Broadswords

Edged Weapons → Swords — Subcategory

Overview

The term "broadsword" is historically imprecise — it was not used in period sources as a specific weapon name but refers broadly to wide-bladed, double-edged military swords of the 17th and 18th centuries, most commonly those fitted with complex basket hilts. The broadsword is most strongly associated with Scottish Highland warriors but was used across Europe.

Key Characteristics

• Wide, double-edged blade — Typically 70–90 cm; flat or with a shallow fuller; capable of both cutting and thrusting
• Basket hilt — The defining feature of most broadswords; an elaborate cage of iron bars protecting the entire hand; developed from simpler crossguard forms in the 16th century
• Weight — Typically 1.0–1.5 kg; heavier than a rapier but manageable one-handed

Major Types

Scottish Broadsword

The Scottish basket-hilted broadsword is the most iconic form:

• Associated with Highland clan warriors and Jacobite risings (1715, 1745)
• Worn with the traditional Highland dress (later romanticized by Scott and Victorian artists)
• Used in the Highland charge — a rush of clansmen with broadsword and targe (small round shield)
• Battle of Prestonpans (1745) — Highlanders armed with broadsword and targe routed a government army in minutes; the Highland charge was devastating before musket-and-bayonet discipline and open terrain neutralized it at Culloden (1746)

Sinclair Hilt / English Broadsword

English cavalry used basket-hilted broadswords throughout the Civil War period and beyond:

• English Civil War cavalry (Ironsides) carried basket-hilted broadswords
• The Pattern 1796 Heavy Cavalry Sword — with its distinctive curved blade — is sometimes classed as a broadsword

German Korbschwert

German basket-hilted swords; similar construction to Scottish forms; used by German Reiter cavalry

Broadsword Fencing

A distinct fencing style developed for the broadsword, different from rapier technique:

• Relies on edge cuts as well as thrusts
• The basket hilt allows hand movements not possible with simple crossguard
• Scottish broadsword technique was codified in the 18th–19th centuries; remains practiced today as a martial art

This article is a stub. Contributions covering specific broadsword patterns, battles, and fencing traditions are welcome.