Backsword
Encyclopedia
A backsword is a sword
with a blade
on one edge, or an "edge-and-a-quarter." 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 hilt
s as used in George Silver
's manuscripts. 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.
Backswords were often the secondary weapons of European-style cavalry
men beginning in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Though some claim the weapon's name was derived from the practice of slinging the weapon in a scabbard
behind the trooper's back while riding in order to prevent it from clanging against his or the horse’s side as they galloped, this is incorrect. It is simply a reference to the flat "back" or "spine" of the unsharpened edge. Cavalry armed with a sword carried them either slung from the waist or attached to the saddle, as common sense and a little practice demonstrates that wearing the blade down the back would make the weapon very difficult to draw, and could at worst lead to a very nasty cut or the loss of an ear.
Backswords were also carried by some infantrymen, including irregulars like the Highland Scots, who likewise wore them slung from the hip, most often in an across-the-shoulder baldric or sword belt. In Scottish Gaelic, they are called "claidheamh cuil" (back sword), one of several terms for distinct types of weapons they used. (For more information on this topic, see Claymore
.)
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
with a blade
Blade
A blade is that portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with a cutting edge and/or a pointed tip that is designed to cut and/or puncture, stab, slash, chop, slice, thrust, or scrape animate or inanimate surfaces or materials...
on one edge, or an "edge-and-a-quarter." 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 hilt
Hilt
The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard,grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case...
s as used in George Silver
George Silver
George Silver was a gentleman of England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who is known for his writings on fencing. He is thought to have been the eldest of four brothers , and eleventh in descent from Sir Bartholomew Silver, who was knighted by Edward II...
's manuscripts. It can also refer to the singlestick
Singlestick
Singlestick, also known as cudgels, refers to both a martial art that uses a wooden stick as well as the weapon used in the art. It began as a way of training soldiers in the use of swords such as the sabre...
, which is used to train for fighting with the backsword, or to the sport or art of fighting in this fashion.
Backswords were often the secondary weapons of European-style cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
men beginning in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Though some claim the weapon's name was derived from the practice of slinging the weapon in a scabbard
Scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. Scabbards have been made of many materials over the millennia, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel.-Types of scabbards:...
behind the trooper's back while riding in order to prevent it from clanging against his or the horse’s side as they galloped, this is incorrect. It is simply a reference to the flat "back" or "spine" of the unsharpened edge. Cavalry armed with a sword carried them either slung from the waist or attached to the saddle, as common sense and a little practice demonstrates that wearing the blade down the back would make the weapon very difficult to draw, and could at worst lead to a very nasty cut or the loss of an ear.
Backswords were also carried by some infantrymen, including irregulars like the Highland Scots, who likewise wore them slung from the hip, most often in an across-the-shoulder baldric or sword belt. In Scottish Gaelic, they are called "claidheamh cuil" (back sword), one of several terms for distinct types of weapons they used. (For more information on this topic, see Claymore
Claymore
The term claymore refers to the Scottish variant of the late medieval longsword, two-handed swords with a cross hilt, of which the guards were in use during the 15th and 16th centuries.-Terminology:...
.)
Examples of backswords
- Some Basket-hilted swordBasket-hilted swordThe basket-hilted sword is the name of a group of early modern sword types characterized by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages...
s, including some basket hilt ClaymoreClaymoreThe term claymore refers to the Scottish variant of the late medieval longsword, two-handed swords with a cross hilt, of which the guards were in use during the 15th and 16th centuries.-Terminology:...
s - CutlassCutlassA cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket shaped guard...
- SabreSabreThe sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...
- Nihonto
- DaoDAODAO may refer to:* D-amino acid oxidase, a peroxisomal enzyme.* Data access object, a design pattern used in object-oriented software engineering* De-asphalted oil, a crude oil refinery process stream...
Further reading
- Włodzimierz Kwaśniewicz, Leksykon broni białej i miotającej, Warsaw: Varsavia, 2003.
- Pierre Goubert & Maarten Ultee, The Course of French History, London: Routledge, 1991.
- Philippe Contamine, War in the Middle Ages, Oxford: Blackwell, 1984 ISBN 0631131426
- R. G. Allanson-WinnRowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headleythumb|Lord Headley with [[Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din]]Rowland George Allanson Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley , also known as Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq, was an Irish peer and a prominent convert to Islam, who was also one of the leading members of the Woking Muslim Mission alongside Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din...
& C. Phillipps-Wolley, Broad-sword and Single-stick: with chapters on quarter-staff, bayonet, cudgel, shillalah, walking-stick, umbrella, and other weapons of self-defence (All-England Series.) London: George Bell, 1890.