One of the significant social aspects of the rapier was its status as a ‘civilian’ weapon. Prior to the Renaissance, the sword was a symbol of the titled classes. But now, with the rise of an affluent merchant class, the sword was used by the upwardly mobile. If it did not confer class, it suggested it, for apart from self-defense, a gentleman was expected to be capable of defending his honor.

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The rapier was not universally accepted, especially as a weapon of war. Armor, although greatly reduced, was still worn, and military men preferred the reassuring weight of the heavy, single-edged blade, as exhibited in the so-called mortuary sword, to a thin rib-sticker like the rapier.

Eventually, the evolution of complex swordplay demanded the lightest, fastest possible weapon. The cup hilt’s component parts–the quillons, cup, knucklebow and pas d’âne–all shrank down to the most perfunctory size possible. The blade itself became much shorter, with a deeply indented fuller. The result was the’small sword,’ a weapon that eclipsed the rapier completely in the 1700s.

And so one of the most elegant swords in history passed out of use–except on the late show, where one can still see it spectacularly misused by some of the greatest names of the silver screen.

This article was written by Braun McAsh and originally published in the August 1996 issue of Military History magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Military History magazine today!

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