Weapons

Some Equipment can be purchased through the School or we can guide you towards a supplier. The points of the blade must be blunted. One method we recommend is a rubber archery blunt attached using duct tape and adhesive, a small washer in the blunt stops the tip pushing through the rubber.

Members can find hilts from many sources including markets, antique shops or from Internet armouries but they have must pass a safety inspection, we can always fit a more suitable blade.

Long Sword 13th to 15th Century

The longsword was used by knights and men-at-arms from the middle of the thirteenth century to the end of the fifteenth. These swords had lengthy cruciform hilts with grips over 15cm in length, which provided room for two hands, and long quillons, which, according to Fillipo Vadi, should be the same length as the grip. They also possessed straight double-edged blades and weighed typically between 1,200 and 1,400g - light specimens being just below 1,000g, and heavy versions just over 2,000g.

Side Sword - Spada da Lato 15th & 16th Century

This weapon evolved from the arming sword of the knight. It took a relatively short period of time before it was worn by the military man and civilian alike. The side sword went through a transitional period and is often referred to generically as " cut and thrust". By the middle of the 15th century it was not unusual to encounter finer bladed side swords being utilised away from the battlefield when encountering an adversary. However the military man would have retained the broader hence stronger blade for use in warfare. At the start of this evolution they had very simple hilts with ring protection particularly for protecting the finger that passed over the quillons and around the ricasso. As the side sword developed the hilt protection grew to cover most of the hand and the swept hilt rapier emerged. Like all other developments of weaponry in history there was an overlap of many years and it would not be accurate to draw firm time lines between broad sword, side sword and the rapier for example. In Italy the side sword refers to any sword worn on the side and includes the later swept hilts and cup hilts as well.

Rapier - Spada da Lato a Striscia 17th to 19th Century

From around 1610 onwards hilts started to appear with more filled protection for the hand. At first they were two shell shaped plates attached to the quillons and would often be pierced with decorative designs. By around the 1630s the full cup appeared. These varied in style and were most popular in Spain and Southern Italy. The length of the blades varied and tended to be 45" or longer. Interestingly the word rapier did not have its equivalent in the Italian language and has only been used in much more recent history. Striscia literally translates as "strip" or "stripe" referring to the long fine straight blade.

Dagger - daga 16th to 19th Century

The dagger was a partner weapon to the Side sword and the rapier. As with the sword they came in many guises. During the 16th and 17th Century the sword and dagger were commonly used but as time went on fashions changed and the duel became more formalised and the use of the dagger started to die out particularly with a more linier approach to swordplay, the cup hilt protected the hand and enabled a more side on stance throwing the left shoulder back and presenting a much smaller target.

Highland Broadsword

Primarily a cutting weapon, well balanced and fairly light (2-2.5lbs) this was a fast and formidable weapon in the hands of men trained from an early age in the highland Gaelic warrior tradition. So far, no written manuals exist of the use of this weapon by the clansmen, but early English backward treatises and a few contemporary witness accounts may give a slight insight on the form and methods of use.