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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).
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the shorter small sword became an essential fashion accessory in European countries and the New World, though in some places such as the Scottish Highlands large swords as the basket-hilted broadsword were preferred, and most wealthy men and military officers carried one slung from a belt.
The most obvious comparison is the scarce extent of surviving manuscripts. While there are many Italian and comparatively numerous German manuscripts, there are only three English Longsword treatises.
Zweihänders that were 4 kg (8.8 lb) in weight or more were confined to parade and ceremonial use. [citation needed] Early Zweihänders were simply larger versions of longswords. Later examples had Parierhaken ("parrying hooks") at the top of the ricasso as well as side rings on the hilt. Swords continued to be made without one or both features ...
There is no indication in Tacitus that they were cavalry. The next mention of spathae is in the 5th century, by Vegetius, now as a weapon carried by infantry. The spatha remained in use in the Byzantine Empire and its army. In the Byzantine court, spatharios (σπαθάριος), or "bearer of the spatha", was a mid-level court title.
The term claymore is an anglicisation of the Gaelic claidheamh-mòr "big/great sword", attested in 1772 (as Cly-more) with the gloss "great two-handed sword". [3] The sense "basket-hilted sword" is contemporaneous, attested in 1773 as "the broad-sword now used ... called the Claymore, (i.e., the great sword)", [4] although OED observes that this usage is "inexact, but very common".
They were originally made of copper, followed by bronze and finally iron. Among communities such as the Persians and Hebrews, the sword was short and equivalent to the Roman gladius. There did however exist longswords, slightly curved swords, and sickle-like swords similar to the Egyptian khopesh.
Ancient Greek weapons and armor were primarily geared towards combat between individuals. Their primary technique was called the phalanx , a formation consisting of massed shield wall, which required heavy frontal armor and medium-ranged weapons such as spears. [ 1 ]