Renaissance Swords By Name by Medieval Collectables

Renaissance Swords by Name from Medieval Collectables

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.

Renaissance Back Swords 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.

Renaissance Bastard Swords 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

Renaissance Cut and Thrust Swords 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.

Renaissance Flamberge Swords 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.

Renaissance Hand and a Half Swords 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.

Renaissance Long Swords 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.

Renaissance Masonic Swords 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.

Renaissance Musketeer Swords 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.

Renaissance Schiavona Swords 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.

Renaissance Short Swords 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.

Renaissance Two Handed Swords 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.