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The Bronze Age-style sword and construction methods died out at the end of the early Iron Age (Hallstatt D), around 600-500 BC, when swords were once again replaced by daggers in most of Europe. An exception is the xiphos from Greece, the development of which continued for several more centuries.
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around 15 to 30 cm or 6 to 12 in), a straight double-edged blade of around 80 to 110 cm (31 to 43 in), and weighing approximately 2 to 3 kg (4 lb 7 oz to 6 lb 10 oz).
The sword became differentiated from the dagger during the Bronze Age (c. 3000 BC), when copper and bronze weapons were produced with long leaf-shaped blades and with hilts consisting of an extension of the blade in handle form.
Joseph Swetnam states that the bastard sword is midway in length between an arming sword and a long sword, [23] and Randall Cotgrave's definition seems to imply this, as well. The French épée de passot was also known as épée bâtarde [ citation needed ] (i.e., bastard sword) and also coustille à croix [ 24 ] (literally a cross-hilted blade).
The early bronze swords are seldom over 50 cm (20 in) in length and are sometimes referred to as "short swords". A rather sudden development, perhaps in the mid-third century BC, is the bronze "long sword", typically about a metre long. An example from the First Emperor's mausoleum...
The Mainz Gladius is made of heavily corroded iron and a sheath made of tinned and gilded bronze. The blade was 50–55 cm (20–22 in) long and 7 cm (2.8 in) in width. The sword was 65–70 cm (26–28 in) long. The sword weighed 800 g (1.8 lb). The point of the sword was more triangular than the Gladius Hispaniensis.
The Sword of Goujian (traditional Chinese: 越王勾踐劍; simplified Chinese: 越王勾践剑; pinyin: Yuèwáng Gōujiàn jiàn) [1] is a tin bronze sword, renowned for its unusual sharpness, intricate design and resistance to tarnish rarely seen in artifacts of similar age.
Furthermore Xiphos swords only began to appear centuries after typical Bronze Age weapons - such as the Naue II - had transitioned from bronze to iron. In reality the Bronze Age sword during the Bronze Age was a completely different weapon, and Xiphe were not developed until after the end of the Bronze Age circa 1200 BCE.