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Old 08-24-2019, 04:10 PM   #64
Polydamas
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
Default Re: Why does Bastard Sword have a U in parry in 1 hand?

Quote:
Originally Posted by maximara View Post
Long Sword (pg 364): "The long sword was of the two handed variety. It was invariable a cutting weapon and was always, because of its length and weight used on foot. Blades of these weapons often reached five feet and more in length. The long sword family includes the claymore, the spandon, the espadon, the zweyhander, and the flamberge" (Egerton Castle (1885) Schools and Masters of Fence: From the Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century)
That contradicts the one English writer who defines the difference between a long sword and a short sword: George Silver says that the only difference is that the long sword has a long handle and the short sword has a short one. We see those kinds of sword with about a 48" overall length being used on horseback from the 14th century until they fall out of fashion. True 5'-6' two-handed swords tend to be used on foot but that does not seem to be what "long sword" meant.

Historically, the difference seems to be that one crowd said "bastard sword" and another said "long sword," I don't see both terms in many sources (and "bastard sword" is rare in English in general). Its much like staff weapons: Gary Gygax picked names from all over Europe across 300 years and gave them a precise definition, in any one town in any one year there were a few common names which each covered weapons with different forms but similar function.
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Last edited by Polydamas; 08-24-2019 at 04:13 PM.
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