Even more so than with Asian arts, European martial arts possessed a seemingly endless variety of weaponry.

as a term for medieval blades actually originated with Victorian collectors in the early 19th century. The " true

broadsword" is actually an 18th century short naval cutlass, and the term did not take on the meaning of a

wide-bladed medieval sword until the later 19th century. Despite popular use by collectors, museum curators, fight

directors, fantasy-gamers and authors, the word broadsword is a blatantly incorrect term for the Medieval sword.

Medieval swords appeared in a variety of forms, but could be described as having a long, wide, straight,

double-edged blade with a simple cross-guard (or "cruciform" hilt). The typical form was a single hand weapon

used for hacking, shearing cuts and also for limited thrusting which evolved from the Celtic and Germanic swords of

late Antiquity. In period, however, swords were simply referred to as "swords", or later in the period, a "hand and

a half sword" might be called a "sword of war" (French epee du guerre), or even a "long-sword". When later

worn on the belt by mounted knights, a sword might be called an "arming-sword" or "riding-sword." In later

Elizabethan times, the one-handed blade became known as a "short-sword" while the larger variety were referred

to as "long-swords".

The various kinds of long bladed Medieval swords that had handles long enough to be used in two hands were

deemed long-swords (German "Langenschwert" or Italian "spada longa"). Long-swords, war-swords, or great

swords are characterized by having both a long grip and a long blade. They could be used on foot, mounted and with

or without a shield. The term war-sword or "epee de guerre" from the 1300's referred to larger swords that were

carried on the saddle as opposed to worn on the belt, and were usually only used in battle. The familiar term

"hand-and-a-half sword" commonly used in reference to long-swords has the same dubious, Victorian, pedigree as

the term "broadsword." As a convenient classification, long-swords include great-swords, bastard-swords, and

estocs.

Great-Swords -- are infantry swords which cannot be used in a single-hand. The term "great-sword" has come to

mean a form of long-sword that is still not a true two-hander. Although they are "two hand" swords, great-swords

are not the specialized weapons of later two-handed swords. They are, however, the weapons often depicted in

various German sword manuals. Blade shape could be flat and wide, or narrow and hexagonal, or diamond shaped.

These larger swords were capable of facing heavier weapons such as pole-arms and larger axes, and were

devastating against light armour. Long, two-handed swords with narrower, flat hexagonal blades and thinner tips

(such as the Italian "spadone") were an evolutionary response to plate-armour.

Bastard Swords developed in the mid 1400's as a form of long-sword with specially shaped grips for one or two

hands. These swords typically had longer handles with special "half-grips" which could be used by either one or

both hands. In general, the period term "bastard sword" refers to longer, tapered swords with these special

half-grips more so than to wide blades. A slender, narrowly pointed Italian long-sword or great-sword might also

be known as a Spadone. Bastard swords continued to be used by knights and men-at-arms into the 1500's. A

form of German arming sword with a bastard-style compound hilt was called a "Degen" ("knight's sword").

Two-handed Swords are really a classification of sword applied to Renaissance, rather than Medieval,

weapons. They are the specialized forms of the later 1500-1600's, known in German as "Dopplehander"

("both-hander") or in English as "slaughterswords" (named after the German "Schlachterschwerter" -- battle

swords). Whole fencing schools appeared In Germany, England, to teach their use in single-combat. True

two-handed swords have compound-hilts with side-rings and enlarged cross-guards of up to 12 inches. Most

have small, pointed lugs or flanges protruding from their blades 4-8 inches below their guard. The lugs provide

greater defense, and can allow another blade to be momentarily trapped or bound up. They can also be used to

strike with. Although collectors have come to call certain wave or flame-bladed two-handed swords

"flamberges", these swords of the early-to-mid 1500's and are more appropriately known as "flammards" or

"flambards" (the German" Flammenschwert").

A rarer form of sword that was little more than a meat cleaver, possibly even a simple kitchen and barnyard tool

adopted for war. Indeed, it may come from a French word for a sickle, "fauchon". It can be seen in Medieval art

being used against lighter armors by warriors of all stations. The weapon is entirely European in origin, and is

similar to the German "dusack," and has been linked to the Dark Age long knife or "seax." More common in the

Renaissance, it was considered a weapon to be proficient with in addition to the sword. The falchion appeared

in several forms, but mostly all forms have a single edge and rounded point. This wide, heavy blade was

weighted more towards the point could deliver tremendous blows, making it ideal for combating heavy

armours.

was much thicker than the cutting edge thus creating a wedge type shape which was said to increase the weapons

cutting capacity. Also known as a "Mortuary Sword", or the German "Reitschwert."

A form of "transition" sword from the heavy, wide Medieval blade to the thin, edgeless rapier of the Renaissance,

they were used for hacking, slashing, stabbing, and had compound hilts used to employ a "fingered" grip. Unlike

the later rapier, which was wholly a civilian weapon, the c&t sword was a military weapon that became popular for

civilian use until superseded by the rapier. Various forms of later military cut & thrust swords include the:

schiavona, spadroon, hanger, and Espadon. These are the swords discussed by such Masters as George Silver,

Achille Marozzo, and Di Grassi.

A form of long, rigid, pointed, triangular or square bladed and virtually edgeless sword designed for thrusting into

plate-armor was the estoc. Called a "stocco" in Italian and a "tuck" in English, they were used with two hands and

similar to great-swords (but were unrelated to later rapiers). They were used in two hands with the second hand

often gripping the blade. Rapiers are sometimes mistakenly referred to as tucks, and may have been referred to as

such by the English.

umbo at the center of the shield. It has become a matter of convenience to classify the buckler as a small,

agile hand-shield. The definition is a convenient one to use but the reader should be aware that the ancients

were not so pedantic about such definitions and used the term indifferently. Used since medieval times,

bucklers were round or even square, approx. 8-20" and made of metal, wood, or metal trimmed wood. It was

usually held in a fist grip and used to deflect or punch at blows and thrusts. The edge could also be used to

strike and block. Some had long metal spikes on the front to attack with, or bars and hooks placed on the front

to trap the point of an opponent's rapier. Italian "rondash" or "bochiero."

A targe ("targa" or Italian "rondella") was a small wooden shield with a leather cover and leather or metal trim.

Some later Renaissance versions were made entirely of steel. Targets were worn on the arm as with typical

shields. They were also usually flat rather than convex. The "targe" actually comes from small "targets" placed

on archery practice dummies.

English infantry forces during the High Middle Ages, and remained such for centuries. This fearsome weapon

and was capable of killing both armoured opponents and horses, an important factor when facing cavalry

forces. Billhooks came in a large variety of shapes and dimensions.

The "pollaxe" is something of a misnomer, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the term "poll" is a period reference

to the skull, not a "pole" on which the axe head rode. Secondly, the hache was often not an axe at all. Based

on surviving examples, there seem to have been two principle forms of hache. The first bore an edged, axe

shaped cutting blade on the front side, a small hammer head or curved spike on the back, and was surmounted

with a long rectangular or diamond cross-sectioned spike at the top of the haft. The second form, usually referred

to as the "bec de faucon," had a large hammer head instead of an axe, and was backed with a spike or curved

fluke. Both weapons either terminated in a heavy steel counterweight, or a sharpened buttspike, and seemed to

range anywhere from five to seven or more feet long. Thalhoffer and De Liberi both provide many instructional

plates on the use of the hache, but the most important document is the anonymous "Le Jeu de la Hache," of the

mid-15th century, and translated into modern English by Dr. Sydney Anglo.

This was the nickname for corn flails used by farmers to thresh their corn. Essentially, a attached to a six foot

hart, this was a rare, but formidable weapon. Military versions would often have spikes, or lead "nubs," at the

end of the striking arm.

The shortstaff eventually became known as the quarterstaff, and could vary in length between 6 feet to 9 feet,

while the longstaff would be around twelve feet in length. The English shortstaff fighting system was a composite

of quarter-staffing and half-staffing. The former took its name from the fact that a quarter of the length of the staff

was held between the hands with the tip of the weapon pointing directly at the opponent. The latter from the fact

that half the length of the staff was held between the hands, with the hands being held equidistant from each end

of the staff. Half-staffing, because the staff was held at right-angles to the body, was for close-in fighting,

whereas quarter-staffing was used to fight at longer range . Ironically, thanks to theatrical performances and

stage combats of the 17th - 19th centuries, what we think of as "quarterstaffing" is really "halfstaffing."

The maul is simply the old English name for the mallet. A utility agricultural tool, it was often faced with lead.

Although it does not seem like much of a combat weapon, the story of the English knight, Billefort, using a maul

weighing twenty-five pounds when fighting, and the use of the weapon by the English longbowman in combat

against French knights at Agincourt, would suggest otherwise.

Finally, the Chicago Swordplay Guild is indebted in particular to John Clements for the German terminology of the various sword forms, and most importantly, the distinctions between the Renaissance "cut and thrust sword" and the wholly distinct "rapier." Mr. Clement's classifications appear by permission.