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Source Description
The rapier was a sword worn with civilian dress and used in duels. The term rapier derives from the 16th-century French word <em>rapière</em>, which in turn derived from the Spanish <em>espada ropera</em>, 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 blade, sword guards became more complex to protect the duelist’s unarmored hand. These elaborate guards were frequently decorated by various techniques—chiseling, bluing, russeting, and damascening.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
147961
label
Rapier
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
147961
contentType
object
title
Rapier
description
The rapier was a sword worn with civilian dress and used in duels. The term rapier derives from the 16th-century French word <em>rapière</em>, which in turn derived from the Spanish <em>espada ropera</em>, 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 blade, sword guards became more complex to protect the duelist’s unarmored hand. These elaborate guards were frequently decorated by various techniques—chiseling, bluing, russeting, and damascening.
date
c. 1580–1610
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60740399
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 135.9 cm (53 1/2 in.); Blade: 111.1 cm (43 3/4 in.); Quillions: 25.5 cm (10 1/16 in.); Grip: 16.5 cm (6 1/2 in.)
cul
Blade: Spain, Toledo Hilt: Italt, Belluno?, late 16th-early 17th Century
accession
1974.59
Source extras
tec
steel, ribbed guard and pommel; wood and wire
tombstone
Rapier, c. 1580–1610. Blade: Spain, Toledo Hilt: Italt, Belluno?, late 16th-early 17th Century. Steel, ribbed guard and pommel; wood and wire; overall: 135.9 cm (53 1/2 in.); blade: 111.1 cm (43 3/4 in.); quillions: 25.5 cm (10 1/16 in.); grip: 16.5 cm (6 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift from the Bascom Little Estate, 1974.59
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
inscriptions
inscription
PIETRO HERNAN[DJEZ
inscription_remark
Inscribed on blade within fuller
inscription
three (Toledo and half-moon)
inscription_remark
On ricasso
didYouKnow
During this time fencing academies were already in existence in Milan, Venice, Verona, and Madrid, and the rules of fencing evolved with two styles dominating, the Spanish and the Italian.
citations
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N.<em> Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
page_number
p. 113, 173, cat. no. 201
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
cat. no. 172, p. 191
creditline
Gift from the Bascom Little Estate
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:36:06.003000
sourceId
147961
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
steel, ribbed guard and pommel; wood and wire
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
064b79520e715e88