Editing Falchion (section)

==Status==
An unsolved mystery exists as to why there is such a large discrepancy between the frequency of falchions in period art, contrasted with the amazingly few surviving falchions from the medieval period.<ref>John Clements, ''Medieval Swordsmanship'', 1998, p. 43.</ref> Currently, there are fewer than 30 confirmed surviving medieval falchions, contrasted with the thousands of straight double edged swords from the same period. Current research by James Elmslie suggests that the overrepresentation in medieval artwork may be a form of artistic short-hand to convey certain meanings, such as indicating who the story enemies are, as falchions are overrepresented in 'villainous' characters, such as biblical enemies, or non-Christian barbarians.

Falchions are sometimes misunderstood and thought of as being similar to machetes; however, the ancient falchions that have been discovered are very thin and on average, lighter than a double-edged blade. These weapons were therefore not cleaving or chopping weapons similar to the machete, but quick slashing weapons more similar to shamshir or sabres despite their wide blade.

Unlike Central European messers, and smaller fighting knives such as [[Dusack|tesak]] which could be of very crude construction and at times were popular among the peasantry, surviving Falchions display high levels of craftsmanship, oftentimes with intricately decorated pommels of bronze, and may feature inscribed blades of latten. While some forms of falchions may blur the line between sword and tool (in particular early forms [[Lombardy]]), and are depicted being used by common infantry,<ref name=":0" /> surviving examples are shown to be handsome weapons of status; the Conyers falchion belonged to a landed family,<ref name=":0">Hellqvist, Conyers Falchion</ref> and the falchion is shown in illustrations of combat between mounted knights.<ref>e.g., [[media:Peers and commoners fighting - The Holkham Bible Picture Book (c.1320-1330), f.40 - BL Add MS 47682.jpg]]</ref> Some later falchions were ornate and used by the nobility; there is an elaborately engraved and gold plated falchion from the 1560s in the [[Wallace Collection]], engraved with the personal [[coat of arms]] of [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Masterpieces of European Arms and Armour from the Wallace Collection|last=Capwell|first=Tobias|author-link=Tobias Capwell|publisher=Wallace Collection|year=2011|isbn=978-0-900785-86-3|location=London|pages=98–99|author2=David Edge|author3=Jeremy Warren}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wallacecollection.org/whatson/treasure/62|title=The Wallace Collection – What's On – Treasure of the Month|last=Collection|first=The Wallace|website=www.wallacecollection.org|language=en|access-date=2017-03-06|archive-date=5 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705151031/http://www.wallacecollection.org/whatson/treasure/62|url-status=dead}}</ref>