In those ancient times, when edged weapons reigned supreme on the battlefields, human thought in search of new ways to destroy its kind created a broadsword - something between a sword and a saber. Its direct, sometimes double-edged, blade struck the enemy so effectively that for many centuries it was in the arsenals of most European and Asian states.
Artifacts from Ancient Graves
The earliest broadswords were found in the burials of the Proto-Bulgarians, a people of Turkic origin who inhabited the steppes of Southeastern Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries. Despite such a distant era, he had all the same characteristic features that he retained until our days.
It was a chopping and stabbing weapon with a straight double-edged blade that reached a meter long, a hilt designed to protect the hand, and a slightly curved hilt. It is known that the Khazars, Avars, Alans and a number of other representatives of ancient peoples used the same or very similar broadswords at that time.
Broadsword in the hands of Asian warriors
Blade weapons, similar in design and appearance, were widespread in the countries of East and Central Asia. In the XIII-XIV century, they were armed with Tatar-Mongol hordes, making their bloody raids and keeping in obedience a significant part of ancient Russia. Their broadswords had one-sided sharpening, which created a certain advantage for the warrior in equestrian combat due to the lower weight of the weapon. In addition, they were easier to manufacture, and, accordingly, cheaper.
The weapons of the peoples of the Caucasus
They were also widely used in the Caucasus and in the countries of the Middle East. A common feature of broadswords made by oriental gunsmiths was weak arm protection. Ephesus did not yet have a complex structure, which would be characteristic of Western European samples of a later period, and consisted, as a rule, only of a cross with an arc.
Among the broadswords with which the peoples of the Caucasus armed themselves, the so-called frangoules are known. They were distributed among the Khevsurs, an ethnic group that inhabited the basin of the Khevsur Aragvi River and the upper reaches of Argun. Their hilt and scabbard were shrouded in brass or iron plates and richly decorated with patterns in the national style. Broad broads were widely used in Georgia. Their feature was the hilt, similar in appearance to those that at a later time could be seen at the cavalry drafts.
Broadswords of the work of Indian masters
The broadsword was also a very popular weapon in India. Here, its design had its own characteristic features, the main of which was the shape of the blade. With a length of about eighty centimeters and one-sided sharpening, it was forged with some extension to the end, which had an oval shape. In addition, his peculiar distinction was a powerful and reliably protecting hand hilt, consisting of two bowls connected by a steel strip. This design was called kunda.
In the period dating back to the late Middle Ages, another kind of broadswords, called firangs, appeared in India. Its originality consisted of a blade that had one and a half sharpening, that is, half sharpened from the back, and a basket hilt, which had a sharp spike, which also served to defeat the enemy.
The first samples of Western European broadswords
In Western Europe, this type of weapon appeared relatively late - in the XVI century, but was immediately appreciated and widely used. In the forties, the Hungarian hussars began to use a broadsword as a complement to the saber traditional in those days.
The weapon was mounted near the saddle and was used mainly for stabbing, which was very convenient due to the long blade. At the same time, the design of the handle, somewhat curved and resembling a saber, made it possible to deliver powerful chopping blows.
At the end of the 16th century, the emergence in Western Europe of the regular parts of the heavy cavalry - cuirassiers - became a tangible impetus for the further spread of broadswords. An indispensable element of their defensive armament was a metal breastplate - a cuirass, which reliably protected from reciprocating impacts, but was vulnerable to a heavy and long blade, which was equipped with a specially designed type of weapon, which went down in history as a broadsword.
New Scottish gunsmiths
Around the same period, Scotland contributed to the creation of knives. It was created, and subsequently became popular throughout the UK, the so-called Scottish broadsword. If his broad double-edged blade as a whole resembled those with which the swords were equipped, then the guard - the part of the hilt that protects the warrior's hand, was something new.
It was quite large and resembled a basket with a significant number of branches. Its inner surface was trimmed with leather or red velvet. In addition, the hilt was decorated with horsehair tassels. The Scottish broadsword was usually used in conjunction with a small round shield. This combination made it possible to conduct both defensive and offensive battles.
Walloon Swords
Researchers believe that the West European broadsword is a weapon resulting from the transformation of the previously existing heavy cavalry sword, which was called the saddle, as it usually was attached to the saddle. In this regard, the broadswords were initially called Walloon swords, according to the name of the region of Belgium, where this type of weaponry was produced. Their characteristic feature was somewhat asymmetric hilt, reliably protecting the warrior's hand thanks to the cup, equipped with numerous arches, and a transverse cross.
New times - new trends
In the XVII century, the process of unification of weapons was taking place in the armies of most European states. Initially, single regiments and squadrons were brought to a single standard, and then whole cavalry types. Since that time, broadsword, a weapon that was previously used by the entire cavalry without exception, became part of the arsenal of only dragoon and cuirassier units.
By the middle of the XVIII century, the design of the blade changed. A double-edged blade was replaced by a blade sharpened on one side only and having a blunt butt. Only its shape and size remained at the former, at which it remained a fairly powerful and heavy weapon.
Boarding Team Weapons
For three centuries, from the XVI to the XIX century, broadsword was used not only on land, but also at sea. He was an integral part of the armament of the boarding teams - those dashing thugs who, having pulled the board of an enemy ship with steel hooks, rushed into hand-to-hand combat. The broadsword broadsword differed from its land brother, first of all, in that its guard was made in the form of a shell.
There were other differences. Its one-sided blade, which had a length of up to eighty centimeters and a width of about four centimeters, was deprived of dales - longitudinal channels designed to reduce weight and give extra strength. In this regard, the sea broadsword was akin to the infantry broadsword, which had the same design feature of the blade.
Broadsword in the Russian army
Broadsword appeared in Russia at the end of the 17th century. This was due to the large influx of foreign officers into the military service, who usually brought firearms and cold steel with them. The photo concluding the article presents several broadswords of that period, made in Moscow, but made using foreign designs. As you can see, they are characterized by a beveled hilt, convenient for applying chopping blows from a horse, as well as a cross, straight or having ends lowered to the blade.
In the first quarter of the 18th century, under Peter I, dragoon regiments were created everywhere in the Russian army as one of the most effective varieties of heavy cavalry. The main component of their weapons was broadsword - the weapon that was most suitable for this type of troops. Demand for it increased sharply, since, in addition to the dragoon units, they equipped themselves with horse-grenadier and carabinier regiments.
Production and import of broadswords
Since that time, they began to produce it by the factory method, while introducing a certain unification, but, in addition, a significant number of broadswords were delivered from abroad. In Western Europe, the main center of their production was the German city of Solingen, where at that time there were a number of enterprises specializing in the production of knives.
Broadsword made in Russia had a number of distinctive features. For example, products produced during the reign of Empress Catherine II were decorated with engraving depicting the crown and its monogram - “E II”. The scabbard was leather or made of wood and covered with leather. This tradition continued until 1810, when, by the command of Alexander I, they began to be made of metal. The only exception was the boarding broadsword, whose scabbard was still leather.
Broadsword as an independent type of blade weapon received the greatest distribution in the first half of the XIX century. At this time, the Russian and most European armies were armed with several of its varieties. Among them, the researchers stand out: the guards cuirassier broadsword, army cuirassier broadsword, dragoon broadsword and, finally, the infantry broadsword. Each of these species has its own characteristic features. Their common feature was the design of the blade, which became single-blade from the beginning of the 19th century.
Museum Weapons
Today, broadswords can only be seen in the hands of warriors carrying an honor guard with the banner of the Russian Navy. Scientific and technological progress supplanted them from modern arsenals. Almost all edged weapons befell the same fate. The photos presented in this article are a kind of retrospective into a long-gone world, where, raising dust, the cavalry lava attacked, and formidable blades soaring up into the sky glistened in the sun.