Those Victorians... Always spoiling history for the rest of us! Viking with horned helmets, knights that have to be winched to mount their horses jeez....
There was a Jethro Tull album called "The Broadsword and the Beast" and the cover features an arming sword. So even rock music is responsible for the misconception.
To me, a rough definition of a broadsword is a wide-ish blade with little to no profile taper, basically a sharpened bar of steel. So, broad roundish tip vs. narrow pointy tip. Literally a "broad", as in wide, sword regardless of curve. This seems to fit with Scottish broads, hangers, etc., but not most medieval arming swords (if anything more primitive Viking-style swords may fit better here).
I'd honestly rather we adopt the modern popular name in the academic community than try to resurrect the technical term to the public. It's a more intuitive use of the term in an environment where we have access to a wider array of swords - the medieval or viking type swords are more deserving of the descriptor "broad" when compared to other blade types. I know the "language evolves" argument is a bit of a cop-out, but the topic of swords *has* expanded in modern times.
Well, I'll never get used to calling a basket-hilted sword a broadsword, because it does not have a wide blade at all. The term "broad" means having an ample distance from side to side; width.
5:58 Interesting fullers(?) on this one... I don't think I've ever seen this pattern elsewhere. I also kinda like the way Morrowind uses 'broadsword'; A one-handed, straight, double edged sword that's wider and probably shorter than a 'longsword', which is what we would call arming sword, but with those broadswords around the term makes more sense.
Somehow me and my friends got in the habit of calling Cinquedea blades Broadsword about twenty years ago and I never questioned the validity of doing so because the things were broad and the actual name is difficult to pronounce. This video is very informative and one of the best show and tells on your channel.
It's generally only an illusion because of the incredibly large basket guard. If you took the guard away, most broadsword blades wouldn't be very different in width than medieval arming sword blades.
@@nobbynoris I know right. It makes perfect sense why an arming can be called a broadsword. It has the same blade and is used in almost the same way. The only real difference is the hilt.
I can recall only one occasion in film where the basket hilted straight sword like the one featured in the video was actually specifically named as a broadsword in the script. In the beginning of the original Highlander, the sword is called a "Toledo Salamanca Broadsword" by the detective investigating the first immortal killed in the film.
Exactly as you said, Matt, the key issue with many questions of terminology concerning medieval, late medieval and even Neuzeit items is that people mostly didn't pay too much attention to categories. So if someone today says, *THIS is called THAT!*, and refer to history, they are often just ignorant of that fact. It can be quite frustrating to try to work out a "historically correct" terminology, since this historically correct terminology tends to jump around, depending on many many factors ... As for "broadsword", it is also often applied to certain types of Frankonian / "Viking"-period swords, and I think this is absolutely legit as well, since this term is very fitting in a descriptive manner. Although I personally would avoid using the term altogether. So, as so annoyingly (happily?) often in nature, there is not just the one comfortable truth out there :)
Hi Matt, could i possibly make a video request? - How come we never see Leaf bladed longswords throughout history? (Like we do see in fantasy, like LoTRs). It's a very visually appealing blade shape, but it seems to of never been implemented in later European swords... Instead they were always straight or tapered. And we know people back then loved aesthetically pleasing weapons as much as we do now! - So what gives?? Is there some problem with balance/rigidity over a certain size, or maybe impeding the thrust potential? I'm surprised NOBODY ever thought to have one made. Would love to have your explanation!
Um? Yes I know about ancient leaf blade designs..But that's exactly my point, why did it never seem to be implemented past the ancient times? And never over short sword length? Specifically on larger medieval swords, hand and a half, two handed, longswords? Which is what we often see in fantasy like Lord of The Rings (Glamdring, lots of the the other elven made longswords, were slightly leaf bladed). Would love to know the reasoning it never happened in reality, since it seems a beautiful design.
Craig Steele Unpractical I suppose. First we all known a sword needs to be reasonably light to be functional. This design was Ok when swords were very short in bronze-earlyiron ages. But when swords got longer and longer, the nature of physics causes the sword to became more and more unwieldy. Plus that, The leaf sword had a narrow stem and a heavy tip. If stem was not strong enough, the sword might break. But if stem was thick enough, the sword became too heavy. And if we got these right, the sword had to be short to reduce weight. Then it would be a huge disadvantage when facing enemies all using sword much longer.
In the current DnD dynamic, that has been going since about 1999, there are no weapons called broadswords presented in the main rules. There are shortswords, which are shorter-bladed arming swords. They're presented as looking like a hunting sword. There are longswords, which are (much to my chagrin) arming swords like the one you are holding at 1:28 (one-handed swords that can be two-handed for greater damage mean damage) There are bastard swords, which are right proper longswords (two-handed swords that can be one-handed with extra training) Then there are greatswords, which are Montante/Spadone/Zweihänders. Then there are swords where the Player's Handbook that cover non-cruciform swords Rapier, which look like sabers and play like it really should be a smallsword or a spadone. Scimitar, which us used for scimitars, shamshirs, tulwars, hangers/cuttlases, and other weapons specialized in the cut to the detriment of the thrust. And in a move that angers me to no end, The name Falchion is applied to two-handed scimitars.
Yeah, the two-handed Falchion is something that confuses me. There do seem to be a handful of things that could possibly be considered falchions that were two-handed. But overwhelmingly the falchion was a one handed chopper. Also I think the idea the rapier being a saber was thankfully confined to a single image. What bugs me most though is probably the use of buckler to refer to something just strapped to your forearm with no hand-grip. Which is both the exact opposite of a real buckler which is just held and not strapped, but also completely impractical. Something held on with a single strap would just twist around your arm when hit anywhere but the center. It just makes no sense. Also the armor. Ugh! There is so much wrong with the armor in D&D. Non-existent armors like Ringmail, Studded Leather, full suits of splinted armor, the use of Mail for armor with no mail in them at all. And there was the old pre-3rd ed term Platemail which they never really seemed sure what they were refereeing to.
Ugh, yeah. Studded leather and Ringmail make me so mad. Bucklers too, but its the former two that really piss me off. Bucklers are effectively poorly represented small targes. I hate them, but ugh. Studded leather and Ringmail are things that only exist in fantasy because they're based on looking ad poorly drawn pictures of brigandine and chain or scale. I just checked my 4 and 5E books and yeah, the art of them is much better. I just haven't played nearly as much of them and consistently see 3.PF put cutlasses on their character art and stat them as rapiers - piercing damage and all.
Chris Rigby interesting, thats the Scots Gaelic for big sword? in Irish Gaeilge we would say Claíomh mòr, of course we don't have such a weapon like the Scots did, but linguistically, the words seem oh so similar, big sword xD
So with regards to the use of the term broadsword applied to sabres as a reference to technique as opposed to weapon design, the term is kind of similar to dussack, in that whilst the term dussack did apply to a specific military weapon, it eventually primarily became known for training weapons and techniques.One would guess that the application of the term broadsword to the Chinese dao/broadsword/sabre was also a result of the 19th century terminology.
What is then the official term for a sabre hilted double edged blade with little profile taper? Like the one at 8:26 but also broader blades like the ones you saw on Austrian soldiers of the 19th c.
The Atlantean sword is hands down the most beautiful sword I've ever seen. It may be funtionally too short but it travels well and is preferable in tight quarters.
Very interesting. I've seen the term broadsword used even more frivolously, to basically mean any mostly straight European sword which isn't a rapier or other slender blade (e.g. small sword). Falchion, arming sword, longsword and so on all just called broadsword.
Yes, the plastic pick sword also known as a cocktail sword, commonly used for stabbing maraschino cherries, olives, sanwiches, lunchmeats and other edible items thinner or shorter than the length of the blade
I've also heard broadsword applied specifically toward asian weapons, usually shamshirs, tulwars, and most commonly chinese dao. It's really frequently used to describe that.
Haha I work all of your teachings into how I run D&D games, Matt. My players all know what they mean when they refer to their "arming swords" xD. Keep up the great work!
When it came to fantasy RPG settings (D&D, LOTR, etc.), the general opinion was that a 'broadsword' was the shorter (and not-pointy) cousin to the longsword... sorta like a Viking sword. The long- & bastard-swords were the stabby swords you saved up to buy, the broadsword was the 'starter sword' for fighter types. ;-)
I know that in France, during the 18th century, when someone was talking about the "épée", it meant the smallsword. Couldn't have it been the same in English, i.e. that they simply called "sword" what we today call invariably "smallsword", and thus any other kind of sword/saber, especially those designed as primary weapons (for cavalry and infantry officers) would have to be differentiated by calling it a "broad sword". Funnily, in French, "broad swords" in general, both with straight and curved blades, are sometimes still called "espadon" by the 1820's. The French word "espadon" is derived from the Italian "spadone" (so a large sword), but the English word "spadroon" is derived from the French. During the 17th and 18th century, what are called "hangers" in English were often called "coutelas" in French (thus "cutlass"), and generally meant any shortish, single edged sword, often curved, designed to chop, be it a military weapon or a civilian implement (for hunting, for example), a bit like "storta" in Italian. And straight cavalry thrusting sabers typical of the French cavalry (cuirassiers and dragons) were colloquially called "latte de cavalerie" (cavalry lath, literally) from at least the beginning of the 19th century.
@9:00 i disagree , it is a broad sword hence it easily could have been called a broadsword it just often would not be classified as such.. but you notice how its broader than pretty much all other swords you've shown so far matt? so in a sense it has more claim than the others :P @6:00 that's quite a nice sword, i like it. edit: the sabre @8:50 is quite nice as well.... & i quite like the arming sword, this video just has allot of swords i quite like.... lol
Hey Matt, would you consider making a video about the use of two-handed weapons from horseback? It seems very rare, at least in the West, but I've seen some depictions of it, and it looks like a lot of Eastern cavalry used pole-arms from horseback.
Matt goes: _"Considers this:"_ and my brain instantly goes *"an arming sword"* (as he holds up the sword) and finishes with _"a broadsword"._ Well Matt, at least you've taught my brain the correct term for it. It's almost like I've learned things by watching your videos... imagine that. I don't even have swords on my walls. :)
d&d is where I get my sword naming categories. A broad sword has only the very edge bevelled/sharpened with a relatively flat blade, where a long sword is bevelled from the centre of the blade (or very nearly). A long sword would also have a longer blade (of course) and a handle that could be 2-handed, where the broad sword couldn't. That has absolutely no relation to real world swords however. A real broad sword however is a well made pump action shotgun as seen in Romeo+Juliet 'Hand me my broadsword' says Capulet.
I admit that I always think of a broadsword as a medieval sword with a straight double-edged blade and a rounded tip - primarily a cutting rather than a stabbing weapon. I also think of Vikings, whether they had such swords or not. I’m not completely ignorant though, since I was aware that it is a common term for later period basket-hilt swords. And yes, Jethro Tull is at least partly to blame. And video games. I think the broadsword in Dark Souls matches my description above, iirc.
+scholagladiatoria I saw a Sword in a collection when i was a kid (Mid 80-s) and have never seen another like it. It was simply labeled a ""Late Rapier Hilted Cut & Thrust Sword" If you have any ideas on where to find a similar repro i would be very thankful.
I remember a Q&A with Gary Gygax years ago and his explanation of what constituted a "broadsword" was simply a Viking/Saxon-era weapon with a thicker blade than the later medieval swords, which he dubbed "longswords". His terminology isn't wrong. The classification system used by HEMA, Oakeshott and others is a very recent invention. It's like the Linnaean system for classifying plants and animals. It's somewhat useful nowadays, but the fact that people didn't use it before Linne invented it, or don't take the Linnaean System as gospel doesn't make them wrong. To this day, zoologists can't make up their minds about which genus the snow leopard belongs to.
I love these kind of videos, where you show all kinds of swords and talk about their similarities and differences... I think I just like to look at all the different swords next to each other. There has to be a better way of phrasing this?!
Funny, the one thing I call a broadsword is the early modern military swords. The sort used the 30-year war and afterwards, alongside sabres and rapiers (in civilian life). This simply because they are not sabres, they are broader than rapiers and I have no other good umbrella term for them.
While I'd never quibble with your profound in depth knowledge of this subject, I would just like to suggest that, given that the term "arming sword" was itself a much later (Victorian or even later) term retrospectively lied to the medieval sword, it isn't then so wrong to also refer to it as a "broadsword " after all. I mean, most medieval swords do seem to have had very wide blades, certainly compared to the swords of later centuries.
I took a stage combat workshop about a year ago, the thing they called a broadsword I would call a longsword. What they called rapiers were also probably closer to side swords, but that's more forgivable.
A few minutes ago I would have sworn that in Dungeons & Dragons that a "broad sword" was a single edged weapon, but I have just searched the PDFs online and cannot find a description anywhere. My recollection is that "broadsword" was used in the DeCamp/Carter editions of Howard's Conan novels as a longsword or arming sword, and in AD&D or earlier rules "broadswords" were single edged. This will drive me nuts.
Hey Matt, got a really weird question regarding Broadswords: During one of my full contact sparing matches Heavy Saber (Me) vs. Basket-Hilt Broadsword (Opponent) the following happened: From a hanging right high guard I delivered a cut to my opponents left cheek - he stepped a bit back and parried into a High guard himself. I loosed my wrist and let him swing his parry through. He then tried to follow up and deliver a cut from high left, I merely raised my point and it stabbed right through his basket-hilt. My blade immediately got tangled in the hilt, resulting in a swift and awkward disarm. I was wondering: How much protection did historical basket-hilts actually offer? And: Are there any more documented instances of blades, especially during a thrust, getting tangled in a basket-hilt or similar guards?
If you search kindle's free library I believe there is a book on broadsword, quarterstaff and single stick fighting. Not sure how good or accurate it is, but it is there.
Hello Matt, Thanks for the many nice vids Can you please give us more insight into composite sword blades. (not in fantasy games or movies!) Were they used historically and in what way? was there a clear definition of composite swords? Do they have any advantages? combining two different metals for example? Thanks ;)
I can't believe the blacksmiths back in medieval times did not have some catalog of sorts illustrating sword categories to make it easier for them to understand clearly what their customers ordered.
I think that a broad sword is a regular infantry sword and it depends which part of the world and era you are talking about cause there is the English broad sword the Swedish broad sword and they are different like he shows
I suspect all of these descriptors started out as adjectives, not as a part of any typology. A weapon was (and still is) designed to be used for a purpose; that purpose defined the weapon, and the shape was relevant only to how well that purpose was executed. When we have the leisure time to turn combat training into an "art", then we start trying to assign specific names to specific shapes, and that name becomes important.
A (hopefully) interesting side note: The Chinese dao is variously translated as 'knife', 'sabre' and 'broadsword'. It seems the first is from literal translation (as one would translate messer), and is generally seen in poor translations of primary sources. 'Sabre' seems to be favoured by scholarly translators that are nevertheless removed from Chinese martial arts, while 'broadsword' is the term most commonly encountered in practical CMA circles. This is my impression as a non-professional enthusiast in the field, and I'll leave the interpretation and chin scratching up to you lot. I'm also giving a wide berth to the distinction between, and categorisation of, niuweidao, nandao, yanmaodao etc. etc. ad nauseam
Since baskethilt swords were called claymore (as noted in “swordsmen of the British empire”), I assumed it was derived traditionally from the two handed longsword with the same name and origin (the one with the V shaped guard and the quatrefoil decoration at the ends of the quilons). All this because claymore means broadsword.
Hello Matt, could you please give more information about the last sabre you showed in this video? I'm interested in such an almost straight long sabres.
Thank you, it annoys me in games now after I study real-life swordsmanship on how weapons are called. I always see Arming Swords or Longswords called Broadswords. Once when I got my first practice Longsword, my sister said "Cool Broadsword" and then I ended her rightly.
Not knowing any of the history behind the name before, the image I had gotten from popular media was that a broadsword was another name for longsword, used by people who didn't really know what they were talking about. That's pretty weird, but I doubt I'm alone in this. The people asking if you teach broadsword might actually mean longsword, or even greatsword...
I've got a question concerning the form of the grip. Can a backsword have a curved grip end, like sabers have, facilitating saber-grip, or is backsword, as a term, mostly confined to something having a big pommel that, IIUC, implies hammer-grip? Thanks.
That spine running down the blade of the arming sword, wouldn't that hinder its cutting ability? It looks to have less of a taper than other arming swords, so I assume it's intended to cut well.
An easy way to remember sword names. Longsword- sword that is long Shortsword- sword that is short Broadsword- sword that is broad Arming sword- a sword you wear when arming
So what you're saying is that the sword that media and games call Broadswords should be called "Medieval Sword" or "Arming Sword". And you're right; I've seen swords that look exactly like the arming sword you showed that are called "broadsword".
It seems that broadswords' common trait was hand protection, the basket hilt or knuckle guard on the sabers. So does broadsword styles have a more hand forward positions rather than hand back positions?
The word "Broadsword" i think comes from italian "Spadona" (litterally big sword) (wich is different from spadone) In italy, "Spadona" were those kind of swords (1500-1600) wich had really protective hilt (as peppenheimer, cupguards, basket hilts or "guardia spezzata") as the usual mid/late renaissance sideswords but a slightly shorter but winder blade, as the arming swords from middle ages
I feel like this is a where being wrong actually makes more sense at least in a comparative sense. The arming sword is about twice as *broad* as the broadsword which itself is actually really narrow but also pretty long and therefore should be called a longsword. That would completely avoid the need for the labyrinthine explanation of this is a broadsword because it was noticed that it's marginally broader than a sword so small it's in the name. That's like calling anything larger than a Derringer, a hand cannon since the Derringer is made to fit in the palm of your hand and is therefore a literal handgun.
Now if you double the width of the blade on the broadsword you get what is known as the "fat sword" or "super chunky sword" as is described in many medieval writings.
And all this time I thought that a broadsword was a big long heavy double-handed sword, like what Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham dueled with in the old Sean Connery movie.
As you basically said, you said that in medieval times the word broadsword was just to explain that a sword was "broader" than another sword. You also basically said the same thing for later periods. But my point is that wouldn't that be also true of our use of the word now? Since the most common use of swords now is in fencing which is obviously a much thinner blade.
I suppose you're right but I do think we should at least make some effort to refer to the weapons by their original names or category out of respect if nothing else
Well. By what he said it sounded like in medieval times there weren't broadswords but there were broad swords. It wasn't a term or a word, it was a sound. It only happened when people were trying to describe another weapon. Composite words in English are problematic in that they often don't really change at all when joined, so there is no difference between a name and a name accompanied by an adjective. If it broadsword were to be translated to the letter to Portuguese it would probably be something in the way of "Larguespada" "larga(o) (broad)"+"espada (sword), and there are differences when spelling the two, so we generally know when something is anything other than a word accompanied by an adjective.
The most common 'use' of swords now may be in sport fencing, but I would wager that if you carried out a survey on what a sword is, the vast majority of people would not describe a fencing foil.
I do believe fencing has been described as 'a game of electrified tag' on this channel. Also, eBay doesn't allow the sale of swords the UK, but fencing foils and such are allowed. I realise eBay is hardly the arbiter of all sword terminology, but it seemed somewhat relevant.
Burning question brought up from this video and your recent one on 19th century European accounts of Katanas. Why did some European swords have metal scabbards? In the Katana video you mentioned that the European sabres often had dulled edges because they were kept in metal scabbards. That seemed crazy to me that they did that, but I guessed it may have been a brief fad when swords were not considered martially significant, or maybe because the thrust was considered so important in Europe. In this video you pull the Kilij style Napoleonic sabre off the wall. Completely metal scabbard and I went nuts when you drew it because it actually made the metal on metal, edge destroying, sword-being-drawn movie sound effect. Wikipedia says metal scabbards became popular in the 19th century for durability and ornamentation, but that just seems like a bad trade for dulling your blade. I'm curious on anyone's comments on this, but particularly if Matt sees this. Thanks.
Matt has answered this sort of thing a few times. Basically, metal scabbards are easier for armies to mass-produce, and are much sturdier (both in use, and when stored). Officers, who would be buying their own swords, often got wood lined, or leather scabbards. Swords for troopers would be issued from regimental stores, and they were expected to simply sharpen the swords more frequently.
In Morrowind and Oblivion both a longsword and a broadsword were one-handed swords, a broadsword a bit broader, when a two-handed sword was called a claymore. Thankfully, in Skyrim they changed the one-handed sword to just "sword" and a claymore to "greatsword".
Wherever someone mentions a "mediaeval broadsword" I think of Boromir's sword from the Fellowship of the Ring film - which in my mind is the shape of a Cinquedea but the length of an arming sword but that's an exaggeration really, I think out only looks thick compared to Aragorn's swords.
boromir's sword looks a lot like 'the sovereign' from albion's next generation line (type xiv) albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/sword-medieval-sovereign-xiv.htm
In D&D they seem to refer to something slightly shorter than the first sword you picked up, usually look viking inspired and always very flat and broad. Not to mention also in D&D Longswords are Armingswords.
I have a question: the arming sword you show, where is the point of balance? I have been working on a Legacy Arms "King Henry V" sword trying to make it more like the one on which both are modeled. (It's pommel is very knobby and heavy and I need to know how much more weight to remove to make it balanced optimally; it's PoB is currently at 4 1/2 inches.)
"Broadsword" rhymes, and is easy to remember, and sounds either more technical or more "romantic" than just "sword". So people are going to use "broadsword" too often, just as today they use "epicentre" when they really mean "centre", "simplistic" when they only mean "simple", and "track record" when they mean only "record". It's just the way people are.
In 2117 a holovid comes out explaining what a broadsword is, and how the definition changed from the describing a basket hilted sword in the 18th century to a saber in the Victorian period, and eventually an arming sword in the late 20th century. But how it really should never be a term used to apply to a wide beamed laser sword despite what the sci-fi vr adventures say.
I'm not sure how it was in the first edition of DnD but from 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons up to 3rd (or even 4th edition, never played that one) the arming sword was referred to as a longsword. So while DnD was spreading misinformation they did not call it a broadsword. At least in the German translation
I feel like "it actually goes back to the victorian period" could be used to the source of most misconceptions on European weapons....
and about ancient times in general
And the supposedly "dark" middle ages...
DnD too.
+strategiusz Most of the wrongness from D&D came from the fact that they used Victorian sources.
D&D is just a grab-bag collection of unsourced fantasy pop-culture.
"It probably goes back to the Victorian Era" is probably the most common statement when confronting misconceptions about the Middle Ages... probably.
"Now I'll go back to the Victorian period in a minute."
I saw no time travel in this video. Disappointing.
You should check further : the very concept of a video is time traveling :p
Grégory Fleury Mind = Blown
He did but he altered the past in a way that he doesn't born wich stopped him from going back in time and created a time paradox
This would make a great drinking game. Take a shot every time Matt says that it gets more complicated than that.
It also could apply to "general speaking"
"context" if you want to get so drunk you don't know what day it is.
I just take a drink every time Matt picks up a different sword.
But I like my liver.
You really wonna crank it too 11? take a shot every time he makes a sexual innuendo.
Those Victorians... Always spoiling history for the rest of us! Viking with horned helmets, knights that have to be winched to mount their horses jeez....
History is written by the Victorians.
germanvisitor2 That's actually a REALLY clever joke.
Thank you!
best pun i've heard in a long while
I guess those of you who do not know that D&D is one of the main sources of broadsword confusion are too young to have played 1st edition.
That was a pretty broad definition.
BA DUM DISSHHHH!!
Personaly i prefer the iconic " wha wha whaaaaaaaaa ", i think the "" BA DUN TSSSSSS " is a bit overused.
TheAquarius1978
No one CARES!
wha wha whaaaaaaaaa
Much better lol
There was a Jethro Tull album called "The Broadsword and the Beast" and the cover features an arming sword. So even rock music is responsible for the misconception.
Jethro Tull... yeaa!!!
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jethro Tull, the level of possible memes related to this video is hilarious!
"Broadsword: what is it?"
Absolutely-
NOTHIN'!
Sing it again, WOOOOOOOO!
Good god yall!
To me, a rough definition of a broadsword is a wide-ish blade with little to no profile taper, basically a sharpened bar of steel. So, broad roundish tip vs. narrow pointy tip. Literally a "broad", as in wide, sword regardless of curve. This seems to fit with Scottish broads, hangers, etc., but not most medieval arming swords (if anything more primitive Viking-style swords may fit better here).
I'd honestly rather we adopt the modern popular name in the academic community than try to resurrect the technical term to the public. It's a more intuitive use of the term in an environment where we have access to a wider array of swords - the medieval or viking type swords are more deserving of the descriptor "broad" when compared to other blade types.
I know the "language evolves" argument is a bit of a cop-out, but the topic of swords *has* expanded in modern times.
Well, I'll never get used to calling a basket-hilted sword a broadsword, because it does not have a wide blade at all. The term "broad" means having an ample distance from side to side; width.
Agreed.....Conan would laugh in your face if you showed up to fight him with your puny baskethilted sword and called it a "broadsword"!
5:58 Interesting fullers(?) on this one... I don't think I've ever seen this pattern elsewhere.
I also kinda like the way Morrowind uses 'broadsword'; A one-handed, straight, double edged sword that's wider and probably shorter than a 'longsword', which is what we would call arming sword, but with those broadswords around the term makes more sense.
Somehow me and my friends got in the habit of calling Cinquedea blades Broadsword about twenty years ago and I never questioned the validity of doing so because the things were broad and the actual name is difficult to pronounce. This video is very informative and one of the best show and tells on your channel.
It bothers me that a "broadsword" is a relatively narrow sword.
Josh Fox If they'd called it a Broadersword maybe alot of this confusion would have never happened. :-D
It's generally only an illusion because of the incredibly large basket guard. If you took the guard away, most broadsword blades wouldn't be very different in width than medieval arming sword blades.
The "Less Narrow Sword"
It infuriates me. The term 'broadsword' may be chronologically inaccurate when employed for Mediaeval swords but it is nevertheless accurate.
@@nobbynoris I know right. It makes perfect sense why an arming can be called a broadsword. It has the same blade and is used in almost the same way. The only real difference is the hilt.
that medeival arming sword is gorgeous Matt!
Love the brief intro!
Wish more people would follow your lead.
Thanks for that it cleared a lot up for me anyway. Years ago I always thought of the hand and a half as a broadsword. Thanks for clearing that up.
I can recall only one occasion in film where the basket hilted straight sword like the one featured in the video was actually specifically named as a broadsword in the script. In the beginning of the original Highlander, the sword is called a "Toledo Salamanca Broadsword" by the detective investigating the first immortal killed in the film.
Next video: Frenchman penetrates Englishman with broadsword, a true account by Swordsmen of the British Empire
Have you hacked my account?
Frenchman penetrates Englishman with a stick, a true account by Swordsmen of the British Empire.
Frenchman penetrates Englishman, a true account of international sex!
I blame that old Jethro Tull album myself.
Indeed! *goes off to listen to it*
This is the exact video I was looking for, thanks.
Exactly as you said, Matt, the key issue with many questions of terminology concerning medieval, late medieval and even Neuzeit items is that people mostly didn't pay too much attention to categories. So if someone today says, *THIS is called THAT!*, and refer to history, they are often just ignorant of that fact.
It can be quite frustrating to try to work out a "historically correct" terminology, since this historically correct terminology tends to jump around, depending on many many factors ...
As for "broadsword", it is also often applied to certain types of Frankonian / "Viking"-period swords, and I think this is absolutely legit as well, since this term is very fitting in a descriptive manner. Although I personally would avoid using the term altogether.
So, as so annoyingly (happily?) often in nature, there is not just the one comfortable truth out there :)
Hi Matt, could i possibly make a video request? - How come we never see Leaf bladed longswords throughout history? (Like we do see in fantasy, like LoTRs). It's a very visually appealing blade shape, but it seems to of never been implemented in later European swords... Instead they were always straight or tapered. And we know people back then loved aesthetically pleasing weapons as much as we do now! - So what gives?? Is there some problem with balance/rigidity over a certain size, or maybe impeding the thrust potential? I'm surprised NOBODY ever thought to have one made. Would love to have your explanation!
Craig Steele Gladius Hispaniensis?
Um? Yes I know about ancient leaf blade designs..But that's exactly my point, why did it never seem to be implemented past the ancient times? And never over short sword length? Specifically on larger medieval swords, hand and a half, two handed, longswords? Which is what we often see in fantasy like Lord of The Rings (Glamdring, lots of the the other elven made longswords, were slightly leaf bladed). Would love to know the reasoning it never happened in reality, since it seems a beautiful design.
Craig Steele Unpractical I suppose. First we all known a sword needs to be reasonably light to be functional. This design was Ok when swords were very short in bronze-earlyiron ages. But when swords got longer and longer, the nature of physics causes the sword to became more and more unwieldy. Plus that, The leaf sword had a narrow stem and a heavy tip. If stem was not strong enough, the sword might break. But if stem was thick enough, the sword became too heavy. And if we got these right, the sword had to be short to reduce weight. Then it would be a huge disadvantage when facing enemies all using sword much longer.
A sword with heavy tip is very hard to control when long, simple lever mechanism.
In the current DnD dynamic, that has been going since about 1999, there are no weapons called broadswords presented in the main rules.
There are shortswords, which are shorter-bladed arming swords. They're presented as looking like a hunting sword.
There are longswords, which are (much to my chagrin) arming swords like the one you are holding at 1:28 (one-handed swords that can be two-handed for greater damage mean damage)
There are bastard swords, which are right proper longswords (two-handed swords that can be one-handed with extra training)
Then there are greatswords, which are Montante/Spadone/Zweihänders.
Then there are swords where the Player's Handbook that cover non-cruciform swords
Rapier, which look like sabers and play like it really should be a smallsword or a spadone.
Scimitar, which us used for scimitars, shamshirs, tulwars, hangers/cuttlases, and other weapons specialized in the cut to the detriment of the thrust.
And in a move that angers me to no end, The name Falchion is applied to two-handed scimitars.
Yeah, the two-handed Falchion is something that confuses me. There do seem to be a handful of things that could possibly be considered falchions that were two-handed. But overwhelmingly the falchion was a one handed chopper.
Also I think the idea the rapier being a saber was thankfully confined to a single image.
What bugs me most though is probably the use of buckler to refer to something just strapped to your forearm with no hand-grip. Which is both the exact opposite of a real buckler which is just held and not strapped, but also completely impractical. Something held on with a single strap would just twist around your arm when hit anywhere but the center. It just makes no sense.
Also the armor. Ugh! There is so much wrong with the armor in D&D. Non-existent armors like Ringmail, Studded Leather, full suits of splinted armor, the use of Mail for armor with no mail in them at all. And there was the old pre-3rd ed term Platemail which they never really seemed sure what they were refereeing to.
Ugh, yeah. Studded leather and Ringmail make me so mad. Bucklers too, but its the former two that really piss me off. Bucklers are effectively poorly represented small targes. I hate them, but ugh. Studded leather and Ringmail are things that only exist in fantasy because they're based on looking ad poorly drawn pictures of brigandine and chain or scale.
I just checked my 4 and 5E books and yeah, the art of them is much better. I just haven't played nearly as much of them and consistently see 3.PF put cutlasses on their character art and stat them as rapiers - piercing damage and all.
The highland sabre at 8.20 is a beaut. Anyone know if Matt's done an in depth video on it?
Here comes the other word - claymore.
And then again - people tend to refer to scottish baskethilted sword as a claymore just as well as to the great sword.
'Claidh Moragh' (sp?), pretty much just "big sword".
Chris Rigby interesting, thats the Scots Gaelic for big sword? in Irish Gaeilge we would say Claíomh mòr, of course we don't have such a weapon like the Scots did, but linguistically, the words seem oh so similar, big sword xD
What's so complicated about Claymore?? The instructions are literally on it: "FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY".
Worked great in Vietnam.
Yes, it might be nice to get Matt's take on the basket weave hilt versus two handed sword both being called "Scottish claymore".
You brought me a broadsword and clear understanding.
In a fantasy book I read a couple of months ago they called a 2h sword broadsword. I knew it was wrong but the term is all over the place.
would really love to see a series of videos detailing your current sword collection.
take a shot every time Matt says "but," or, "it's a little bit more complicated"
So with regards to the use of the term broadsword applied to sabres as a reference to technique as opposed to weapon design, the term is kind of similar to dussack, in that whilst the term dussack did apply to a specific military weapon, it eventually primarily became known for training weapons and techniques.One would guess that the application of the term broadsword to the Chinese dao/broadsword/sabre was also a result of the 19th century terminology.
About that sabre you take out at 7:50 or so, never had too much of a thing for that sword class, but god damn is that one beautiful weapon
@1:12 "I'll go back to the Victorian period in a bit"
you got a time machine now, Matt?
Matt! great great channel! thank you very much. I learn a lot from you.
"What's a broadsword?"
Matt: It really depends on the context...
What is then the official term for a sabre hilted double edged blade with little profile taper? Like the one at 8:26 but also broader blades like the ones you saw on Austrian soldiers of the 19th c.
The Atlantean sword is hands down the most beautiful sword I've ever seen. It may be funtionally too short but it travels well and is preferable in tight quarters.
Very interesting. I've seen the term broadsword used even more frivolously, to basically mean any mostly straight European sword which isn't a rapier or other slender blade (e.g. small sword). Falchion, arming sword, longsword and so on all just called broadsword.
serious question - is there any kind of sword that isn't broader than a small sword?
No.
Yes, the plastic pick sword also known as a cocktail sword, commonly used for stabbing maraschino cherries, olives, sanwiches, lunchmeats and other edible items thinner or shorter than the length of the blade
some foils maybe?
Would you classify foils and epees as swords?
Star Wars Rebels lightsabres?
I've also heard broadsword applied specifically toward asian weapons, usually shamshirs, tulwars, and most commonly chinese dao. It's really frequently used to describe that.
Haha I work all of your teachings into how I run D&D games, Matt. My players all know what they mean when they refer to their "arming swords" xD. Keep up the great work!
When it came to fantasy RPG settings (D&D, LOTR, etc.), the general opinion was that a 'broadsword' was the shorter (and not-pointy) cousin to the longsword... sorta like a Viking sword. The long- & bastard-swords were the stabby swords you saved up to buy, the broadsword was the 'starter sword' for fighter types. ;-)
I know that in France, during the 18th century, when someone was talking about the "épée", it meant the smallsword. Couldn't have it been the same in English, i.e. that they simply called "sword" what we today call invariably "smallsword", and thus any other kind of sword/saber, especially those designed as primary weapons (for cavalry and infantry officers) would have to be differentiated by calling it a "broad sword".
Funnily, in French, "broad swords" in general, both with straight and curved blades, are sometimes still called "espadon" by the 1820's. The French word "espadon" is derived from the Italian "spadone" (so a large sword), but the English word "spadroon" is derived from the French. During the 17th and 18th century, what are called "hangers" in English were often called "coutelas" in French (thus "cutlass"), and generally meant any shortish, single edged sword, often curved, designed to chop, be it a military weapon or a civilian implement (for hunting, for example), a bit like "storta" in Italian. And straight cavalry thrusting sabers typical of the French cavalry (cuirassiers and dragons) were colloquially called "latte de cavalerie" (cavalry lath, literally) from at least the beginning of the 19th century.
@9:00 i disagree , it is a broad sword hence it easily could have been called a broadsword it just often would not be classified as such.. but you notice how its broader than pretty much all other swords you've shown so far matt? so in a sense it has more claim than the others :P
@6:00 that's quite a nice sword, i like it.
edit: the sabre @8:50 is quite nice as well.... & i quite like the arming sword, this video just has allot of swords i quite like.... lol
I've seen the arming sword called a "Knights Broadsword". Also, in one very well edited RPG it was "boardsword".
Can you do a video detailing the sword you are showing at 8:30 in this video? That's a beautiful sword.
Hey Matt, would you consider making a video about the use of two-handed weapons from horseback? It seems very rare, at least in the West, but I've seen some depictions of it, and it looks like a lot of Eastern cavalry used pole-arms from horseback.
Matt goes: _"Considers this:"_ and my brain instantly goes *"an arming sword"* (as he holds up the sword) and finishes with _"a broadsword"._
Well Matt, at least you've taught my brain the correct term for it. It's almost like I've learned things by watching your videos... imagine that. I don't even have swords on my walls. :)
d&d is where I get my sword naming categories. A broad sword has only the very edge bevelled/sharpened with a relatively flat blade, where a long sword is bevelled from the centre of the blade (or very nearly). A long sword would also have a longer blade (of course) and a handle that could be 2-handed, where the broad sword couldn't. That has absolutely no relation to real world swords however. A real broad sword however is a well made pump action shotgun as seen in Romeo+Juliet 'Hand me my broadsword' says Capulet.
I admit that I always think of a broadsword as a medieval sword with a straight double-edged blade and a rounded tip - primarily a cutting rather than a stabbing weapon. I also think of Vikings, whether they had such swords or not. I’m not completely ignorant though, since I was aware that it is a common term for later period basket-hilt swords.
And yes, Jethro Tull is at least partly to blame. And video games. I think the broadsword in Dark Souls matches my description above, iirc.
+scholagladiatoria
I saw a Sword in a collection when i was a kid (Mid 80-s) and have never seen another like it. It was simply labeled a ""Late Rapier Hilted Cut & Thrust Sword"
If you have any ideas on where to find a similar repro i would be very thankful.
I remember a Q&A with Gary Gygax years ago and his explanation of what constituted a "broadsword" was simply a Viking/Saxon-era weapon with a thicker blade than the later medieval swords, which he dubbed "longswords".
His terminology isn't wrong. The classification system used by HEMA, Oakeshott and others is a very recent invention. It's like the Linnaean system for classifying plants and animals. It's somewhat useful nowadays, but the fact that people didn't use it before Linne invented it, or don't take the Linnaean System as gospel doesn't make them wrong. To this day, zoologists can't make up their minds about which genus the snow leopard belongs to.
I love these kind of videos, where you show all kinds of swords and talk about their similarities and differences... I think I just like to look at all the different swords next to each other. There has to be a better way of phrasing this?!
I like the "Hanger." Did they ever have that with a scabbard?? Was it ever worn/used outside of the navy or on boats??
America couldn't "copy" anything from Britain in the 18th century, America WAS British in the 18th century, remember?
Well, for three quarters of it :-)
Funny, the one thing I call a broadsword is the early modern military swords. The sort used the 30-year war and afterwards, alongside sabres and rapiers (in civilian life). This simply because they are not sabres, they are broader than rapiers and I have no other good umbrella term for them.
I gotta hand it to DnD. Unlike the Scots, they named the swords by the way they looked. Scots should have named their sword basketsword.
While I'd never quibble with your profound in depth knowledge of this subject, I would just like to suggest that, given that the term "arming sword" was itself a much later (Victorian or even later) term retrospectively lied to the medieval sword, it isn't then so wrong to also refer to it as a "broadsword " after all. I mean, most medieval swords do seem to have had very wide blades, certainly compared to the swords of later centuries.
Oh that last sabre is really pretty, love it.
I took a stage combat workshop about a year ago, the thing they called a broadsword I would call a longsword. What they called rapiers were also probably closer to side swords, but that's more forgivable.
So bring me my broadsword, and clear understanding, to crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentation of the women!
A few minutes ago I would have sworn that in Dungeons & Dragons that a "broad sword" was a single edged weapon, but I have just searched the PDFs online and cannot find a description anywhere. My recollection is that "broadsword" was used in the DeCamp/Carter editions of Howard's Conan novels as a longsword or arming sword, and in AD&D or earlier rules "broadswords" were single edged. This will drive me nuts.
0:47
That is the most gorgeous arming sword I've ever seen. Is it practical? Is it a modern remake or is it historical?
Hey Matt, got a really weird question regarding Broadswords:
During one of my full contact sparing matches Heavy Saber (Me) vs. Basket-Hilt Broadsword (Opponent) the following happened:
From a hanging right high guard I delivered a cut to my opponents left cheek - he stepped a bit back and parried into a High guard himself. I loosed my wrist and let him swing his parry through.
He then tried to follow up and deliver a cut from high left, I merely raised my point and it stabbed right through his basket-hilt.
My blade immediately got tangled in the hilt, resulting in a swift and awkward disarm.
I was wondering:
How much protection did historical basket-hilts actually offer? And:
Are there any more documented instances of blades, especially during a thrust, getting tangled in a basket-hilt or similar guards?
If you search kindle's free library I believe there is a book on broadsword, quarterstaff and single stick fighting. Not sure how good or accurate it is, but it is there.
Hello Matt,
Thanks for the many nice vids
Can you please give us more insight into composite sword blades. (not in fantasy games or movies!)
Were they used historically and in what way? was there a clear definition of composite swords?
Do they have any advantages? combining two different metals for example?
Thanks ;)
0:47 What a wonderful sword! Where do you get swords like that?
This is realy interesting, because for me, as for complete amateur, term broadsword associates with "viking's era", "nordic" one-handed swords.
I can't believe the blacksmiths back in medieval times did not have some catalog of sorts illustrating sword categories to make it easier for them to understand clearly what their customers ordered.
I think that a broad sword is a regular infantry sword and it depends which part of the world and era you are talking about cause there is the English broad sword the Swedish broad sword and they are different like he shows
I suspect all of these descriptors started out as adjectives, not as a part of any typology. A weapon was (and still is) designed to be used for a purpose; that purpose defined the weapon, and the shape was relevant only to how well that purpose was executed. When we have the leisure time to turn combat training into an "art", then we start trying to assign specific names to specific shapes, and that name becomes important.
A (hopefully) interesting side note: The Chinese dao is variously translated as 'knife', 'sabre' and 'broadsword'. It seems the first is from literal translation (as one would translate messer), and is generally seen in poor translations of primary sources. 'Sabre' seems to be favoured by scholarly translators that are nevertheless removed from Chinese martial arts, while 'broadsword' is the term most commonly encountered in practical CMA circles.
This is my impression as a non-professional enthusiast in the field, and I'll leave the interpretation and chin scratching up to you lot.
I'm also giving a wide berth to the distinction between, and categorisation of, niuweidao, nandao, yanmaodao etc. etc. ad nauseam
Since baskethilt swords were called claymore (as noted in “swordsmen of the British empire”), I assumed it was derived traditionally from the two handed longsword with the same name and origin (the one with the V shaped guard and the quatrefoil decoration at the ends of the quilons). All this because claymore means broadsword.
Hello Matt, could you please give more information about the last sabre you showed in this video?
I'm interested in such an almost straight long sabres.
Thank you, it annoys me in games now after I study real-life swordsmanship on how weapons are called. I always see Arming Swords or Longswords called Broadswords. Once when I got my first practice Longsword, my sister said "Cool Broadsword" and then I ended her rightly.
Not knowing any of the history behind the name before, the image I had gotten from popular media was that a broadsword was another name for longsword, used by people who didn't really know what they were talking about. That's pretty weird, but I doubt I'm alone in this. The people asking if you teach broadsword might actually mean longsword, or even greatsword...
I've got a question concerning the form of the grip. Can a backsword have a curved grip end, like sabers have, facilitating saber-grip, or is backsword, as a term, mostly confined to something having a big pommel that, IIUC, implies hammer-grip? Thanks.
That spine running down the blade of the arming sword, wouldn't that hinder its cutting ability?
It looks to have less of a taper than other arming swords, so I assume it's intended to cut well.
An easy way to remember sword names.
Longsword- sword that is long
Shortsword- sword that is short
Broadsword- sword that is broad
Arming sword- a sword you wear when arming
So what you're saying is that the sword that media and games call Broadswords should be called "Medieval Sword" or "Arming Sword". And you're right; I've seen swords that look exactly like the arming sword you showed that are called "broadsword".
It seems that broadswords' common trait was hand protection, the basket hilt or knuckle guard on the sabers. So does broadsword styles have a more hand forward positions rather than hand back positions?
The word "Broadsword" i think comes from italian "Spadona" (litterally big sword) (wich is different from spadone)
In italy, "Spadona" were those kind of swords (1500-1600) wich had really protective hilt (as peppenheimer, cupguards, basket hilts or "guardia spezzata") as the usual mid/late renaissance sideswords but a slightly shorter but winder blade, as the arming swords from middle ages
I feel like this is a where being wrong actually makes more sense at least in a comparative sense. The arming sword is about twice as *broad* as the broadsword which itself is actually really narrow but also pretty long and therefore should be called a longsword. That would completely avoid the need for the labyrinthine explanation of this is a broadsword because it was noticed that it's marginally broader than a sword so small it's in the name. That's like calling anything larger than a Derringer, a hand cannon since the Derringer is made to fit in the palm of your hand and is therefore a literal handgun.
Now if you double the width of the blade on the broadsword you get what is known as the "fat sword" or "super chunky sword" as is described in many medieval writings.
8:30 that blade is gorgeous.
And all this time I thought that a broadsword was a big long heavy double-handed sword, like what Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham dueled with in the old Sean Connery movie.
I always wondered if the baskets hilt would affect the mobilty of the whole sword
Is it better to have a broad longsword or a long broadsword?
As you basically said, you said that in medieval times the word broadsword was just to explain that a sword was "broader" than another sword. You also basically said the same thing for later periods. But my point is that wouldn't that be also true of our use of the word now? Since the most common use of swords now is in fencing which is obviously a much thinner blade.
I suppose you're right but I do think we should at least make some effort to refer to the weapons by their original names or category out of respect if nothing else
Well. By what he said it sounded like in medieval times there weren't broadswords but there were broad swords. It wasn't a term or a word, it was a sound. It only happened when people were trying to describe another weapon.
Composite words in English are problematic in that they often don't really change at all when joined, so there is no difference between a name and a name accompanied by an adjective. If it broadsword were to be translated to the letter to Portuguese it would probably be something in the way of "Larguespada" "larga(o) (broad)"+"espada (sword), and there are differences when spelling the two, so we generally know when something is anything other than a word accompanied by an adjective.
The most common 'use' of swords now may be in sport fencing, but I would wager that if you carried out a survey on what a sword is, the vast majority of people would not describe a fencing foil.
I do believe fencing has been described as 'a game of electrified tag' on this channel. Also, eBay doesn't allow the sale of swords the UK, but fencing foils and such are allowed. I realise eBay is hardly the arbiter of all sword terminology, but it seemed somewhat relevant.
I haven't noticed any ebay restriction on the sale of swords in the UK.
Very useful. BTW was anything actually called a "shortsword"? Thanks!
Of course, lets say you have a sword thats 90cm long and I have sword thats 96cm, ta da, you lose, you have a shortsword ;)
Burning question brought up from this video and your recent one on 19th century European accounts of Katanas. Why did some European swords have metal scabbards? In the Katana video you mentioned that the European sabres often had dulled edges because they were kept in metal scabbards. That seemed crazy to me that they did that, but I guessed it may have been a brief fad when swords were not considered martially significant, or maybe because the thrust was considered so important in Europe. In this video you pull the Kilij style Napoleonic sabre off the wall. Completely metal scabbard and I went nuts when you drew it because it actually made the metal on metal, edge destroying, sword-being-drawn movie sound effect. Wikipedia says metal scabbards became popular in the 19th century for durability and ornamentation, but that just seems like a bad trade for dulling your blade. I'm curious on anyone's comments on this, but particularly if Matt sees this. Thanks.
Matt has answered this sort of thing a few times.
Basically, metal scabbards are easier for armies to mass-produce, and are much sturdier (both in use, and when stored).
Officers, who would be buying their own swords, often got wood lined, or leather scabbards. Swords for troopers would be issued from regimental stores, and they were expected to simply sharpen the swords more frequently.
Thanks. Great answer.
In Morrowind and Oblivion both a longsword and a broadsword were one-handed swords, a broadsword a bit broader, when a two-handed sword was called a claymore. Thankfully, in Skyrim they changed the one-handed sword to just "sword" and a claymore to "greatsword".
Wherever someone mentions a "mediaeval broadsword" I think of Boromir's sword from the Fellowship of the Ring film - which in my mind is the shape of a Cinquedea but the length of an arming sword but that's an exaggeration really, I think out only looks thick compared to Aragorn's swords.
boromir's sword looks a lot like 'the sovereign' from albion's next generation line (type xiv)
albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/sword-medieval-sovereign-xiv.htm
In D&D they seem to refer to something slightly shorter than the first sword you picked up, usually look viking inspired and always very flat and broad. Not to mention also in D&D Longswords are Armingswords.
im pretty sure 3.5 broad sword is a hand and a half sword if im correct
Nope, hand and a half is a bastard sword in D&D. Which you need an exotic weapons proficiency to wield properly.
I have a question: the arming sword you show, where is the point of balance? I have been working on a Legacy Arms "King Henry V" sword trying to make it more like the one on which both are modeled. (It's pommel is very knobby and heavy and I need to know how much more weight to remove to make it balanced optimally; it's PoB is currently at 4 1/2 inches.)
"Broadsword" rhymes, and is easy to remember, and sounds either more technical or more "romantic" than just "sword". So people are going to use "broadsword" too often, just as today they use "epicentre" when they really mean "centre", "simplistic" when they only mean "simple", and "track record" when they mean only "record". It's just the way people are.
In 2117 a holovid comes out explaining what a broadsword is, and how the definition changed from the describing a basket hilted sword in the 18th century to a saber in the Victorian period, and eventually an arming sword in the late 20th century. But how it really should never be a term used to apply to a wide beamed laser sword despite what the sci-fi vr adventures say.
I think slavonic sword (in Italian called "schiavonesca") could be described as a broad one/two-handed sword
A broadsword is a weapon with which you "Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!"
I'm not sure how it was in the first edition of DnD but from 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons up to 3rd (or even 4th edition, never played that one) the arming sword was referred to as a longsword. So while DnD was spreading misinformation they did not call it a broadsword. At least in the German translation