The Bastard sword was generally adopted by Swiss and German swordsmen of the 15th century. The popularity of the swift cut and thrust action that this sword delivered soon meant that it could be found in the hands of swordsmen in the British Isles and also in Europe.
Because of its design and handle length the sword could not be classified as either a single or double handed sword and hence it derived a curse for its name as the Bastard sword. The two handed sword was developed primarily for use with foot soldiers, as they developed their own style of fighting whereas a single handed sword also had its own unique method of fighting thus "never the twain shall meet". So with a sword that could be used by either practitioners the title of bastard sword was befitting but this was later amended to 'The hand-and-a-half-sword'
For its size and length 3½ feet overall, the Bastard sword was quite light at just over 3 lbs and by its namesake its 33½ blade could be wielded around either with a single hand or with a double handed grip with just as much ease. Hence a certain amount of versatility was apparent with this odd sword, with its blade geometry being quite wide for a fast action sword, it could produce devastating deep shearing cuts in combat.
The blade subtlety tapered to a sharp rounded point and could be used for thrusting just as easy as it was for slashing, the relatively long handle providing all the leverage the swordsman could ask for in a sword of this type. The pommel was moderate in size but being solid metal added enough to counterbalance the sword quite well.
The above sword is available from Coldsteel.com
Many of you viewers to this web page and my others about swords will be familiar with the Samurai sword and its relative ease as cutting the rolled up and soaked in water straw mats. Well its refreshing to know that a good sharp European sword such as the Bastard can do the job just as well if not better in some cases...
...the Bastard sword is quite easy for the novice swordsman to learn the art of good swordsmanship and this sword is equally at home in the hands of an expert. Below I present a Youtube video of modern day swordsman James Williams who states for his video "James Williams demonstrating that his European styled hand-and-a-half sword can withstand many of the same cutting rigors traditionally accustomed to the Japanese sword. Williams designed this bastard sword for manufacturing at the Hanwei (Paul Chen) forge to sell at Ancient Edge, a subsidiary of his parent Bugei corporation. "
I appreciate that Samurai's use better technique, look superb and have better swords but when faced with straw mats they both have identical cutting properties.
Below is an Italian bastard sword fitted with extra long quillions and large protruding rings for excellent hand protection in close quarter combat as all swords could only fight in. The grip was studded for an extra secure hold when slashing downwards and the pommel was large and heavy to balance the long, beautiful, etched blade. These wieldly and deadly bastard swords saw terrific action in most battles across Europe for several centuries during almost countless exchanges for territory and dominion, as well as religious wars between Catholic and Protestant nations.
In the old days, they just brought it on and battled it out either in armies or single individuals fighting in the streets and the Bastard sword was a favorite all rounder and hence became noted in history so that we can still learn about them today in the 21st century.
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