36 MILITARY SCIENCES. 



greater momentum {fig. 56), but for beauty's sake only, and to afford a firmer 

 hold. The cross-shaped guard, often richly and tastefully adorned, served at 

 once for protection and for ornament. The blade was either rounded at 

 the point or cut off in a very obtuse angle, and was at the same time very 

 long ; thus, for example, the blade of the sword {fig. 56) which was worn 

 by John George I. of Saxony is 5 feet long, and of that {fig. 57) which 

 Henry the Pious once bore, 6 feet. In old accounts swords of even 11 feet 

 in length are spoken of, but these were only carried in processions. Be- 

 sides the great German sword, the French had some, somewhat smaller 

 indeed, but ending in a sharp point, so as to be used for thrusting. Such 

 swords " a Vestoc," which the Germans called rapiers {panzer stecher^), are 

 shown in figs. 58 and 62 ; strictly speaking, fig. 51 belongs here also. In 

 the fifteenth century we find swords whose edge is straight on one side but 

 waved on the other, or with the whole blade flame-shaped (^^5. 54 and 

 55). The same were used ver}'' seldom except by the Swiss, or on occasions 

 of ceremony. In addition to the great sword the knights often carried a 

 small one at the saddle-bow. 



From the Saracens the Germans got the sword with a curved blade, 

 endeavoring to adapt the sickle-formed edge of the Turkish scymetar to 

 the straight blade of the German sword. Fig. 60 « gives such a sickle- 

 shaped sword, having its edge on the side where the back would be in a 

 common sword, so that with these scymetars the wielder did not strike 

 forward but drew them towards him as in reaping. A rather clumsy 

 weapon of this kind the Bohemians used in the Hussite wars, and called it 

 dusseg or dussac {pi. 15, fig. 60 b); it seems, however, to come nearer a 

 crooked dagger. 



The sword was carried at the left side in a belt, yet we find also the old 

 Normans carrying it on the right side without a belt, attached by two studs 

 to the cuirass. On the blade, upon which was often an inscription, and on 

 the hilt of the sword great expense was bestowed {figs. 51 and 58.) Fig, 

 58 is the so-called electoral sword from the armory at Dresden ; the hilt is 

 of silver chased with gold. Still later the old sword-form passed into the 

 rapier-form {fig. 61), and the blade became shorter than before. Along 

 with the sword was also used the dagger, which hung at the right side to a 

 chain, or by a separate stud on the cuirass. Not until later did the blade 

 of the dagger become short, three-edged, and pointed, as in fig. 63. We 

 have spoken of this dagger already, and have only to remark here that the 

 hilt is of ivory and the blade gilded. An uncommon form of dagger, used 

 by the Bohemians, is the sickle {fig. 64). The dagger was used for 

 quicker defence at arm's length and in single combats, when the com- 

 batants were overthrown, to continue the fight ; often also to give the fallen 

 enemy a death-thrust in the throat or back, whence in old chronicles we 

 find the dagger called also " misericorde" (mercy). The Normans, who 

 wore the sword on the right side, carried the dagger on the left. The 

 ancient Saxons had also a dagger-like weapon, which was called sahs or 

 sax, and from which some derive the name of Sassens or Saxons. 



Other kinds of offensive weapons are the hattle-axe, mace {morgenstern), 

 512 



