Medieval European swords

thumb|upright=0.55|Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century

Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. Excalibur as the "sword in the stone" functioning as the proof of Arthur's lineage is an iconic motif featured throughout most works dealing with Arthur's youth since its introduction in Robert de Boron's Merlin. The sword given to the young Arthur by the Lady of the Lake in the tradition that began soon afterwards with the Post-Vulgate Cycle is not the same w

A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximately .

thumb|Engraving of a claymore and armour at Dunvegan Castle (from Footsteps of Dr. Johnson, 1890).

thumb|upright|Merovingian seaxes

thumb|Stiletto

thumb|Roland cleaving a rock with Durendal and blowing the Olifant (instrument)|olifant before death.

A falchion (; Old French: fauchon; Latin: falx, "sickle") is a one-handed, single-edged sword of European origin. Falchions are found in different forms from around the 13th century up to and including the 16th century. In some versions, the falchion looks rather like the seax and later the sabre, and in other versions more like a machete with a crossguard.

sword used by Sigurd to kill Fafnir

thumb|right|Albrecht Duerer portrait of [[Charlemagne with Joyeuse]] In medieval legend, Joyeuse (; ; meaning 'joyous, joyful') was the sword wielded by Charlemagne as his personal weapon.

unique Viking swords used throughout Scandinavia

thumb|Estoc

thumb|Three flamberge examples

The cinquedea (, ) or cinqueda is a civilian short sword (or long dagger). It was developed in northern Italy and enjoyed a period of popularity during the Italian Renaissance of the 15th and early 16th centuries.

medieval knife used to kill wounded knights

small bladed weapon used as an off-hand weapon in conjunction with a single-handed sword

Szczerbiec () is the ceremonial sword used in the coronations of most Polish monarchs from 1320 to 1764. It now is displayed in the treasure vault of the royal Wawel Castle in Kraków, as the only preserved part of the medieval Polish crown jewels. The sword is noted for its hilt, decorated with magical formulae, Christian symbols, and floral patterns, as well as for the narrow slit in the blade which holds a small shield with the coat of arms of Poland. The name of the sword is derived from the Polish word szczerba ("gap", "notch", or "chip"), and its meaning is incorrectly perceived as "the N

type of dagger

thumb|280px|The Tizona sword while on exhibit in the Museo del Ejército ([[Salón de Reinos) in Madrid ]]

cold weapon

thumb|Closeup of a sword, with a box highlighting the crossguard area|400px|right A sword's crossguard or cross-guard is a bar between the blade and hilt, essentially perpendicular to them, intended to protect the wielder's hand and fingers from opponents' weapons as well as from their own blade. Each of the individual bars on either side is known as a quillon or quillion.

type of stiff-bladed dagger

thumb|400px|A type of military backsword – a British 1796 heavy cavalry sword purchased by Sweden in 1808. A backsword is a type of sword characterised by having a single-edged blade and a hilt with a single-handed grip. It is so called because the triangular cross section gives a flat back edge opposite the cutting edge. Later examples often have a "false edge" on the back near the tip, which was in many cases sharpened to make an actual edge and facilitate thrusting attacks. From around the early 14th century, the backsword became the first type of European sword to be fitted with a knuckle

type of Battle swords

Curtana, also known as the Sword of Mercy, is a ceremonial sword used at the coronation of British kings and queens. One of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, its end is blunt and squared to symbolise mercy.

Medieval sword classification system

10th century Anglo-Saxon seax

straight, double-edged bladed weapon

sword

dagger

REDIRECT Weapons of Norse mythology#Dáinsleif

sword of Saint Ferdinand III, King of Castile

thumb|Illustration of Fergus mac Róich carrying Sétanta, with sword at his side. (George Denham, 1909) Caladbolg ("hard cleft", also spelled Caladcholg, "hard blade") is the sword of Fergus mac Róich from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.

thumb|upright|100px|A 14th-century baselard (Swiss National Museum) thumb|100px|upright|Drawing of the baselard shown on the effigy of Thomas de Topcliffe, North Yorkshire|Topcliffe (died 1365) (Dillon 1887). The baselard, Schwiizerdolch in Swiss-German (also basilard, baslard, in Middle French also and variants, Latinized etc., in Middle High German ) is a historical type of dagger or short sword of the Late Middle Ages.

type of sword

type of two-handed sword

"The Sword of Light", in Irish Mythology

11th-century or 12th-century Finnish sword

thumb | right Skofnung () is in medieval Icelandic literature the sword of legendary Danish king Hrólf Kraki. According to Hrólfs saga kraka "The best of all swords that have been carried in northern lands", it was renowned for supernatural sharpness and hardness,

thumb|100px|Drawing of 15th-century specimen found in Italy. Schiavonesca (in , "Slavic sword") was a type of sword characterized by an S-shaped crossguard and a square pommel whose earliest specimens were found in late 14th-century Serbia. It was used by knights in the Kingdom of Hungary and Republic of Venice during the 15th and 16th centuries.

ceremonial sword

right|thumb|300px|Set of swords, Colada is no. 8 Colada is one of the two best-known swords, along with Tizona, of El Cid. Won in combat from the Count of Barcelona, the sword was presented (along with Tizona) to his sons in law. According to the heroic verses of the Cantar de mio Cid, after his sons-in-law beat his daughters and then abandoned them on the side of the road, El Cid asked for his gifts to be returned. Afterward, he bestowed the sword upon one of his knights, Martín Antolínez.

Hrunting was a sword given to Beowulf by Unferth in the ancient Old English epic poem Beowulf. Beowulf used it in battle against Grendel's mother.

REDIRECT Weapons of Norse mythology#Mistilteinn

swords designed specifically for hunting

REDIRECT Weapons of Norse mythology#Hrotti

REDIRECT Weapons of Norse mythology#Riðill

ceremonial arms

medieval sword

In Norse mythology, Lævateinn is a weapon crafted by Loki mentioned in the Poetic Edda poem Fjölsvinnsmál. The name Lævateinn does not appear in the original manuscript reading, but is an emendation from Hævateinn made by Sophus Bugge and others.

The sword of the Norse god Freyr

magic sword in Old Russian fairy tales

type of fencing sword

ceremonial sword

curved blade in Hungary

Sword made for François I, captured by Juan Aldava on 25 February 1525, recaptured at Madrid by Murat in 1808 and put on display in Napoleon's study

right|thumb|Beowulf fights the dragon, wielding Nægling.

type of short sword of the late medieval and Renaissance period

Late Iron Age and Early Medieval type of sword

A poniard () or '''''' () is a long, lightweight thrusting knife with a continuously tapering, acutely pointed blade, and a crossguard, historically worn by the upper class, noblemen, or members of the knighthood. Similar in design to a parrying dagger, the poniard emerged during the Middle Ages and was used during the Renaissance in Western Europe, particularly in France, Switzerland, and Italy.