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Knight's sword

(Redirected from Arming sword)

Depending on the time period, a knight could have more than one sword. An arming sword (also called a Knight's or Knightly sword) refers to the single handed cruciform swords of the Middle Ages. They are to be seen in period artwork and many museum examples survive. Typically used with a shield or buckler they were the standard military sword of the knight (merely called a war sword) until technological changes led to the rise of the long sword or bastard-sword during the 14th century (while examples exist before this, they became dominant in a knight's training syllabus around this time). After these longer swords came into use, an arming sword would be kept as a backup, for use when the longer swords were not available. This sword is thought to have directly lead to the development of the side-sword of the Renaissance.

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