Sword

sword, weapon of offense and defense in personal combat, consisting of a blade with a sharp point and one or two cutting edges, set in a hilt with a handle protected by a metal case or cross guard. The sword may have developed from the dagger at the beginning of the Bronze Age. It was not, however, until the more durable iron sword was introduced in the early Iron Age that the sword became an effective weapon. Greek and Roman swords were very short, with pointed ends, and had two cutting edges. Medieval knights used two types of swords: a short sword with a pointed end that was used with one hand and a heavy two-handed sword with a rounded end. During the Middle Ages the best blades were those made by the Arabs in Damascus and Toledo. Swords were widely used in the Middle East and E Asia as well as in Europe. The scimitar, used by the Persians and Arabs, is a curved steel sword. One of the best known of the East Asian swords is the Japanese samurai sword, consisting of a curved single-edged tempered steel blade set in a long handle. As a highly personal weapon the sword attained symbolic importance; surrendering one's sword became a token of submission, and the custom of taking an officer's sword away from him and breaking the blade when he was dismissed from the service in disgrace arose because a sword is the mark of an officer and a gentleman. During the Crusades and later, the sword, because of its shape, frequently was used to symbolize the Cross. The sword is now obsolete as a weapon and is carried in some military units for decorative purposes in times of peace. Special types of swords are the rapier, the épée, and the saber. See fencing.

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sword

Hand weapon consisting of a long metal blade fitted with a handle or hilt. Roman swords had a short, flat blade and a hilt distinct from the blade. Medieval European swords were heavy and equipped with a large hilt and a protective guard, or pommel. The blade was straight, double-edged, and pointed. The introduction of firearms did not eliminate the sword but led to new designs; the discarding of body armour required the swordsman to be able to parry, and the rapier, a double-edged sword with a narrow, pointed blade, came into use. Swords with curved blades were used in India and Persia and were introduced into Europe by the Turks, whose scimitar, with its curved, single-edged blade, was modified in the West to the cavalry sabre. Japanese swords are renowned for their hardness and extreme sharpness; they were the weapon of the samurai. Repeating firearms ended the value of the sword as a military weapon, though its continued use in duels led to the modern sport of fencing. See also kendo.

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sword

instrument of decapitation of early saints. [Christian Symbolism: Appleton, 14]

See : Martyrdom

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Sword

Sycophancy (See FLATTERY.)

Almace

sabre of Turpin. [Fr. Lit.: The Song of Roland]

Angurvadel

of Frithjof; blazed in war, gleamed dimly in peace. [Norse Myth.: LLEI, I: 323]

Balisarda

made by sorceress for killing Orlando. [Ital. Lit.: Orlando Furioso, Benét, 75]

Balmung

mighty sword belonging to Siegfried. [Ger. Lit.: Nibelungenlied]

Barbamouche Climborin’s

sabre. [Fr. Lit.: The Song of Roland]

Colada El Cid’s

two-hilted, solid gold sword. [Span. Lit.: Song of the Cid]

Damocles,

sword of sword hung by a single hair over his head. [Rom. Lit.: Brewer Handbook, 257]

Durindana (Durendal)

Orlando’s unbreakable sword. [Ital. Lit.: Morgante Maggiore, Brewer Handbook, 309]

Excalibur Arthur’s

enchanted sword; extracting it from stone won him crown. [Br. Lit.: Le Morte d’Arthur]

Fragarach

the “Answerer”; Lug’s mighty blade could pierce any armor. [Irish Myth.: Leach, 415]

Gram

belonged to Sigmund; broken by Odin. [Norse Lit.: Volsung Saga]

Gramimond

Valdabrun’s sabre. [Fr. Lit.: The Song of Roland]

Hauteclaire

Oliver’s trusty sabre. [Fr. Lit.: The Song of Roland]

Joyeuse

Charlemagne’s sword; buried with him. [Fr. Lit.: Brewer Dictionary, 594]

Marmorie

Grandoyne’s sabre. [Fr. Lit.: The Song of Roland]

Merveilleuse

Doolin of Mayence’s remarkably sharp sword. [Fr. Lit.: Wheeler, 241]

Mimung

magic sword lent by Wittich to Siegfried. [Norse. Myth.: Wheeler, 244]

Mordure

Arthur’s all-powerful sword, made by Merlin. [Br. Lit.: Faerie Queene]

Morglay

Bevis’s sword. [Br. Lit.: Bevis of Hampton]

Murgleys

Ganelon’s sabre. [Fr. Lit.: The Song of Roland]

Notung

Sigmund’s promised sword, found in ash tree; later, Siegfried’s. [Ger. Opera: Wagner, Valkyrie, Westerman, 236]

Precieuse

sabre of the pagan, Baligant. [Fr. Lit.: The Song of Roland]

Rosse

Alberich’s gift to Otwit; frighteningly fine-edged. [Norse Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 936]

Sanglamore

Braggadocio’s big, bloody glaive. [Br. Lit.: Faerie Queene]

Sautuerdu

Malquiant’s sabre. [Fr. Lit.: The Song of Roland]

Sword of Justice

held by the personification of Justice. [Rom. Trad.: Jobes II, 898]

Tizona

dazzling, golden-hilted sword of the Cid. [Span. Lit.: Song of the Cid]

Zulfagar

sword of Ali, Muhammad’s son. [Islamic Legend: Brewer Handbook, 1066]

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Sword

a thrust and slash weapon for close combat. It consists of a blade (usually straight and sharp on both sides) and a hilt with a crosspiece and a pommel.

The forerunners of the sword were blades consisting of bone bases into which flint pieces were inserted; such blades from the Neolithic have been found in the region of Lake Baikal. The bronze sword was common in Mesopotamia, the Transcaucasus, and Western Europe from the mid-second millennium B.C. The most ancient metal swords were divided into thrusting and slashing swords. In the last third of the second millennium B.C., combined thrusting-slashing swords appeared. The iron swords of the beginning of the first millennium B.C. were similar in form to the bronze swords. In the first half of the first millennium B.C., long iron swords (sometimes with bronze hilts) were used in Europe, the Transcaucasus, and the Middle East. A short sword called an akinak was common among the Scythians. Long slashing swords were used in Europe in the second half of the first millennium B.C. by infantry and heavy cavalry. The ancient Romans (third century B.C.-third century A.D.) had a short broadsword called a gladius for infantry combat and a long slashing sword called a spatha for cavalry combat. In Rus’ the most ancient swords date from the ninth century and existed until the 16th century, at which time they were superseded by the saber. In the 13th century the first Russian thrust swords appeared.

During a special study of the swords preserved in Soviet national museums it was found that many of them have different marks indicating their place of manufacture. In particular, the signatures of Western European artisans have been found, as well as the Russian inscription Liudota KovaV on a sword from the late tenth century. A sword was usually a weapon of the nobility and among many peoples served as a symbol of authority.

REFERENCES

Kirpichnikov, A. N. Drevne-russkoe oruzhie, issue 1: “Mechi i sabli, IX-XIII vv.” Moscow-Leningrad, 1966. (Arkheologiia SSSR: Svod arkheologicheskikh istochnikov, issue EI-36[a].)
Bonnet, H. Die Waffen der Volker des alten Orients. Leipzig, 1926.
Seitz, H. Blankwaffen, vol. 1. Braunschweig [1965]. (BibliothekfurKunst und Antiquitdtenfreunde, vol. 4.)

A. N. KIRPICHNIKOV