What time period were rapiers?
The “rapier” is a thin long bladed single handed sword used primarily as a civilian weapon from the mid-16th century into the 2nd half of the 17th century. It was essentially a thrusting weapon but its edges could be sharpened and the historical treatises included cutting actions.
When did people stop using rapiers?
By the year 1715, the rapier had been largely replaced by the lighter small sword throughout most of Europe, although the former continued to be used, as evidenced by the treatises of Donald McBane (1728), P. J. F.
Are rapiers fragile?
How strong were rapier blades, couldn’t they break easily? Yet, a rapier blade is by no means fragile nor vulnerable to being easily broken or cut by other swords (though its slender tip might on occasion snap).
Why did people stop using Longswords?
The decline of the longsword had more to do with the changing role of the infantryman than the abandonment of armor. Long swords were about 2-3 lbs. sorry, not that heavy. Well we had a lot more soldiers before Vietnam, giving them all armor would be expensive and not worth it.
What kind of hilt does a rapier have?
One might wear a rapier with a swept hilt and edges on the same day as another might wear one with a cup hilt and an edgeless blade. Rapiers often had complex, sweeping hilts designed to protect the hand wielding the sword.
Where did the name of the Rapier come from?
There are several theories as to the origin of the word. Originally, by the 1470s the French referred mockingly to any excessively long and slender weapon as la rapière, while the Spanish called a small sword worn in civilian clothes at court or about town a spada ropera, a “robe sword” or “dress sword.”
How many types of rapier are there in the world?
A.V.B. Norman created a comprehensive typology of rapier hilts and published The Rapier and Smallsword 1460-1820 in 1980. The work creates a number for each identified hilt form and differentiates between each by description and example.
What kind of weapon was the Rapier used for?
With such design features, the rapier is optimized to be a thrusting weapon, but cutting or slashing attacks were also recorded in some historical treatises like Capo Ferro’s Gran Simulacro in 1610. This weapon was mainly used in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.
