Types of swords
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This is a list of types of swords.
The term sword is here used in a narrow sense. This is not a general list of bladed weapons and does not include the machete or similar "sword-like" weapons.
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[edit] Early history
- Bronze Age sword
- Khopesh (egyptian)
- Iron Age sword
- Harpe (Greek mythology)
[edit] Western swords
[edit] Late Antiquity
[edit] Middle Ages
- Viking sword (early medieval spatha)
- Arming sword (high medieval knightly sword)
- Longsword (late medieval)
- Estoc (thrust-oriented)
- two-handed claymore (late medieval Scottish)
- Curtana (a medieval term for a ceremonial sword)
[edit] Renaissance and early modern
16th to 17th centuries
- Espada ropera/spada da lato (early 16th century)
- Zweihänder (16th century German)
- Flamberge (properly called Flammard)
- Basket-hilted swords
- Broadsword (16th century English)
- Schiavona (Italian basket-hilted sword)
- Mortuary sword (17th century cavalry basket-hilted sword)
- Basket-hilted Claymore (17th to 18th century Scottish)
- Backsword (as a term for a specific weapon type, this refers to the swords of 16th to 17th century English cavalry)
- Katzbalger (16th century German short sword)
- Cinquedea/Anelace (Italian short sword)
- Executioner's sword (16th century swords designed for executions, especially in Germany)
- Rapier (17th century development of the Spanish type)
- Swiss sword (16th and 17th centuries)
[edit] Modern
18th and 19th centuries
- Smallsword (18th century)
- Bilbo[dubious ]
- Spadroon
- Sabre[dubious ] (adopted in 18th century cavalry)
- Pistol sword (19th century novelty item)
- Hunting sword
- Modern fencing (sport equipment)
- U.S. regulation swords (sabres, and in some instances fascine knives shaped like short swords)
[edit] Near Eastern sword ("scimitar")
All of the Islamic world during the 16th to 18th century, including the Ottoman Empire, Persia and Mughal India, were influenced by the saif or "scimitar" type of single-edged curved sword. Via the Mameluke sword this also gave rise to the European cavalry sabre. Conversely, the term for the western sword in Arabic was firangi (i.e. "Frankish").
Terms for the "scimitar" curved sword:
- Pulwar (Afghanistan)
- Shamshir (Persia)
- Talwar (North India)
- Kilij (Turkish)
- Mameluke sword (18th to 19th century Egyptian)
- Flyssa (19th century Algeria)
- Kaskara (19th century Sudan)
- Nimcha (18th century Morocco)
- Shotel (Ethiopian scimitar)
- Takoba (Tuareg sword)
[edit] Far Eastern swords
- China
- Hook sword (钩)
- Japan
- Nihonto (日本刀)
- Korea
- Hwandudaedo (환두대도; 环首大刀)
- Saingeom (사인검)
- Jedokgum (제독검)
- Yedo (예도)
- Ssangeom (쌍도; 双刀; 쌍검: 双剣)
[edit] South and Southeast Asia
While the scimitar also spread to North India in the form of the Talwar, there are is also an autochthonous sword of the straight form in India, known as the Khanda.
Swords and knives found in Southeast Asia are influenced by Indian, Far Eastern (Chinese) as well as Near Eastern (Muslim) and European (Spanish) forms.
- Dha: single-edged Buremese sword, perhaps influenced by the Chinese Dao
- Kalis: double-edged "wavy" Filipino sword, similar to the Kris dagger
- Kampilan: large single-edged Filipino sword
- Klewang: single-edged Indonesian sword similar to the Filipino Kampilan
- Krabi: Thai sabre used in Krabi krabong
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- Two-handed sword (disambiguation)
- Longsword (disambiguation)
- Great sword (disambiguation)
- Shortsword (disambiguation)
- List of daggers
- List of bladed weapons
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