Sword

A sword is the main weapon of choice for Immortals engaged in the Game in the Highlander universe.

An Immortal's Weapon

Immortals usually use swords to fight each other, although on some occasions they use other bladed weapons; Kanwulf and Caleb Cole used axes, Ursa a scythe. Sometimes the choice of a weapon says something about the character of the user, sometimes about his or her historical background, or they perhaps chose the weapon because of its handiness.

Choice of the weapon

The Kurgan, Slan Quince and Kronos used two-handed broadswords because they were strong men who could handle such a weapon and perhaps to intimidate their opponents. Female Immortals like Amanda, Annie Devlin and Ceirdwyn usually used smaller, lighter swords, which matched with their physical strength. Ceirdwyn, for instance, still used her Celtic short sword which she first obtained prior to her first death, and was able to successfully face immortal opponents with this blade.

Immortals who were born at times in which swords were a common place weapon, sometimes had the tendency to keep and use their first weapon type through to modern times. Immortals who were born in later eras, like Richie Ryan  and Danny Cimoli, would use a weapon that they felt comfortable with, and which they probably got from their mentors.

Sometimes Immortals seem to have a tendency to choose their weapons for reasons of efficiency. For example, Michael Kent was born in 1911, in a time in which swords had largely become obsolete in the mortal world, purchased a katana, a weapon of great quality, to use it in the game.

It's also not uncommon for an Immortal to take a weapon from a beheaded fellow Immortal. The Kurgan for example killed his teacher, the Bedouin, and kept his scimitar. Sometimes they use the sword themselve, like Kage who used the gladius of Flavius Sulla after he took his head, or they hand it over to their pupils.

Sometimes immortals have switched between different types of weapons during eras for different reasons. For example, in a time in which rapier and sabre became preferred weapons, it would look strange if someone carries a broadsword in public, so immortals had to change with the times, usually without discarding a older sword type completely. Additionally, the technology of making swords changed over the ages, Kronos used a short sword in the bronze age, and later a broadsword as the technology developed -  a bronze age weapon couldn't match one that was produced centuries later.

In modern times, in which swords have, at best, only a sporting background or are used just for ceremonies (in the military, for example), Immortals often switch back to their preferred weapons, and carry them concealed.

Female immortals

Besides some ancient cultures in which the principle of warrior women wasn't as uncommon as later, women seldom carried swords because it wasn't expected for them to fight. Ceirdwyn, for example, was trained in sword fighing (before her immortality was triggered!) because she came from an age and a culture in which a woman had the freedom to choose to fight if she wanted. In later times, in which women weren't expected to take up arms, female immortals were forced to carry their weapons concealed as in modern times, when every immortal, regardless of gender, has to carry a blade hidden.

Sword

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A sword is a bladed weapon (edged weapon) used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration. In the most narrow sense, a sword consists of a blade with one or two edges, a hilt, and a cross guard. But in some cases the term may also refer to weapons without cross guard, or with only a single edge (backsword).

Historically, the sword developed in the Bronze Age, evolving from the dagger; the earliest specimens date to ca. 1600 BC. The Iron Age sword remained fairly short and without a crossguard. The spatha as it developed in the Late Roman army became the predecessor of the European sword of the Middle Ages, at first adopted as the Migration period sword, and only in the High Middle Ages developed into the classical Arming sword with crossguard. In the Early Modern period, the sword developed into the rapier and eventually the smallsword, surviving into the 18th century only in the role of dueling weapon. By the 19th century, swords were reduced to the status of either ceremonial weapon or sport equipment in fencing.

Non-European weapons called "sword" include single-edged weapons such as the Middle Eastern saif, the Chinese dao and the related Japanese katana; these would more accurately be described as sabres or backswords, but their high prestige in their respective cultures favoured the use of "sword". The Chinese jian is an example of a non-European double-edged sword, like the European models derived from the double-edged Iron Age sword.

The word sword comes from the Old English sweord, cognate to Old High German swert, Old Norse sverð, from a Proto-Indo-European root *swer- "to wound, to cut".

Morphology

The sword consists of the blade and the hilt. The term scabbard applies to the cover for the sword blade when not in use.

 Blade

Double-edged blades

The blade may have grooves known as fullers for lightening the blade while allowing it to retain its strength and stiffness, similar to the effect produced by a steel I-beam used in construction. The blade may taper more or less sharply towards a point, used for thrusting. The part of the blade between the Center of Percussion (CoP) and the point is called the foible (weak) of the blade, and that between the Center of Balance (CoB) and the hilt is the forte (strong). The section in between the CoP and the CoB is the middle. The ricasso or shoulder identifies a short section of blade immediately forward of the guard that is left completely unsharpened, and can be gripped with a finger to increase tip control. Many swords have no ricasso. On some large weapons, such as the German Zweihänder, a metal cover surrounded the ricasso, and a swordsman might grip it in one hand to wield the weapon more easily in close-quarter combat. The ricasso normally bears the maker's mark.

Tang

• In the case of a rat-tail tang, the maker welds a thin rod to the end of the blade at the crossguard; this rod goes through the grip.
• In traditional construction, Swordsmiths peened such tangs over the end of the pommel, or occasionally welded the hilt furniture to the tang and threaded the end for screwing on a pommel. This style is often referred to as a "narrow" or "hidden" tang. Modern, less traditional, replicas often feature a threaded pommel or a pommel nut which holds the hilt together and allows dismantling.
• In a "full" tang (most commonly used in knives and machetes), the tang has about the same width as the blade, and is generally the same shape as the grip. In European or Asian swords sold today, many advertised "full" tangs may actually involve a forged rat-tail tang.

On Japanese blades, the maker's mark appears on the tang under the grip.

Single-edged blades

Single-edged blades do not fall under the term "sword" in the narrow sense (see sabre, scimitar), but are often included in a more loose meaning of the term. These blades often have a secondary "false edge" near the tip.

The hilt is the collective term for the parts allowing for the handling and control of the blade; these consist of the grip, the pommel, and a simple or elaborate guard, which in post-Viking Age swords could consist of only a crossguard (called a cruciform hilt or quillons). In addition to improving the sword's balance and grip, the pommel can also be used as a blunt instrument at close range, and its weight affects the center of percussion. It may also have a sword knot or tassel. By the 17th century, with the growing use of firearms and the accompanying decline in the use of armour, many rapiers and dueling swords had developed elaborate basket hilts, which protect the palm of the wielder and rendered the gauntlet obsolete.

The tang consists of the extension of the blade structure through the hilt.

Sword scabbards and suspension

• Scabbard: The scabbard, also known as the Sheath, is a protective cover often provided for the sword blade. Over the millennia, scabbards have been made of many materials, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel. The metal fitting where the blade enters the leather or metal scabbard is called the throat, which is often part of a larger scabbard mount, or locket, that bears a carrying ring or stud to facilitate wearing the sword. The blade's point in leather scabbards is usually protected by a metal tip, or chape, which on both leather and metal scabbards is often given further protection from wear by an extension called a drag, or shoe.
• Sword belt: The sword belt is a belt with an attachment for the sword, used to carry it when not in use. It is usually fixed to the scabbard of the sword, providing a fast means of drawing the sword in battle. Examples of sword belts include the Balteus used by the Roman legionary.

Typology

The relatively comprehensive Oakeshott typology was created by historian and illustrator Ewart Oakeshott as a way to define and catalogue swords based on physical form, though a rough sense of chronology is apparent. However, this typology does not set forth a prototypical definition for the longsword. Instead, it divides the broad field of weaponry into many exclusive types based on their predominant physical characteristics, including blade shape and hilt configuration. The typology also focuses on the smaller, and in some cases contemporary, single-handed swords such as the arming sword.

For any other type than listed below, and even for uses other than as a weapon, see the article Sword-like object.

Single and double-edged

Aztec Warrior holding a Macahuitl, a sword that is wooden but has obsidian shards in the blade."Double-edge" redirects here. For the physical theatre company, see Double Edge Theatre.As noted above, the terms longsword, broad sword, great sword, and Gaelic claymore are used relative to the era under consideration, and each term designates a particular type of sword.

In most Asian countries, a sword (jian 劍, geom (검), ken/tsurugi (剣), pedang) is a double-edged straight-bladed weapon, while a knife or saber (dāo 刀, do (도), to/katana (刀), pisau, golok) refers to a single-edged object. In Sikh history, the sword is held in very high esteem. A single-edged sword is called a kirpan, and its double-edged counterpart a khanda or tega.

Europeans also frequently refer to their own single-edged weapons as swords—generically backswords, including sabers. Other terms include falchion, scimitar, cutlass, dussack, Messer or mortuary sword. Many of these refer to essentially identical weapons, and the varying names may relate to their use in different countries at different times. A machete as a tool resembles such a single-edged sword is used to cut through thick vegetation, and many of the terms listed above describe battlefield weapons that originated as farmers' tools.

Two-handed

See also: Two-handed sword A two-handed sword generally refers to any sword that usually requires two hands to wield. Throughout history two-handed swords have generally been less common than their one-handed counterparts, one exception being their common use in Japan.

Hand and a half sword

A Hand and a half sword, colloquially known as a "bastard sword", was a sword with an extended grip that could be used with either one or two hands. These swords did not provide a full two-hand grip but they allowed its wielders to hold a shield or parrying dagger in their off hand, or to u

References

Footnotes

1. ^ Maryon, Herbert(1960). Pattern-welding and Damascening of Sword-blades: Part I – Pattern-Welding. Studies in Conservation 5, p. 25 – 37. A brief review article by the originator of the term "pattern-welding" accurately details all the salient points of the construction of pattern-welded blades and of how all the patterns observed result as a function of the depth of grinding into a twisted rod structure. The article also includes a brief description of pattern-welding as encountered in the Malay keris. Damascus steel is also known as watered steel.

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