Buzz
From daring pirate adventures to the iconic Three Musketeers, from chivalrous knights to the legendary samurai depicted in films by directors like Akira Kurosawa, swords have firmly entrenched themselves in our cultural imagination. Yet, many commonly held beliefs about swords are far from accurate. This list aims to provide fascinating corrections to our understanding of swords.
10. Rapiers Are Fragile And Lightweight
Every decade seems to bring a new adaptation of The Three Musketeers, often more than one. This has solidified the rapier's image as the quintessential weapon of choice for flamboyant yet lethal European nobles. Surprisingly, most rapiers weigh between 1–1.4 kilograms (2–3 lb), which is the same as the surviving historical longswords.
While many rapiers feature narrower blades compared to other Renaissance swords, they are typically longer, often measuring around 107 centimeters (42 inches). The misconception that rapiers are particularly light likely arises from confusing them with other thrust-oriented swords, such as 18th-century small swords or modern epees.
9. Two-Handed Medieval and Renaissance Swords Weighed More Than 12 Pounds
This myth contrasts the previous one. While medieval longswords were roughly the same weight as a rapier, during the Renaissance, there existed two-handed swords that were heavier. However, these ‘greatswords’ still only ranged from 2–4 kilograms (4–7 lb). Greatswords were commonly used both in battle and for personal defense. Accounts from the 17th century mention that the greatsword was especially effective for warding off multiple attackers.
The confusion arises again when two similar sword types are mistaken for one another. There are indeed surviving Renaissance swords that are quite heavy, but these are typically execution and ceremonial swords, not those meant for the battlefield. Even these heavier swords generally weigh around 5 kilograms (10 lb), with only a few extreme examples surpassing this weight.
8. Gunpowder Rendered Swords Obsolete
This is the misconception on this list that comes closest to the truth. While gunpowder did indeed diminish the role of bladed weapons, the transition was much slower than many believe.
During the early days of gunpowder weapons, their inaccuracy and slow loading times meant that swords remained practical for combat. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that weapons such as revolvers and mass-produced breech-loading rifles made wielding a sword in battle increasingly dangerous. However, European powers were still engaged in colonial conflicts, often against opponents with outdated and limited firearms. For instance, in 1898, the Dutch issued soldiers in Indonesia a short cutlass ideal for jungle warfare.
It wasn't truly until World War I that sword combat ceased to be a regular aspect of military warfare. Up until the 19th century, saber fencing was an essential part of officer training, as evidenced by the numerous manuals created for military purposes.
7. Historical Cultures Used Only One Type of Sword
In films, it's often easy to predict the type of sword a character will wield based on their ethnicity: a Roman will carry a gladius, a Scotsman a claymore, and a Japanese individual a katana. However, many of these iconic weapons were only used during specific time periods and were often paired with other types of weapons, depending on the situation.
The Roman gladius was introduced in the third century BC after being adopted from the Celtiberians in Spain. However, by the late second to third century, Roman forces switched to a longer sword, the spatha. The renowned Japanese katana also replaced a variety of earlier sword types, including one very similar to the Chinese jian, the chokutu. Even at the height of the katana’s popularity, swords like the longer nodachi were still in use.
6. Only People of High Status Used Swords
During the early Middle Ages, swords were expensive items, a symbol of high status, and primarily used by the elite. Ordinary soldiers commonly relied on spears. Ninth-century European law codes state that the value of a sword with its scabbard was 7 solidi (a type of gold coin), equivalent to a good horse. From surviving wills, we know that particularly fine swords could fetch much higher prices.
By the later Middle Ages, swords became more like modern cars: you could find a cheap but reliable version or an extremely expensive one. In the 1340s, a basic sword might cost around 6 pence, the same as a day's wages for a mounted archer in the English army in France at the time. Manuscripts show that not only were affordable swords accessible to common soldiers, but many archers carried them as secondary weapons.
The katana is often seen as the symbol of the samurai, and indeed during the Edo Period (1603–1868), it was a privilege exclusive to the samurai class. However, before the Edo Period’s long period of peace, sword ownership among peasants was widespread enough that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had to issue an edict requiring farmers to surrender their weapons to prevent potential uprisings.
5. You Can Split A Sword In Half
This misconception appears in two common forms. The first is based on the belief that rapiers are fragile and can be easily broken by a larger sword. However, tests using reproduction weapons have shown that even repeated strikes do not cause rapiers to snap in two.
The second version of this myth stems from the legendary status of the katana. While the katana is undeniably an excellent cutting weapon, it cannot perform the physically impossible. The Mythbusters tested a katana slicing another, and even with a robot arm, they couldn't cut a blade in half.
4. Swords Can Slice Through Anything With The Lightest Touch
There’s no doubt that swords are sharp, but we often misunderstand exactly what it takes to cut with a sword. Cutting has to be done with the proper technique and body mechanics. Cutting doesn’t stop after the sword has contacted the target. The swordsman should continue to pull the blow through, slicing the target.
Because motion is essential for a sword to slice, it is possible to actually grip the blade of a sharp sword with bare hands. Indeed, many medieval and renaissance fencing manuals show this being done to gain leverage and thrusting power in certain situations.
3. Bronze Swords Are Soft
When bronze was replaced by iron as a weapon for combat, convenience and cheapness had a lot to do with it. Iron is a naturally occurring element, rather than an alloy and is rather abundant. Iron does melt at a higher temperature than bronze and is harder to smelt, but once this technical problem was resolved, iron won out on the basis of its cheapness, rather than as a result of greater hardness or suitability for combat.
Many early iron weapons were just as soft as their bronze counterparts. Research on surviving bronze swords from central Europe shows that these bronze swords were indeed functional and practical as weapons.
2. Sudanese Kaskara Are Descendants of ‘Crusader Swords’
When European imperialists arrived in Sudan in the 19th century, they encountered swords that seemed similar to medieval European swords, thanks to their straight blades and cruciform hilts. This resemblance led many to believe that the kaskara evolved from medieval European swords. Given that several later Crusades targeted Egypt, it was assumed that this was the way the kaskara’s ancestors made their way into North Africa.
In fact, straight-bladed weapons with crossguards were once much more widespread throughout North Africa and the Middle East, but were eventually overshadowed by curved, slashing weapons. It is likely that the kaskara is a surviving example of these earlier forms.
1. There Is Such A Thing As A Superior Sword
Swords, like all tools and weapons, are shaped by the specific tasks they are meant to perform. The design of a sword is inherently influenced by the cultural and technological context in which it was created.
For instance, sabers are highly effective for light cavalry fighting lightly armored foes, but they would struggle against the plate armor typical in 15th- and 16th-century Europe. No wonder that, although sabers existed earlier, they reached their peak popularity and widespread use in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, after the rise of gunpowder weapons diminished the need for heavy armor.
Swords not only changed over time but also adapted to their social context. For example, 19th-century epees were exclusively used in duels with other epees, and this unique setting shaped their evolution without external influences.
