16th C. SWEPT HILT RAPIER

As armor was gradually discarded, and greater skill was developed in the use of the sword, the hilt was made to protect the hand by various combinations of curves and connecting bars. This hand forged swept hilt rapier style was very popular among the nobility during the late 16th and early 17th Centuries. During the Renaissance period, the rapier came to indicate its bearer's social status. Armed men were stopped at the gates of London and their swords were measured, if their blade was considered to be too long for their status, their swords were shortned on the spot, to be certain the men adhered to the English sumptuary laws. The more elaborate the rapier, the greater social class. Hilts of darkened steel damascened in silver with interlaced patterns were not uncommon. Few examples of diamond inlaid hilts were also found (three examples in the Royal Ontario Museum , one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection). The Renaissance swept hilt rapiers were of great beauty and an innovation in functionality.