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Roman era reenactor holding a replica late Roman spatha. The spatha was a type of straight and long sword, measuring between 0.5 and 1 metre (20 and 40 inches), with a handle length of between 18 and 20 centimetres (7 and 8 inches), in use in the territory of the Roman Empire during the 1st to 6th centuries AD.
The ring-sword (also ring-spatha, ring-hilt spatha) is a particular variant of the Germanic migration period swords. Ring-swords are characterized by a small ring fixed to the hilt (not to be confused are Late Medieval to Renaissance Irish swords with ring-shaped pommels, also known as "ring-swords").
Seax: shortsword, knife or dagger of varying sizes typical of the Germanic peoples of the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages, especially the Saxons, whose name derives from the weapon. Small sword; Spadroon; Stiletto; Viking sword or Carolingian sword: early medieval spatha; Zweihänder: 1500–1600 Germany
Roman era reenactor holding a replica late Roman spatha. A spatha could be any sword (in late Latin), but most often one of the longer swords characteristic of the middle and late Roman Empire. In the 1st century, Roman cavalry started using these longer swords, and in the late 2nd or early 3rd century, Roman infantry also switched to longer ...
The small sword or smallsword (also court sword or dress sword, French: épée de cour) [citation needed] is a light one-handed sword designed for thrusting [citation needed] which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance. [citation needed] The height of the small sword's popularity was between the mid-17th and late ...
During the Middle Ages, sword technology improved, and the sword became a very advanced weapon. The spatha type remained popular throughout the Migration period and well into the Middle Ages. Vendel Age spathas were decorated with Germanic artwork (not unlike the Germanic bracteates fashioned after Roman coins).
The Viking Age sword was for single-handed use to be combined with a shield, with a double edged blade length of up to 90 cm (35 in). Its shape was still very much based on the Roman spatha with a tight grip, long deep fuller and no pronounced cross-guard.
The French word épée ultimately derives from Latin spatha. The term was introduced into English in the 1880s for the sportive fencing weapon. Like the foil (French: fleuret), the épée evolved from light civilian weapons such as the small sword, which, since the late 17th century, had been the most commonly used dueling sword, replacing the ...