This is a list of sword types found through history all around the world.

Contents

1 Sword types sorted by countries of origin 1.1 Ancient 1.2 China 1.3 Europe 1.4 Japan 1.5 Middle East 1.6 South Asia 1.7 South Pacific 2 Named swords 2.1 History and mythology 2.2 Literature and popular culture

Sword types sorted by countries of origin

Ancient

• Kopis
• Khopesh
• Makhaira (μάχαιρα)
• Xiphos (ξίφος)

China

• Dao (刀 pinyin dao1)
• Jian (劍 pinyin jian4)
• Butterfly sword

Europe

• Bastard-sword
• Cutlass
• Espada Ropera
• Estoc
• Falchion
• Flamberge
• Gladius
• Long-sword
• Rapier
• Sabre
• Scramasax
• Smallsword
• Spatha
• Two-handed swords
  • Claymore
  • Great Sword
  • Spadone
  • Zweihänder
  • Árije

Japan

• Bokken (木剣)
• Katana (刀; かたな)
• Ken
• Kodachi
• Nagamaki
• Nodachi
• Shinai
• Tachi (太刀; たち)
• Tantō (短刀; たんとう)
• Wakizashi (脇差; わきざし)

Middle East

• Scimitar
• Katar
• Yatagan
• Shamshir
• Kilij
• Saif

South Asia

• Tulwar
• Pulwar

South Pacific

• Kris
• Kampilan

Named swords

Many swords in mythology, literature and history are named by their wielders or by the person who makes them.

History and mythology

• Caliburn - King Arthur's sword, probably made by Merlin but certainly put by him into a stone in a churchyard to test who the rightful king is. This sword was broken in a fight with King Pellinore (according to Mallory ).
• Excalibur - King Arthur's sword, given to him by the Lady of the Lake after Caliburn was broken in a fight with King Pellinore; the sword itself as well as the scabbard was magical.
• Galatine - The sword of Sir Gawain in the Arthurian legends.
• Secace - The sword of Sir Launcelot in the Arthurian legends.
• Kusanagi (Grasscutter) - A sword of equivalent importance to Japan as the Excalibur is to England
• Thul fiqar - The legendary two-tipped sword of Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib
• Tizona - the sword of El Cid.
• Szczerbiec - The sword of Polish kings
• Hrunting - Unferth , associate of Beowulf
• Gram (in the Volsung Saga) or Balmung (sometimes in later traditions) - Sigurd
• Tyrfing - a cursed sword from the Elder Edda
• Durandal - the sword that belonged to Roland, a hero of the medieval French epic "The Song of Roland", supposedly once belonged to Hector of Troy
• Joyeuse - the sword of Charlemagne (Charles the Great), the famed medieval king of the Franks and first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
• Grus- the historical sword of Boleslaw Krzywousty (Boleslaus the Wrymouthed), medieval prince of Poland
• Caladbolg - The sword used by the hero Cuchulain in the Irish epic the Táin Bó Cuailnge.

Literature and popular culture

• Glamdring (Foe-hammer) - Originally the sword of Turgon, King of Gondolin in the Silmarillion, then the sword of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings.
• Narsil (Sun and Moon) (later Andúril, Flame of the West) - The sword of Elendil, and later Aragorn in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.
• Sting - The Elven short-sword wielded by Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit and Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings.
• Stormbringer - The black sword used by Elric, a character invented by Michael Moorcock.
• Dyrnwyn - The legendary sword used by Gwydion in the Prydain stories by Lloyd Alexander.
• Catclaw - The sword used by The Gray Mouser in a series of stories by Fritz Leiber.
• Green Destiny Sword - The sword used by Li Mu Bai in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
• Vorpal Sword - The sword mentioned in Lewis Carroll's poem "The Jabberwocky" and now a well-known blade in Dungeons & Dragons
• Buster Sword - The oversized sword belonging to the videogame character Cloud Strife.
• Masamune - Named after a Japanese swordsmith. Also used throughout the Final Fantasy series.