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It is likely that spatha is the romanization of the Doric Greek word σπάθα (spáthā). [5] The word survives in Modern Greek as σπάθη and σπαθί. The Latin word became the French épée, Catalan and Occitan espasa, Portuguese and Spanish espada, Italian spada, Romanian spadă and Albanian shpata, all meaning "sword".
The spatha was a double-edged longsword used by the Romans. The idea for the spatha came from the swords of ancient Celts in Germany and Britain. It was longer than the gladius, and had more reach, so the spatha was most popular with soldiers in the cavalry. The blade could range between 0.5 and 1 m (1 ft 8 in and 3 ft 3 in) long while the ...
The term sword used here is a narrow definition. ... Viking sword or Carolingian sword: early medieval spatha; Zweihänder: 1500–1600 Germany; Modern European swords
A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed tip. A slashing sword is more likely to be curved and to have a sharpened cutting edge on one or both sides of the blade. Many swords are designed for both thrusting and slashing. The precise definition of a sword varies by historical epoch and geographic region.
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").
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 ...
The spatha was a longer double-edged sword initially used only by Celtic soldiers, later incorporated as auxilia into Roman Cavalry units; however by the 2nd century A.D. the spatha was used throughout much of the Roman Empire.
Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called xiphe (pl., sg.: xiphos). From the 3rd century BC, however, the Romans adopted a weapon based on the sword of the Celtiberians of Hispania in service to Carthage during the Punic Wars, known in Latin as the gladius hispaniensis, meaning "Hispanic-type sword".