again a more standardized production, but the basic design remained 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 remained 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 Jian or dao, the Korean hwandudaedo are known from the early medieval Three Kingdoms. The Japanese katana, production of which is recorded from ca. 900 AD (see Japanese sword), is derived from

the jian.

[edit] Late Middle Ages and Renaissance

Main articles: Longsword and Zweihänder

From around 1300 to 1500, 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, was common, and a number of 15th and 16th century Fechtbücher offering instructions on their use survive. Another variant was the specialized armour-piercing swords of the estoc type. The longsword became popular

due to its extreme reach and cutting and thrusting abilities. The estoc became popular because of its ability to thrust into the gaps between plates of armor. The grip was sometimes wrapped in wire or coarse animal hide to provide a better grip and to make it harder to knock a sword out of the user's hand.

In the 16th century, the large Doppelhänder (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 saw the return 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 decline in military use as technology changed warfare. However, it maintained a key role in civilian self-defense.

[edit] Modern Age

Main articles :Rapier, Backsword

Some think the rapier evolved from the Spanish espada ropera in the 16th century. The rapier differed from most earlier swords in that it was not a military weapon but a primarily civilian sword. Both the rapier and the Italian schiavona developed the

crossguard into a basket-shaped guard for hand protection. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the shorter smallsword became an essential fashion accessory in European countries and the New World, and most wealthy men and military officers 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-defense 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.

The hilt of the 18th century smallsword used by Captain John Paul Schott in the American Revolutionary War.

Swords continued in use, but were increasingly limited to military commissioned officers' and non-commissioned 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. Swords and other dedicated melee weapons were used occasionally by various countries during World War II, but typically as a secondary weapon as they were outclassed by contemporaneous firearms.

[edit] Terminology

Hilt of a sword

Full Sword in scabbard

The sword consists of the blade and the hilt. The term scabbard applies to the cover for the sword blade when not in use

[edit] 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 forstraight 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, while more symmetrical designs allow the long and short edges to be inverted by turning the sword of one's hand on the hilt.

The blade may have grooves known as fullers for lightening the blade while allowing it to retain its strength and stiffness, similar to the effect produced by a steel I-beam used 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 blades ground to a sharpened 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.

[edit] Hilt

The hilt is the collective term of the parts allowing the handling and control 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

[edit] Scabbard

The scabbard is a protective cover often provided for the sword blade. Over the millennia, scabbards have been made of many materials, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel. The metal fitting where the blade enters the leather or metal scabbard is called the throat, which is often part of a larger scabbard mount, or locket, that bears a carrying ring or stud to facilitate wearing the sword. The blade's point in leather scabbards is usually protected by a metal tip, or chape, which on both leather and metal scabbards is often given further protection from wear by an extension called a drag, or shoe.

[edit] Typology

See also Types of swords

Swords can fall into categories of varying scope. The main distinguishing characteristics include blade shape (cross-section, taper, 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 object.

[edit] Single-edged and double-edged swords

As noted above, the terms longsword, broad sword, great sword, and Gaelic claymore are used relative to the era under consideration, and each term designates 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 thrusting. 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 akin to their European counterparts.

Europeans also frequently refer to their own single-edged weapons as swords — generically backswords, including sabres. Other terms include falchion, scimitar, cutlass, dussack, Messer 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.

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.

[edit] 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 Medieval Europe, 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 dueling swords, like the rapier and the smallsword, in use from Early Modern times.

· The Japanese short sword, or

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