Knightly sword
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In the European High Middle Ages, the typical sword was a straight, double-edged weapon with a single-handed, cruciform hilt and a blade length of about 70 to 80 centimetres. This type is frequently d
Sword, dated c. 1250–1330, British Museum
Great Seal of Henry II of England, showing the king as an armed horseman, c. 1154.
Detail of a sword being drawn from its scabbard, Morgan Bible fol. 28v, c. 1250.
Soldiers in mail armour with swords, German miniature of the Massacre of the Innocents, c. 1250.
Longsword
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A longsword is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use, a straight double-edged blade of around 80 to 110 cm, and weighing approximat
Hand-and-a-half sword, probably German, c. 1400–1430
Replica of the Brescia Spadona, a 15th-century "hand and a half" longsword named after the city where it now resides, in the Museo Civico L. Mazzoli in Brescia, Italy. It has a tapered type XVIIIa or type XVIa blade and an octagonal pommel.
1440s illustration of one- and two-handed use of the longsword. Note the sword being used one-handed is drawn shorter and may also be intended as a large knightly sword (CPG 339 fol. 135r).
Example of two handed use vs. half-sword, dating to c. 1418 (CPG 359, fol. 46v)