The Renaissance swords in battle
From Toledo Spain to the Streets of Verona the rapier was the sword of the enlightened era
Emerging from the huge cumbersome swords of the middle ages, the slender and sleek rapier became a status symbol and gave birth to the martial art of fencing
The Renaissance period saw the history of the sword change forever. The sword, a central element of the battlefield for thousands of years became more of a fashion item than a soldier's weapon. Swords were no longer a dominant battlefield weapon as they had been once before. The introduction of firearms, the discarding of body armor and changes in warfare all contributed to the decline of the sword as a military weapon. Now serving as a backup weapon, a soldier's sword was primarily used as a last line of defense and the huge wide bladed swords of the knights vanished thin-bladed short swords and rapiers began to be carried by unarmored men.
Spain was a centerpiece of design of these new weapons with the city of Toledo especially responsible. By 1460 fashionable beautifully made blades with ornate handguards and hilt designs became the preferred attire of both the uniformed and civilian gentlemen. This led to the evolution of sporting manuals and schools of training that evolved into modern fencing. The value of the renaissance sword as a military weapon virtually ended with the introduction of repeating firearms, but fencing ensured swordsmanship would never die. The swords were as long as the medieval spatha (nearly a meter or 39 inches) but very thin and flexible. The use of the shield disappeared in this time period, being replaced by the main gauche, a left handed dagger typically about 18 inches in length used to parry with in combat against another swordsman.
The gentlemen of Europe, with the close of the renaissance period in the 17th century, retired their rapiers and in their place adopted the modern military swords still seen for ceremonial purposes today.
