Sidesword

Quick Facts

OriginItaly

Weapon typeSword

How it worksCutting, Thrusting

Wield typeSingle-handed

MaterialSteel

Period of useEarly modern

Original purposeMilitary weapon

About the weapon

The spada da lato, in English sidesword, is a sword popular in Italy during the Renaissance. It follows on from the medieval knightly sword and is the immediate forerunner, or an early form, of the early modern rapier. The fully developed rapier is called in Italian sources spada da lato striscia or simply spada striscia. Italian antiquarians, however, use spada da lato to denote rapiers typical of the period roughly 1560 to 1630. Swords of this type were used alongside rapiers, especially for military purposes. The similar Spanish term espada ropera, sword worn with clothing, is thought to be the origin of the word rapier, though this is disputed. We have not been able to establish the dimensions, weight and hilt construction from the sources we used.

Related weapons

• Gave rise to: Rapier

Katas using this weapon

Care and maintenance

• Caring for steel and iron blades