Rapier
Unknown Artist
c. 1580–1610
Medium
steel, ribbed guard and pommel; wood and wire
Dimensions
l. 135.9 cm · blade: l. 111.1 cm
Classification
Arms and Armor
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift from the Bascom Little Estate
Accession Number
1974.59
About this artwork
The rapier was a sword worn with civilian dress and used in duels. The term rapier derives from the 16th-century French word rapière, which in turn derived from the Spanish espada ropera, or “dress sword.” The rapier was a light weapon with a straight double-edged and pointed blade that, with the development of the art of fencing in the 1500s and 1600s, gradually became narrower and lighter, and thus suitable for thrusts only. With the new technique of swordplay emphasizing the point of the blad...