Editing Sword (section)

===Early modern history===

====Military sword====
{{Further|Basket-hilted sword|Backsword|Sabre}}

A single-edged type of [[Sidearm (weapon)|sidearm]] used by the [[Hussites]] was popularized in 16th-century Germany under its Czech name ''[[dusack]]'', also known as ''Säbel auf Teutsch gefasst'' ("sabre fitted in the German manner").<ref>In 1579, [[Duchy of Styria|Styria]] records delivery of some 700 ''Dusäggen'' by local bladesmiths, besides payment of 40 ''Dusäggen'' delivered from [[Passau]], as part of the preparation for the [[Long Turkish War|war against the Turks]] under [[Charles II, Archduke of Austria|Archduke Charles II]]. [http://www.waffensammlung-beck.ch/waffe2.html "Säbel, 'Dusägge', Deutsch Ende 16. Jahrhundert"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190005/http://www.waffensammlung-beck.ch/waffe2.html |date=3 March 2016 }}, Waffensammlung Beck, Inv-Nr.:Be 10.</ref> A closely related weapon is the ''schnepf'' or [[Swiss sabre]] used in [[Early Modern Switzerland]].<ref>Claude Blair, "The Early Basket Hilt in Britain" in: ''Scottish Weapons and Fortifications'' (ed. David H. Caldwell, 1981)</ref>

The [[cut-and-thrust]] [[mortuary sword]] was used after 1625 by [[cavalry]] during the [[English Civil War]]. This (usually) two-edged sword sported a half-basket hilt with a straight blade some 90–105&nbsp;cm long. Later in the 17th century, the swords used by cavalry became predominantly [[backsword|single-edged]]. The so-called [[walloon sword]] (''épée wallone'')<ref>Vladimir Brnardic, Darko Pavlovic, ''Imperial Armies of the Thirty Years' War (2): Cavalry'', [[Osprey Publishing]], 2010, {{ISBN|978-1-84603-997-3}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=8yelxwMTfnUC&dq=walloon+sword&pg=PA20 p. 20]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> was common in the [[Thirty Years' War]] and [[Baroque]] era.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myarmoury.com/review_pmc_papp.html|title=Pappenheimer Sword |first=Bill |last=Grandy |access-date=30 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161102154632/http://myarmoury.com/review_pmc_papp.html |archive-date=2 November 2016}}</ref> Its hilt was ambidextrous with shell-guards and [[knuckle-bow]] that inspired 18th-century continental [[hunting hanger]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/opacdirect/18948.html|title=Collections Explorer – Object Detail (HEN.M.219-1933, id:1)|first=The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge|last=UK.|date=1 January 2012 |access-date=30 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402161142/http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/opacdirect/18948.html |archive-date=2 April 2012}}</ref> Following their campaign in the Netherlands in 1672, the French began producing this weapon as their first regulation sword.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=13795|title=Walloon Swords |first=Nathan |last=Robinson |access-date=30 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629231452/http://myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=13795 |archive-date=29 June 2017}}</ref> Weapons of this design were also issued to the [[Swedish army]] from the time of [[Gustavus Adolphus]] until as late as the 1850s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfhm.se/|title=Statens försvarshistoriska museer|access-date=30 December 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104013814/http://www.sfhm.se/|archive-date=4 January 2017}}</ref>

====Duelling sword====
{{Further|Rapier|Small sword}}

The [[rapier]] is believed to have evolved either from the Spanish ''[[espada ropera]]'' or from the swords of the [[Italian nobility]] somewhere in the later part of the 16th century.<ref>Kirkland p. 17</ref><ref>Green pp. 583–84</ref> The rapier differed from most earlier swords in that it was not a military weapon but a primarily civilian sword. Both the rapier and the Italian [[schiavona]] developed the crossguard into a [[basket-hilted sword|basket-shaped guard]] for hand protection.<ref name=Oakeshott/>

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the shorter [[small sword]] became an essential fashion accessory in European countries and the New World, though in some places such as the [[Scottish Highlands]] large swords as the basket-hilted broadsword were preferred, and most wealthy men and military officers carried one slung from a belt. Both the small sword and the rapier remained popular [[European dueling sword|dueling swords]] well into the 18th century.<ref>Norman, B.; Vesey, A. (1980). ''The rapier and small-sword, 1460–1820''. Arms and Armour Press. {{ISBN|0-405-13089-9}}</ref>

As the wearing of swords fell out of fashion, [[Walking stick|canes]] took their place in a gentleman's wardrobe. This developed to the gentlemen in the Victorian era to use the [[umbrella]]. Some examples of canes—those known as sword canes or [[swordstick]]s—incorporate a concealed blade. The French [[martial art]] ''[[la canne]]'' developed to fight with canes and swordsticks and has now evolved into a sport. The English martial art [[singlestick]] is very similar.
With the rise of the [[Duelling pistol|pistol duel]], the duelling sword fell out of fashion long before the practice of duelling itself. By about 1770, English duelists enthusiastically adopted the pistol, and sword duels dwindled.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/techniques/pup_wd.html pbs.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060422021753/http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/techniques/pup_wd.html |date=22 April 2006 }}</ref> However, the custom of duelling with [[epée]]s persisted well into the 20th century in France. Such modern duels were not fought to the death; the duellists' aim was instead merely to draw blood from the opponent's sword arm.<ref name="Time">The last known French duel of public note fought with epées took place in 1967, when [[Gaston Defferre]] insulted [[René Ribière]] at the French Parliament and was subsequently challenged to a duel fought with swords. René Ribière lost the duel, being wounded twice.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843669,00.html?iid=chix-sphere |title=People: Apr. 28, 1967 |magazine=Time |date=1967-04-28 |access-date=2010-05-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629023401/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,843669,00.html?iid=chix-sphere |archive-date=29 June 2011 }}</ref>