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.
Basket-hilted sword
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The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era, originating in the mid-16th century, characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of
Portrait of Donald McBane, a Scottish fencing master, from Donald McBane's The Expert Swordsman's Companion (1728). This image portrays McBane in the "Inside Guard" with a broadsword, while the table next to him has both broadswords and smallswords. The wall behind him has a targe with flintlock pistols on each side
Juxtaposition of a 16th-century cross-hilted "broadsword" with a 17th-century schiavona, from The Encyclopaedia of Sport & Games (1911)
A typical schiavona of the late 17th century.
A painting by David Morier (1705?–1770) depicting one of the final moments of the last Jacobite Rebellion, at the Battle of Culloden, the last battle fought on British soil.