Oakeshott (1964) notes that this changes in the late medieval period, beginning towards the end of the 13th century, when the 'bastard sword' appeared as an early type of what developed into the 15th-century longsword. Mostly, the common type of sword in any given period would simply be referred to as 'sword' (English swerde, French espée, Latin gladius etc.).ĭuring the high medieval period, references to swords as 'great sword' ( grete swerd, grant espée) or 'small' or 'short sword' ( espée courte, parvus ensis) does not necessarily indicate their morphology, but simply their relative size.

Period terminology for swords is somewhat fluid. The terms 'knight's sword' or 'knightly sword' are modern terms to specify the sword of the high medieval period. 'Arming sword' in late medieval usage specifically refers to the estoc when worn as a side-arm, but as a modern term it may also refer to any single-handed sword in a late medieval context. The term 'arming sword' ( espées d'armes) is first used in the 15th century to refer to the single-handed type of sword after it had ceased to serve as the main weapon and was on its way to being used as a side-sword. After the end of the medieval period, the arming sword developed into several forms of the early modern one-handed straight swords, such as the side-sword, the rapier, the cavalry-focused Reiterschwert and certain types of broadsword. Though the majority of late-medieval arming swords kept their blade properties from previous centuries, there are also surviving specimens from the 15th century that took the form of a late-medieval estoc, specialised for use against more heavily armoured opponents. In the Late Medieval period (14th and 15th centuries), late forms of these swords continued to be used, but often as a sidearm, at that point called 'arming swords' and contrasting with the two-handed, heavier longswords. The high medieval sword of the Romanesque period (10th to 13th centuries) developed gradually from the Viking sword of the 9th century.

This type is frequently depicted in period artwork, and numerous examples have been preserved archaeologically. In the European High Middle Ages, the typical sword (sometimes academically categorized as the knightly sword, arming sword, or in full, knightly arming sword) was a straight, double-edged weapon with a single-handed, cruciform (i.e., cross-shaped) hilt and a blade length of about 70 to 80 centimetres (28 to 31 in).

Medieval sword drawing