long, thin, and tapering; it was essentially a thrusting sword, but not exclusively so. These weapons were for parade and the duel, a two-edged rapier of special design being used in war. During the eighteenth century the general tendency of the hilt was to become less complicated and to develop the simple basket form. [Illustration: FIG. 438.--Flamberge, _c._ 1630. (Wallace Collection.)] _The Two-handed Sword_ was an invention of the fourteenth century, and formed one of the ordinary weapons of the foot soldier. To wield it both hands were employed in making cutting sweeps, and consequently very open order was necessary for troops thus armed; at first it did not find favour in England, except for use in the lists, being chiefly carried at the saddle-bow by knights as a reserve weapon in case of being dismounted, when they trusted to its use against foot soldiers. In Scotland, however, it appears to have been in great favour, and its practice much resorted to. An excellent example and of an early date (_c._ 1490) is preserved in the Banqueting Hall of Edinburgh Castle, which is remarkable for its exceptional length, being exactly six feet,--four feet three inches in the blade, and the handle twenty-one inches (Plate XXVII.). The grip is of the usual character and the pommel is small; the quillons droop slightly towards the blade and terminate in two spirals, small engaging-guards being furnished on both sides. There is a strong ricasso of oblong section giving great strength to the blade, and the usual two lateral projections of rather large proportions. During the Maximilian Period it was a favourite weapon in England, and its value for the defence of a narrow pass, and against stormers at a beleaguered town, was fully recognised. The Scottish claymore is really the two-handed sword, and the application of the name to the basket-hilted broadsword of the eighteenth century is a mistake. The two-handed sword with waved blade is called a flamberge (Fig. 438); the example is from the Wallace Collection (date about 1630); the blade measures fifty inches and the handle over twelve. A ring-guard is furnished on either side of the quillons; there are the two usual projections from the ricasso, which is covered in leather. An earlier example, _c._ 1530, has a grip of no less than twenty-two inches; the blade is fifty inches long, and it has ring-guards and diagonally curved quillons (Fig. 428). The ricasso is covered with leather, as in the former example. [Illustration: FIG. 439.--Hand-and-half sword, 1490. (Wallace Collection.)]