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Renaissance swords existed in
great varieties over a number of
centuries. Our Renaissance
swords are authentic replicas of
the weapons used by knights and
warriors throughout the Dark
Ages. Certain common
characteristics can describe the
"generic" Renaissance sword as a
long, wide, straight, double -
edged blade with a simple
cross-guard. Swords might be
designed for one or two - hands.
The typical form was a single
hand weapon used for hacking,
shearing cuts and also for
limited thrusting. This
style developed essentially from
Celtic, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon,
and late Roman forms. The Viking
and early Frankish forms are
also considered to be more
direct ancestors.
Renaissance swords can be
classified (typically by hilt
design) into many categories by
curators, collectors, and
military historians. At
the time, long bladed weapons
were simply referred to as
"swords", or for the longer ones
often a "sword of war", "war -
sword", or even a "long - sword.
During The Renaissance, swords
did not survive as primary
Renaissance weapons. They
became more of a fashion item
than a soldier's weapon.
Fencing was a new Renaissance
sport that required skills such
as elegance and finesse.
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The back-sword
was a
less-common form of single-edged renaissance military cut &
thrust blade with a compound-hilt. A short section of
the back near the point often had a sharpened edge to carry
out cutting strikes without changing the position of the
sword.
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Bastard Swords were
developed in the mid 1400's as a form of long-sword with
specially shaped grips for one or two hands. Bastard swords
typically had longer handles which allowed use by one or
both hands. Bastard swords are also known as Hand-and-a-half
swords. Bastard swords continued to be used by knights
and men-at-arms into the 1500’s.
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Swords
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The term "cut and thrust sword" is a
general
one which
can be applied to a whole range of blade forms (field
swords, side swords, arming swords). However, the
Renaissance military sword is generally characterized by a
swept or compound-hilt, a narrow cut-and-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.
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Thrust Swords
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The flamberge was a massive sword that
evolved in the 16th century, that was popular with officers
and the upper class. It was considered to look both
fashionable and deadly as well as erroneously believed to
inflict a more deadly wound. The Flamberge's huge size and
heavy weight prevented it from being a suitable close
fighting weapon. The flamberge was basically reserved
for defensive use forming skirmish lines and guarding
breeches in siege warfare.
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Swords
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Hand and a half
swords is a modern
term to describe
bastard swords but
it is used in
reference to long
swords. The hand and
a half blade is used
for thrusting and
the length of the
blade is not any
longer than the
longsword. The grip
of the hand and a
half sword was long
enough to
accommodate one hand
or two hands when
used in combat.
These swords appear
around the 16th
century.
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Half Swords
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Long swords were
weapons used mainly during the middle and late Medieval
period. Long swords are both an offensive and defensive
weapon and can be used for parries and deflections, as well
as, cuts and thrusts. Cuts with a long sword are delivered
either as slices or as extremely powerful chopping blows.
Although it is primarily used with two hands, a long sword
is still capable of being wielded with a single hand,
allowing the off hand to be used for grappling, punching,
and grabbing an opponent or his sword.
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The Masonic sword is a
centerpiece of a group called
the Freemasons. The Freemasons
were a group of stone workers,
craftsmen, blacksmiths and
architects, that worked for the
material and moral improvement
of humanity. Their motto, “What
You Make, Makes You,” succinctly
defines their purpose and
character.
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Swords
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The Musketeers are a special
corps of swordsmen that Luis XIII established to protect the crown
and his wife Queen Anne. The famous line "All for one and one for
all", is a cry of the three musketeers before they attack there
enemies. The three musketeers were masters of swordplay and lived by
a strict code of ethics.
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Swords
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The term "two-hander"
or "two-handed sword" (espée a deure mains or spada da due
mani) was in use as early as 1400 and 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
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Swords
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The schiavona was a
renaissance sword that became popular in Italy in 16th and 17th
century. Stemming from the 16th century sword of the Venetian Doge
guard, the name came from the fact that the guard consisted largely
of Dalmatian Slavs (Schiavoni). Classified as a true broadsword this
war sword had a wider blade than its contemporary civilian rapiers.
The Schiavona was basket hilted (often with imbedded quillion for an
upper guard) and
double edged. They
range from highly
decorative to bare
bone plain.
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Swords
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The Short Sword also called
arming sword refers
to the single handed
cruciform swords of
the Middle Ages.
After the 14th
Century the short
sword was hung from
the belt of the
knight, while the
long sword hung from
the saddle. The
Short sword was
designed primarily
as cutting weapons
to shear through
mail and/or armor,
these weapons were
big but by no means
unwieldy. Short
swords typically
were used with a
shield or buckler.
They were the
standard military
sword of the knight
(merely called a war
sword) until
technological
changes led to the
rise of the long
sword or
bastard-sword during
the 14th century.
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Swords
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