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Swords and Weapons by
Historical Period - Renaissance Period
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Swords of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance -
From
around 1300 to 1500, in concert with improved armour, innovative sword
designs evolved more and more rapidly. The main transition was the lengthening
of the grip, allowing two-handed use, and a longer blade. By 1400, this
type of sword, at the time called langes Schwert (longsword) or spadone,
was common, and a number of 15th and 16th century Fechtbücher offering
instructions on their use survive. Another variant was the specialized
armour-piercing swords of the estoc type. The longsword became popular
due to its extreme reach and cutting and thrusting abilities. The estoc
became popular because of its ability to thrust into the gaps between plates
of armor. The grip was sometimes wrapped in wire or coarse animal hide
to provide a better grip and to make it harder to knock a sword out of
the user's hand.
In the 16th century, the large Doppelhänder (called the Zweihänder
today; both German names refer to the use of both hands) concluded the
trend of ever-increasing sword sizes (mostly due to the beginning of the
decline of plate armor and the advent of firearms), and the early Modern
Age saw the return to lighter, one-handed weapons.
The sword in this time period was the most personal weapon, the most
prestigious, and the most versatile for close combat, but it came to decline
in military use as technology changed warfare. However, it maintained a
key role in civilian self-defense.
During The Renaissance, swords forever changed in history as
they became more of a fashion item than a soldier's weapon. With renaissance
societies fascination with the new sport of fencing (a civilian version
of military cut-and-thrust swordplay), it wasn't long before specialized
renaissance swords and daggers became the hottest items to own.
Swords were no longer a dominant battlefield weapon as they had been
once before. Things like the introduction of firearms, the discarding of
body armor and changes in warfare all contributed to the decline of the
sword as a military weapon. Now serving as a backup weapon, a soldier's
sword was primarily used as a last line of defense by the cavalry and infantry. |
