Ancient Swords

By definition, a sword is a long, straight, sharp, and cutting bladed weapon, with a guard and hilt. Ancient swords could measure between 50 and 90 cm, depending on the era; one length was preferred over another.

Swords were designed to serve as both a protective and offensive tool, although they also performed a secondary function: to indicate the social status of their owner, as they could achieve a truly high value. Some ancient swords had such exclusive decoration that only people with a high position within the social and economic scale of the time could afford them.

Types of Ancient Swords

Although we can generally affirm that almost all swords were unique pieces, we can group them according to a series of characteristics. According to the sharpness of the blade and according to the type of handling:

According to the sharpness of the blade, there were single-edged and double-edged swords. Symmetrical blade swords usually had a double edge, while those with an asymmetrical blade shape had only one side of it sharply sharpened.

According to the type of handling, swords can be distinguished as one-handed and two-handed. Two-handed swords were usually much longer, than one-handed ones. In fact, it is rather the length and weight of the sword that defined its manner of use and not the other way around. The longest ancient swords were used during the Middle Ages, while shorter, one-handed ones were more popular during the era of ancient empires.

Sabers

A saber, according to the definition we have given for a sword, would not be included in that category. Due to its curved blade, it is considered another type of bladed weapon.

A saber is a curved, single-edged bladed weapon. The saber was developed to increase combat speed. Due to its curved nature, this weapon did not get stuck in the enemy's body, which made combat much faster. Furthermore, it was a very light weapon, its maximum weight did not exceed 500 g, and its length was 90 cm. The saber was mainly used by cavalry and infantry.

In our Artestilo Medieval Store, you will find reproductions of all kinds of ancient swords, from Iberian or Roman swords to Viking swords.