| Swords first appeared between 1500 and 1100 | | | | swords that they were accustomed to, and also |
| B.C. in Celtic Britain and Minoan Crete. Almost | | | | learned to make full use of the sword's tip with a |
| immediately after they were first crafted, swords | | | | thrust maneuver. With their new weapons and |
| became not only useful for combat, but also for | | | | skills, the soldiers quickly defeated the British |
| sport. For example, one of the earliest depictions | | | | Celts, whose swords were short and |
| of swords is a relief found in a temple built in | | | | cumbersome to wield. |
| northern Egypt, depicting an ancient fencing | | | | The Gaul Celts posed a much more serious |
| match. In fact, fencing and swordplay became so | | | | threat, however. The Gaul's often approached |
| popular that Ninus, king of Assyria, used fencing | | | | their enemies while whooping loudly and slashing |
| masters to train his troops for battle. | | | | their blades through their air, and once close to |
| It was the Romans, however, who truly | | | | their foe, would strike downward in a chopping |
| advanced swordsmanship to an art. They admired | | | | motion. If properly blocked with a stout shield, the |
| and appreciated swords as truly valuable weapons | | | | Roman's discovered that their enemies' swords |
| on the battlefield, and perhaps more importantly | | | | would bend or break, allowing for an easy |
| at first, in the gladiator ring. Gladiator bouts, | | | | counter-attack. |
| originally started as a funeral rite, eventually | | | | However impressive that the Romans were on |
| turned into a huge event attended by thousands. | | | | the battlefield, it was not their military prowess |
| The gladiators, who commonly fought in pairs, | | | | that advanced their evolution of swordsmanship, |
| were pitted against each other for bouts that | | | | but rather a crippling defeat. At the Battle of |
| usually lasted until the death. Although other | | | | Adrianople, the emperor, all his senior officers, and |
| weapons were used, swords were of paramount | | | | approximately 40,000 foot soldiers were |
| importance to the combatants, and wounds were | | | | slaughtered by the Visigoths in the course of one |
| so prominent that the most distinguished Roman | | | | afternoon. The Gothic soldiers used their much |
| surgeons were those who specialized in these | | | | longer swords to slash and attack their enemies |
| injuries. | | | | head on. This is regarded and the first time in |
| The gladiator's training was so thorough that their | | | | history where swords were not secondary to a |
| techniques became adopted by the military. | | | | lance or spear. |
| Recruits would wield swords crafted from wood | | | | This crushing defeat revolutionized the way the |
| against an object, generally a stick planted in the | | | | Roman soldiers used their swords. Instead of the |
| ground, until his instructors deemed him worthy of | | | | thrusting swords borrowed from the Spanish, |
| edged swords. The recruit's training would | | | | they now employed slashing swords in combat. |
| culminate in an individual battle with real swords, | | | | Although over the course of the next several |
| much like a gladiator bout. | | | | hundred years many new weapons were |
| Roman soldiers fighting in Spain adopted their | | | | invented, none outlasted the versatility and |
| enemies' iron swords, far superior to the copper | | | | efficiency of swords. |