Backsword

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

19th century French Navy officer sabre
19th century French Navy officer sabre

A backsword is a sword having a blade with only one edge.[1] The back of the sword is often the thickest part of the blade and acts to support and strengthen it.

The term refers more specifically to Early Modern European weapons, usually straight, and typically with complex protective hilts. It can also refer to the singlestick, which is used to train for fighting with the backsword, or to the sport or art of fighting in this fashion[2]

Backswords were often the secondary weapons of European-style cavalrymen beginning in the late 16th, early 17th centuries.[1] The weapon's name was likely derived from the practice of slinging the weapon in a sheath behind the trooper's back while riding in order to prevent it from clanging against his or the horse’s side as they galloped[3]

  1. ^ a b MyArmoury
  2. ^ Broadsword and Single-stick, by R. G. Allanson Winn and C. Phillips-Wolley (London, 1898)
  3. ^ Ironsides: English Cavalry 1588-1688 by John Tincey ISBN: 184176213X
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../b/a/c/Backsword.html"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.