Talk:Winter's Swords/@comment-92.238.2.237-20170630024124/@comment-25936766-20170630041502

True enough. Classifications of Swords are practically infamous for being inconsistent, ever-changing, among other things.

Mostly because the terms for different weapons varied both by country and by period, and did not just depend on what the weapon was, but it's specific design and it's usage. And even then, terms that people think are different actually refer to the same thing.

For example: Longswords.

"1-and-a-half Sword" refers to Longswords, mostly the ones that could be wielded in 1 hand without much problem (a great lot of them). And "Bastard Sword" referred to 1-and-a-half swords.

"Two-handed swords" "differ" from "Longsword" due to the fact that they refer specifically to those who were primarily used with 2 hands. Which includes a damn lot of Longswords.

"Greatswords" only "difference" from Longswords is that they were generally too heavy to wield 1-handed and thus had a longer grip. But that's it. And "Claymore" was used often to refer to such kinds of Longswords.

The "real" Two-Handed Swords that were truly different from Longswords, were the Zweihanders. Which at first were only oversized Longswords, but eventually incorporated some elements from polearms and were used more similarly to Halberds than Longswords at times.

.......And of course, eventually the term Longsword became used to refer almost exclusively to Rapiers, in a broad way.