_The Sword._--The various parts of a sword should perhaps be mentioned before proceeding to a chronological description of the varieties. The two essential parts are the blade and the hilt. The prolongation of the blade which fits into the handle is the tang; the upper portion near the hilt the ricasso. The essential portions of the hilt are the quillons, which cross at right angles between the blade and the handle to protect the hand; the grip, which is self-explanatory, and the pommel, the expanded piece at the end of the grip. [Illustration: FIG. 436.--Sword, _c._ 1340; blade 33 in. long, 2 in. wide at hilt. (Wallace Collection.)] _Pre-Norman Period._--The swords of this age generally in use throughout Europe were of the Scandinavian type, and may be divided into three classes: (1) those having the character of a broadsword, with parallel sharp edges and an acute point, and the tang only for a grip; (2) a similar variety having a cross guard; and (3) a sword with the blade slightly curved. The grip was usually of wood covered with skin, but sometimes of bone: the pommels were of varying shapes, as round, triangular, trefoil, and quatrefoil. The cross-guards began in a simple projection, but increased as time went on; they, together with the pommel, were at times very highly ornamented. The sheaths were usually of leather, stiffened with a wood framing. As will be seen by referring to the plates, the sword did not vary much in form from the twelfth to the end of the fifteenth century (Fig. 436). The blade was always two-edged, and about forty inches in length; the quillons at times drooped towards the blade, but were generally straight; the grip varied perhaps more than any other part, being at times almost double handed, and at others--the later Tabard Period, for instance--was so short and swollen as to appear unserviceable. The shape of the pommel takes many forms, varying almost with the individual taste of the owner; occasionally the pommel and other parts were subjected to a high degree of ornamentation, with precious stones and inlaid work of all descriptions. During the thirteenth century the curved sabre was used, but very rarely; it is shown in Fig. 154, p. 125, a group from the Painted Chamber. Other varieties were the falchion, cultellus, anelace, and scimitar. _The Falchion_ was chiefly used by archers and men-at-arms. It had a blade wide at the point; the edge was curved and convex, the back concave. _The Cultellus_ was a short sword, and is not often mentioned or represented. It was designed especially for the use of foot soldiers when rushing upon knights who had been dismounted in a cavalry charge, or for the close encounter of infantry against infantry. [Illustration: PLATE XXVIII* Sword of Philip II., with the Mark of Clement Horn of Solingen _A. F. Calvert_]