Editing Hilt (section)

== Guard ==
<!-- This section is linked to from [[Sword]] -->
{{further|Crossguard|Basket-hilt}}
The guard is just above the grip. It is a common misconception that the ''cross-guard'' protects the wielder's entire hand from the opposing sword; only with the abandonment of the shield and then the armoured gauntlet did a full hand guard become necessary. The crossguard still protected the user from a blade that was deliberately slid down the length of the blade to cut off or injure the hand.

Early swords do not have true guards but simply a form of ''stop'' to prevent the hand slipping up the blade when thrusting, as they were invariably used in conjunction with a shield.

From the 11th century, European sword guards took the form of a straight crossbar (later called "[[quillon]]") perpendicular to the [[blade]].

Beginning in the 16th century in [[Europe]], guards became more and more elaborate, with additional loops and curved bars or branches to protect the hand. A single curved piece alongside the fingers (roughly parallel with the handle/blade and perpendicular to any crossguards) was referred to as a '''knuckle-bow'''.<ref>[http://www.finedictionary.com/Knuckle-bow.html FineDictionary citation] of [[Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary]]: "the curved part of a sword-guard that covers the fingers"</ref>

Ultimately, the bars could be supplemented or replaced with metal plates that could be ornamentally pierced. The term "basket hilt" eventually came into vogue to describe such designs, and there are a variety of [[basket-hilted sword]]s.

Simultaneously, emphasis upon the thrust attack with [[rapier]]s and [[smallsword]]s revealed a vulnerability to thrusting. By the 17th century, guards were developed that incorporated a solid shield that surrounded the blade out to a diameter of up to two inches or more. Older forms of this guard retained the quillons or a single quillon, but later forms eliminated the quillons, altogether being referred to as a cup-hilt. This latter form is the basis of the guards of modern [[foil (sword)|foils]] and [[épée]]s.