Sword
Human beings have presumably always carried weapons, and developed varieties of spears, bows and arrows, axes, daggers and flails very early in our history. Swords, which are essentially daggers with lengthened blades, are relatively late arrivals in the arsenal. They were first manufactured during the Bronze Age, when techniques were developed to make sufficiently strong blades out of bronze with a 10% tin content. Other improvements included the addition of extra longitudinal ribbing for greater rigidity of the blade and the addition of "horns" to protect the hand of the swordsman. The earliest known uses of swords occur among the Assyrians, Gauls, and Greeks. Swords may be divided into weapons designed for thrusting and those designed for cutting. Both varieties have been found among the ancient Greeks, although they seem to have favored the thrusting sword. Swords of both varieties were developed in Western Europe, while all over Asia swords with a curved blade best suited for cutting were used almost exclusively. The dreaded Eastern scimitar is the best known example of these.
With the introduction of iron, swords were again greatly improved. The discovery that iron could be hardened into a mild kind of steel by heating it with small quantities of carbon gave the Romans a superior weapon that aided them in many military victories. The Middle Ages brought new defenses against lethal weaponry in the form of plate armor. In response, swords were developed that could pierce an opponent's armor. They became longer, eventually reaching a length of almost five feet (1.5 m), and heavier, so that they had to be wielded with both hands. The medieval sword had a straight, two-edged blade.
The dawn of the modern age in Western Europe saw a proliferation in types of swords. Rapiers first came into use in the early sixteenth century with the abandonment of plate armor. Since the fighter was now more vulnerable, a weapon was developed suitable for parrying attacks. The rapier is a long, narrow, straight, two-edged sword, usually with elaborate basket-guards as much for decorative purposes as to protect the hand of the swordsman. At about the same time, swords came into vogue for other than military uses. The rapier became a part of the civilian dress of wealthy men, divorcing the sword from its military context and often serving more as a status symbol than a weapon. In addition, rapier and dagger play became a popular sport, eventually resulting in the highly elaborate art of fencing, at times put to lethal use in duels. Fencing schools sprang up all over Europe. Other straight swords in use in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were the broadsword, a lighter, shorter version of the medieval sword, and the backsword, which could be described as a broadsword with a single-edged blade. Swords with curved blades, inspired by the Eastern scimitar, were also commonly used.
The all-purpose hanger, which had a slightly convex cutting edge and was introduced in the sixteenth century, inspired a variety of swords that remained in use for many centuries. Both the hunting sword and the naval cutlass were modeled on the hanger. The last descendent of the hanger was the bayonet, which came into use in the seventeenth century with the development of firearms. Some bayonets were permanently attached to rifles by a hinge, so they could be folded back along the barrel when not needed. Others were detachable. The saber, adopted by the United States military in the 19th century, is a hybrid sword suitable for both thrusting and cutting with its slightly convex cutting edge and sharp point. Twentieth century advances in military technology have virtually eliminated hand-to-hand combat, making the sword obsolete as a weapon. It is still used for decorative purposes and as a symbol of power as a part of full military regalia in many countries the world over.
The only exception to this might be Japan, where swords figure in a large percentage of attacks and murders in the late 1990s. Medieval Japanese smiths produced some of the finest swords ever made. The blades were made with a special clay process that produced a sword that was both sharp and flexible. Fine blades were passed down through families, and Japanese soldiers as recently as World War II sometimes wielded weapons that were hundreds of years old. Excellent blades are still made today by Japanese Shinto priests. The Japanese reverence for the sword has been compared to AmericansŐ fascination with the gunslingers of the Old West. Swords are reputed to be the weapon of choice for Japanese organized crime groups, and they are also favored by some far-right political splinters. Perhaps only in Japan has the sword remained the dangerous and desirable weapon it once was.
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