The Medieval Knight by Christopher Gravett

Author:Christopher Gravett
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781472843586
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2020-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

An arming sword of around 1375–1450. The blade is of diamond section to give it stiffness for a thrust, while the sharp taper allows it to force mail links apart. The disc pommel helped to counterbalance the blade so the point of balance was as close to the hand as possible. (Metropolitan Museum, New York/Public Domain)

An unusual form of sword that appeared in the 13th century was the falchion, in shape not unlike a butcher’s cleaver. Instead of being designed to balance as close to the hand as possible, it had a short blade that was wider and heavier towards the point, to produce a powerful cutting weapon.

A narrower-bladed thrusting sword with long grip (between 7 and 10in., 17.75 and 25.5cm) appeared at some time around the middle of the 14th century. Some of these were made with a short section of the blade in front of the guard left blunt (later called the ricasso), enabling the user to hook his finger over it and hold the sword further forward, the better to deliver a thrust.

Dual-purpose weapons for cutting and thrusting were made from the beginning of the 14th century, with a tapered blade which was fullered for just over half its length, but with the lower part of the blade made in flattened diamond section. Another type of weapon has a long tapered blade, fullered for about one-third of the length, with a long grip. One group dating from about 1355 to 1425 has a long tapering blade usually of hexagonal section, and a long grip. The pommel is a flattened oval or else a late 14th-century ‘scent-stopper’ variety.

At the beginning of the 15th century, some swords tapered to an acute point, with a blade of flattened diamond-section for stiffness; others had a broader blade that tapered more acutely nearer the point but with edges sharp enough to cut. During the second quarter of the century, a form of blade appeared that was flat in section but which had an upstanding mid-rib. A few broad-bladed weapons had two short fullers near the cross-guard, with a short single one below, and were probably Italian imports. Some swords were heavy, perhaps 5lb (2.2kg) or more, and some over 50in. (1.2m) long, designed as thrusting weapons to combat plate armour. Long, narrow blades tended to have a long grip, to help balance them, and an elongated pommel like a ‘scent-bottle’.

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