The crossguard was developed in the European sword around the 10th century for the protection of the wielder's hand.The earliest forms may have developed from late Roman and Migration Period swords such as the spatha, though the precise origins remain uncertain.There are many examples of crossguards on Sasanian Persian Swords beginning from the early 3rd century. There are examples of swords with developed guards in Sasanian Persia beginning from the early 3rd century, though these differ in form from the later crossguards of medieval European swords. Crossguards were not only used to counter enemy attacks, but also to improve grip. They were later seen in late
Viking swords. Crossguards became a standard feature of the
Norman sword of the 11th century, and remained characteristic of the knightly arming sword throughout the high and late medieval period. Early crossguards were straight metal bars, sometimes tapering towards the outer ends. While this simple type was never discontinued, more elaborate forms developed alongside it in the course of the Middle Ages. The crossguard could be waisted or bent in the 12th and 13th century. Beginning in the 13th or 14th century, swords were almost universally fitted with a so-called
chappe or rain-guard, a piece of leather fitted to the crossguard. The purpose of this leather is not entirely clear, but it seems to have originated as a part of the scabbard, functioning as a lid when the sword was in the scabbard. In the 14th to 15th century, many more elaborate forms were tried. A feature of such late medieval forms is the cusp or écusson, a protrusion of the crossguard in the center where it is fitted on the blade. Also from the 14th century, the leather chappe is sometimes replaced with a metal sheet. An early example of this is a sword dated to c. 1320–40 kept at the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. A later example is the "Monza sword" of Estore Visconti (early 15th century), where the rain-guard is of silver and decorated with a floral motif. After the end of the Middle Ages, crossguards became more elaborate, forming first quillons and then, through the addition of guard branches, the
basket hilt, which offered more protection to the unarmored hand. In Europe, namely the area under the strong influence of the Roman Catholic Church and to a lesser degree the Eastern Orthodox Church, the shape of the crossguard bore certain religious significance. It has been theorized that the rise of the crossguard in the classic cruciform style was due to the influence of Christianity. It so happens to parallel the rising of Church power at the advent of the knightly cruciform sword as well as the rapid decline of the cruciform style directly following the Protestant Reformation. == Types ==