Sabre
Encyclopedia
The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword
that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger. Although sabres are typically thought of as curved-bladed slashing weapons, those used by the world's heavy cavalry
often had straight and even double-edged blades more suitable for thrusting. The length of sabres varied, and most were carried in a scabbard
hanging from a shoulder belt known as a baldric
or from a waist-mounted sword belt. Exceptions not intended for personal carry include the Patton saber
adopted by the United States Army
in 1913 and always mounted to the cavalryman's saddle.
Szablya and Polish
"Szabla
", originally a Hungarian verb for "to cut" which in turn derives from qypchaq/turk verb "sabalw, sabalaw" meaning to pierce or to hit. It is akin to the Russian сабля sablya, and describes a similar weapon.
), or indeed since antiquity (makhaira
), but the introduction of the sabre proper in Western Europe, along with the term sabre itself, dates to the 17th century, via influence of the Eastern European szabla
type.
The weapon gains widespread use in the early 19th century, inspired by the Mameluke sword
, a type of Middle Eastern scimitar
.
The original type of Polish sabre
was used as a cavalry
weapon, probably inspired by Hungarian or wider Turco-Mongol
warfare.
The Karabela
was a type of szabla popular in the late 17th century, worn by the Polish, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian
nobility class, the Szlachta
. While designed as a cavalry weapon, it also came to replace various types straight-bladed swords used by infantry.
The Swiss sabre originates as a regular sword with a single-edged blade in the early 16th century, but by the 17th century begins to exhibit specialized hilt types.
The sabre saw extensive military use in the early 19th century, particularly in the Napoleonic Wars
, during which Napoleon
used heavy cavalry
charges to great effect against his enemies. Shorter versions of the sabre were also used as sidearms by dismounted units, although these were gradually replaced by fascine knives and sword bayonets as the century went on. The sabre faded as a weapon by mid-century, as longer-range rifle
s made cavalry charges obsolete, even suicidal. In the American Civil War
, the sabre was used infrequently as a weapon, but saw notable deployment in the Battle of Brandy Station
and at East Cavalry Field at the Battle of Gettysburg
in 1863. Many cavalrymen—particularly on the Confederate
side—eventually abandoned the long, heavy weapons in favour of revolver
s and carbine
s. Although there was extensive debate over the effectiveness of weapons such as the sabre and lance
, the sabre remained the standard weapon of cavalry for mounted action in most armies until World War I
(1914–18). Thereafter it was gradually relegated to the status of a ceremonial weapon
, and most horse cavalry was replaced by armoured cavalry
from 1930 on.
In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (16–18th century) a specific type of sabre-like melee
weapon, the szabla
, was used. The Don Cossacks
used the shashka, which also saw military and police use in the Russian Empire
and early Soviet Union
.
Europeans rekindled their interest in sabres due to their confrontations with the Mamelukes in the late 18th century and early 19th century. The Mamluks were originally of Turkish descent, the Egyptians bore Turkish sabres for hundreds of years. During the Napoleonic Wars
, the French conquest of Egypt brought these beautiful and functional swords to the attention of the Europeans. This type of sabre became very popular for light cavalry officers, in both France and Britain, and became a fashionable weapon for senior officers to wear.
The elegant but effective 1803 pattern sword that the British Government authorized for use by infantry officers during the wars against Napoleon featured a curved sabre blade which was often blued and engraved by the owner in accordance with his personal taste.
In 1831, the "Mamaluke" sword became a regulation pattern for British general officers (and is still in use today). The American victory over the rebellious forces in the citadel of Tripoli
in 1805 during the First Barbary War
, led to the presentation of bejewelled examples of these swords to the senior officers of the US Marines
. Officers of the US Marine Corps still use a mameluke pattern dress sword. Although some genuine Turkish kilij sabres were used by Westerners, most "mameluke sabres" were manufactured in Europe; their hilts were very similar in form to the Ottoman prototype, however, their blades, even when an expanded yelman was incorporated, tended to be longer, narrower and less curved than those of the true kilij.
During the 19th and in the early 20th century, sabres were also used by both mounted and dismounted personnel in some European police forces. When the sabre was used by mounted police against crowds, the results could be appalling, as in a key scene in Doctor Zhivago
. The sabre was later phased out in favour of the baton
(or night stick) for both practical and humanitarian reasons. The Gendarmerie of Belgium
used them until at least 1950.
In the United States, swords with sabre blades are worn by Army
, Navy
, and Coast Guard
officers. Marine
officers
and non-commissioned officer
s also wear such swords. They are not intended for use as weapons, however, and now serve primarily in ornamental or ceremonial functions. One ceremonial function a sabre serves is the Sabre Arch, performed for servicemen or women getting married.
is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing
. It is a very fast-paced weapon, with bouts characterized by quick footwork and cutting with the side of the blade. Sabre is often claimed to be modelled after the weapon that cavalry used when fighting upon horseback (the allowed target area is only from the waist up, the region a mounted man could reach on a foe on the ground), although, more reasonably, most scholars believe the sabre was modelled after the lighter Italian style duelling sabre.
Sabre is a right-of-way weapon, which means that the fencer must take certain actions to get the right to score a point. Because sabre is such a fast weapon, the window of time each fencer is allowed to get their light on during electric fencing (to score a simultaneous hit after being hit by an opponent) is very, very small. In 2005, the FIE
changed the timing from 300-350 milliseconds down to approximately 120 milliseconds. What this means is that if Fencer A hits Fencer B, Fencer B has only 120 milliseconds to hit Fencer A before the scoring machine will not allow any new lights to come on.
In appearance the modern fencing sabre bears little resemblance to the traditional weapons on which it is modelled. Rather than a wide, flat, curved, single-edged blade, sports sabres have a thin, straight blade 88 cm long, with a V, Y or square cross-section.
or a drum & bugle corps
, the colorguard is a non-musical section that provides additional visual aspects to the performance. The marching band and colorguard performance generally takes place on a football field while the colorguard interprets the music that the marching band or drum & bugle corps is playing via the synchronized spinning of flags, sabres, rifles, or through dance. In the Winter colorguards, or Winter guard
perform indoors on gymnasium floors and usually performs to interpret recorded music.
Unlike in traditional, military colorguards, the sabre, and rifle are used as apparatus for spinning, tossing and as an extension to interpretative movement. The sabre is considered one of the more advanced of the equipment used by the guard members.
Backsword
A backsword is a sword with a blade on one edge, or an "edge-and-a-quarter." The back of the sword is often the thickest part of the blade and acts to support and strengthen it....
that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger. Although sabres are typically thought of as curved-bladed slashing weapons, those used by the world's heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
often had straight and even double-edged blades more suitable for thrusting. The length of sabres varied, and most were carried in a scabbard
Scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. Scabbards have been made of many materials over the millennia, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel.-Types of scabbards:...
hanging from a shoulder belt known as a baldric
Baldric
A baldric is a belt worn over one shoulder that is typically used to carry a weapon or other implement such as a bugle or drum...
or from a waist-mounted sword belt. Exceptions not intended for personal carry include the Patton saber
Model 1913 Cavalry Saber
The Model 1913 Cavalry Saber was designed by Second Lieutenant George S. Patton in 1913, when he was Master of the Sword at the Mounted Service School, and is commonly referred to as the Patton Saber. Following the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Patton traveled with his family to Dresden, Berlin, and...
adopted by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in 1913 and always mounted to the cavalryman's saddle.
Etymology
The English word sabre derives from the French sabre, which comes in turn from the HungarianHungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
Szablya and Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
"Szabla
Szabla
Szabla is the Polish word for sabre. It specifically refers to an Eastern European one-edged sabre-like mêlée weapon with a curved blade and, in most cases, a two-bladed tip called a feather . Initially used by light cavalry, with time it also evolved into a variety of arms used both for martial...
", originally a Hungarian verb for "to cut" which in turn derives from qypchaq/turk verb "sabalw, sabalaw" meaning to pierce or to hit. It is akin to the Russian сабля sablya, and describes a similar weapon.
Origins of the weapon
Sabre-like curved backswords have been in use in Europe since the medieval period (falchionFalchion
A falchion is a one-handed, single-edged sword of European origin, whose design is reminiscent of the Persian scimitar and the Chinese dao....
), or indeed since antiquity (makhaira
Makhaira
Makhaira is a term used by modern scholars to describe a type of ancient bladed weapon, generally a large knife with a slight backwards curve...
), but the introduction of the sabre proper in Western Europe, along with the term sabre itself, dates to the 17th century, via influence of the Eastern European szabla
Szabla
Szabla is the Polish word for sabre. It specifically refers to an Eastern European one-edged sabre-like mêlée weapon with a curved blade and, in most cases, a two-bladed tip called a feather . Initially used by light cavalry, with time it also evolved into a variety of arms used both for martial...
type.
The weapon gains widespread use in the early 19th century, inspired by the Mameluke sword
Mameluke Sword
A Mameluke sword is a cross-hilted, curved, scimitar-like sword historically derived from sabres used by Mamluk warriors of Mamluk Egypt from whom the sword derives its name. It is related to the shamshir, which had its origins in Persia from where the style migrated to India, Egypt and North...
, a type of Middle Eastern scimitar
Scimitar
A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
.
The original type of Polish sabre
Szabla
Szabla is the Polish word for sabre. It specifically refers to an Eastern European one-edged sabre-like mêlée weapon with a curved blade and, in most cases, a two-bladed tip called a feather . Initially used by light cavalry, with time it also evolved into a variety of arms used both for martial...
was used as a cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
weapon, probably inspired by Hungarian or wider Turco-Mongol
Turco-Mongol
Turko-Mongol is a modern designation for various nomads who were subjects of the Mongol Empire. Being progressively Turkicized in terms of language and identity following the Mongol conquests, they derived their ethnic and cultural origins from steppes of Central Asia...
warfare.
The Karabela
Karabela
A karabela was a type of Polish sabre . Perhaps one of the most famous types of that type of weapons, it became highly popular in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 1670s...
was a type of szabla popular in the late 17th century, worn by the Polish, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
nobility class, the Szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
. While designed as a cavalry weapon, it also came to replace various types straight-bladed swords used by infantry.
The Swiss sabre originates as a regular sword with a single-edged blade in the early 16th century, but by the 17th century begins to exhibit specialized hilt types.
Use
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, during which Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
used heavy cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
charges to great effect against his enemies. Shorter versions of the sabre were also used as sidearms by dismounted units, although these were gradually replaced by fascine knives and sword bayonets as the century went on. The sabre faded as a weapon by mid-century, as longer-range rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s made cavalry charges obsolete, even suicidal. In the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the sabre was used infrequently as a weapon, but saw notable deployment in the Battle of Brandy Station
Battle of Brandy Station
The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest to take place ever on American soil. It was fought at the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign by the Union cavalry under Maj....
and at East Cavalry Field at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
in 1863. Many cavalrymen—particularly on the Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
side—eventually abandoned the long, heavy weapons in favour of revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
s and carbine
Carbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
s. Although there was extensive debate over the effectiveness of weapons such as the sabre and lance
Lance
A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...
, the sabre remained the standard weapon of cavalry for mounted action in most armies until World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(1914–18). Thereafter it was gradually relegated to the status of a ceremonial weapon
Ceremonial weapon
A ceremonial weapon is an object used for ceremonial purposes to display power or authority. They are often used in parades, and as part of dress uniforms.Although they are descended from weapons used in actual combat, they are not normally used as such...
, and most horse cavalry was replaced by armoured cavalry
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
from 1930 on.
In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (16–18th century) a specific type of sabre-like melee
Mêlée
Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
weapon, the szabla
Szabla
Szabla is the Polish word for sabre. It specifically refers to an Eastern European one-edged sabre-like mêlée weapon with a curved blade and, in most cases, a two-bladed tip called a feather . Initially used by light cavalry, with time it also evolved into a variety of arms used both for martial...
, was used. The Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks
Don Cossacks were Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.- Etymology and origins :The Don Cossack Host was a frontier military organization from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century....
used the shashka, which also saw military and police use in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and early Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Adoption by Western Armed Forces
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the French conquest of Egypt brought these beautiful and functional swords to the attention of the Europeans. This type of sabre became very popular for light cavalry officers, in both France and Britain, and became a fashionable weapon for senior officers to wear.
The elegant but effective 1803 pattern sword that the British Government authorized for use by infantry officers during the wars against Napoleon featured a curved sabre blade which was often blued and engraved by the owner in accordance with his personal taste.
In 1831, the "Mamaluke" sword became a regulation pattern for British general officers (and is still in use today). The American victory over the rebellious forces in the citadel of Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
in 1805 during the First Barbary War
First Barbary War
The First Barbary War , also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States and the North African Berber Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States...
, led to the presentation of bejewelled examples of these swords to the senior officers of the US Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. Officers of the US Marine Corps still use a mameluke pattern dress sword. Although some genuine Turkish kilij sabres were used by Westerners, most "mameluke sabres" were manufactured in Europe; their hilts were very similar in form to the Ottoman prototype, however, their blades, even when an expanded yelman was incorporated, tended to be longer, narrower and less curved than those of the true kilij.
During the 19th and in the early 20th century, sabres were also used by both mounted and dismounted personnel in some European police forces. When the sabre was used by mounted police against crowds, the results could be appalling, as in a key scene in Doctor Zhivago
Doctor Zhivago (1965 film)
Doctor Zhivago is a 1965 epic drama-romance-war film directed by David Lean and loosely based on the famous novel of the same name by Boris Pasternak...
. The sabre was later phased out in favour of the baton
Club (weapon)
A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times....
(or night stick) for both practical and humanitarian reasons. The Gendarmerie of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
used them until at least 1950.
In the United States, swords with sabre blades are worn by Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, and Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
officers. Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
and non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s also wear such swords. They are not intended for use as weapons, however, and now serve primarily in ornamental or ceremonial functions. One ceremonial function a sabre serves is the Sabre Arch, performed for servicemen or women getting married.
Modern sport fencing
The sabreSabre (fencing)
The sabre is one of the three weapons of modern sport fencing, and is alternatively spelled saber in American English. The sabre differs from the other modern fencing weapons, the épée and foil, in that it is possible to score with the edge of the blade; for this reason, sabreur movements and...
is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
. It is a very fast-paced weapon, with bouts characterized by quick footwork and cutting with the side of the blade. Sabre is often claimed to be modelled after the weapon that cavalry used when fighting upon horseback (the allowed target area is only from the waist up, the region a mounted man could reach on a foe on the ground), although, more reasonably, most scholars believe the sabre was modelled after the lighter Italian style duelling sabre.
Sabre is a right-of-way weapon, which means that the fencer must take certain actions to get the right to score a point. Because sabre is such a fast weapon, the window of time each fencer is allowed to get their light on during electric fencing (to score a simultaneous hit after being hit by an opponent) is very, very small. In 2005, the FIE
Fédération Internationale d'Escrime
Fédération Internationale d'Escrime is the international governing body of Olympic fencing. It was founded on November 29, 1913 in Paris, France. Today, its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland...
changed the timing from 300-350 milliseconds down to approximately 120 milliseconds. What this means is that if Fencer A hits Fencer B, Fencer B has only 120 milliseconds to hit Fencer A before the scoring machine will not allow any new lights to come on.
In appearance the modern fencing sabre bears little resemblance to the traditional weapons on which it is modelled. Rather than a wide, flat, curved, single-edged blade, sports sabres have a thin, straight blade 88 cm long, with a V, Y or square cross-section.
Colorguard
In a marching bandMarching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
or a drum & bugle corps
Drum and bugle corps (modern)
A drum and bugle corps, also known as a drum corps, is a musical marching unit consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and color guard. Typically operating as independent non-profit organizations, drum corps perform in competitions, parades, festivals, and other civic functions...
, the colorguard is a non-musical section that provides additional visual aspects to the performance. The marching band and colorguard performance generally takes place on a football field while the colorguard interprets the music that the marching band or drum & bugle corps is playing via the synchronized spinning of flags, sabres, rifles, or through dance. In the Winter colorguards, or Winter guard
Winter guard
Winter guard is an indoor color guard activity, derived from marching band or drum & bugle corps. Unlike traditional color guard, winter guard is performed indoors, usually in a gymnasium or an indoor arena...
perform indoors on gymnasium floors and usually performs to interpret recorded music.
Unlike in traditional, military colorguards, the sabre, and rifle are used as apparatus for spinning, tossing and as an extension to interpretative movement. The sabre is considered one of the more advanced of the equipment used by the guard members.
See also
- Pattern 1796 light cavalry sabrePattern 1796 light cavalry sabreThe Pattern 1796 Light Cavalry Sabre, is a sword that was used primarily by British Light Dragoons and hussars, and King's German Legion light cavalry during the Napoleonic Wars...
- Pattern 1908 and 1912 cavalry swords
- SabrageSabrageSabrage is a technique for opening a Champagne bottle with a sabre, used for ceremonial occasions. The saber is slid along the body of the bottle toward the neck. The force of the blade hitting the lip breaks the glass to separate the collar from the neck of the bottle...
, the act of opening a Champagne bottle with a sabre - Buffalo SabresBuffalo SabresThe Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
, takes their name from the sword - CutlassCutlassA cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket shaped guard...
- Dao or taoDao (sword)Daois a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping , often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun , qiang , and the jian , and referred...
, the Chinese equivalent - ScimitarScimitarA scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
, the Arab equivalent - ShamshirShamshirA Shamshir also Shamsheer and Chimchir, is a type of sabre with a curve that is considered radical for a sword: 5 to 15 degrees from tip to tip. The name is derived from Persian شمشیر shamshīr, which means "sword"...
, the Persian equivalent - SzablaSzablaSzabla is the Polish word for sabre. It specifically refers to an Eastern European one-edged sabre-like mêlée weapon with a curved blade and, in most cases, a two-bladed tip called a feather . Initially used by light cavalry, with time it also evolved into a variety of arms used both for martial...
, the Eastern European equivalent - TalwarTalwarThe talwar is a type of curved sword or sabre from India and modern-day Pakistan...
, the Indian equivalent - ZulfiqarZulfiqarZulfiqar "bifurcated" is the sword of the Islamic leader Ali. In Arabic the name is commonly transliterated as Dhu al-Fiqar, Thulfeqar, Dhulfiqar, Zoulfikar etc. The name Zulfiqar means which divides exactly in two parts....
External links
- www.oldswords.com - The largest online resource for antique sword/sabre collectors
- www.zlatgift.com - Zlatoust sabres, knifes, gifts
- The use of the saber