Classification of Swords

The English-language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise, and has varied widely over time, with terms such as "broadsword", "long sword", "short-sword", and "two-handed sword" being used to describe weapons with no particular relation to one another. However in modern times many of these have been given specific meanings (although sometimes quite arbitrarily). Some of these terms originate contemporary with the weapon they refer to, others are modern or early modern terms used by antiquarians, curators, and modern-day sword enthusiasts for historical swords.

Terminology was further complicated by terms introduced (i.e. "hand-and-a-half sword", "single-handed sword", "Pappenheimer", "Walloon sword", "Sinclair Sabre", "Mortuary sword","spada da lato", "town sword", etc.) or misinterpreted (i.e. bastard sword, broadsword, rapier, estoc, flamberge, etc.) in the 19th century by antiquarians, and in 20th century pop culture (sword and sorcery, role playing games, video games, etc.); and by various Western martial arts associations (ARMA/HACA, KDF, etc.) in the 21st century whose general misinterpretation of the term "long sword" used by George Silver and Joseph Swetnam (where it is wrongly equated to the German Schwert), and adding new terms to the mix such as "great sword", "zweihänder" (instead of Bidenhänder), and "cut-and-thrust sword". These Western martial arts associations then reconstructed the German term for having both hands on the hilt known as langes Schwert into "longsword", and the spada da lato, a term that was coined by Italian curators, into "side-sword". Furthermore, there is a disregard for the use of the broadsword term by these associations. All these newly introduced or redefined sword terms are far from being historical especially in the English sense of the classification of swords and only add to the confusion of the matter.

The most well known systematic typology of blade types of the European medieval sword is the Oakeshott typology (although this is a modern classification and not a medieval one, and has many overlaps). Elizabethans used descriptive terms such as "short", "bastard", and "long" which emphasized the length of the blade, and "two-handed" for any sword that could be wielded as such.