The Most romantic of weapons

Title

Language

English

Year

1941

Subject

Swords.

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

A sword, that most romantic of weapons, has been the symbol of war and the badge of honor and courage among fighting men since the days when iron and bronze were first hammered into blades.

Fulltext

NovEMBER1 1941 TIIE YOUNG CITIZEN 395 HISTORY SECTION A SWORD, that mo s t romantic of weapons, has been the symbol of war and the bad ge of honor and courage a m on K f i g h ti ng men since the days when iron · > and bi;onze were first hammered into blades. The right to carry a sword h as almost.., always· been a mark of rank; and today, when most of its usefulness has departed, it remains part of the dress uniform of a rm y and n avy ofTHE MOST ROMANTIC OF WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT OF THE SWORD many lands kissing the r u I e r ' s sword was a token of ho m"a g e. Oaths taken by a soldier on his sword were ri g idl y binding. When a general surrender ed his sword, he admitted defeat. To ha ve hi s sword broken by his superior officer was the greatest disgrac e that could come to the disloyal or coward-• l y soldier. These and 1 . Sword of Bro11ze Age 2. Greek 3. Roman 4. Norma11 (1066) many other 5. Crusader's Sw ord 6. T wo-handed, 15th Cn1turr 7. Rapier, 16th sword cereCe11tury 8. Ferrara, 17th Ce11lury 9. Frr.11ch, 1800 IO. English, 1914 I J. D agger, India 12. Russia11 13. Indian Ta/war 14. Scimitar 15 . Soudanese 16. Malay 17. Atf'achete 18. Kr.is 19. f apa11f'Se 20. F~ncing Sword monies re.appear constantly in ficers the world over. history, and _ many stories-f~lk tales and mythological stories- contain accounts of magic swords. In the days of chivalry knighthood was conferred by the flat of the sword laii:I o.n the young warrior's shoulder. In In modern warfare, the work of the THE YOUNG CITIZE'N NOV!Ml!Jt, 1941 sword, and of its smaller brother, the dag- pointed rapier even this protection w•• ger, and of its.cousin, the spear or lance, abandoned. is mostly done by the bayonet fastened to The saber, either straight or curved, the rifle, or carried in a scabbard at the was always the special weapon of the belt. But for many centuries before the cavalryman, and it survives today in some invention of firearms, tl]e sword 'in one or armies. The short cutlass was the weapanother of its many forms was the prin- on of the sailor. cipal weapon of the fighting man. Various races and peoples have had The ancestor' of the sword was probably special swords and daggers associated the stone dagger of the fighting cave man. with their names throughout history. Among the earliest historical blades are Thus we hear of the curved sword, called the leaf-shaped ·arm of the Greeks and tulwm:, of the Persans, the sickle-shaped the long, thin Assy.rian sword. As nations lwkri of a certain race in India, the deliprogressed in the military arts, they us- cate katana of the Japanese, the Malay ually shifteil frnm the ch9pping swords kris with its wriggling blade, the heavyto the sharp-pointed thrusting weapons. pointed machete of tropical America, the Thus the short sword of the Roman deadly bolo of the Filipi!los, the bowie legionary defeated the he;tvy blunt-edged knife of frontier days in the United States, sword of the northern barbarians, and it and many ot~er members of the sword was literally "at the point of the sword" family. 1 that the Saracens, who carried curving - Sword-making used to be one of the scimitars and blades which could be used most honorable trades. The cities of only for slashing, wer~ kept from t.aking Damascus in Syria and Toledo in Spain all of Europe. formerly owed much of their fame to the The heavy two-handed sword of the skill of their sword'makers. But this glory Middle Ages was abandoned as soon as faded when fire-arms came into use. the invention of firearms destroyed the usefulness of shields and armor. In ,its place grew up the saber( the rapier, and the smallsword, and with these lighter blades swordsmanship became a· fine art. During the 17\h and 18th centuries in . Europe it became the custom for all men, even civilians, to carry swords, and quarrels were usually settled on the spot with cold steel. In the reign of Louis XIII in France dueling became so prevalent that fencing masters were everywhere in great demand and highly honored. Earlier duels were fought with a sword in one hand and a dagger in th~ other. Later a cloak took the place of the dagger, and finally with the ado.ption of th~ slender, needleQUESTIONS I. Why is the sword a "romantic" weapon? 2. What are some historical facts about the sword? 3. How did swords orginate? 4. Can you tell of swordsmanship in the Middle Ages? 5. Can you tell of duelling? 6. What displaced the sword as a fighting weapon? 7. What is a saber? A r'apier? 8. Study the various kinds of swords shown in the illustration o~ page 395. Can you name them? 9. What two cities were famous for the manufacture of swords?

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