The hilt at first simply allowed a firm grip, and prevented the hand from slipping onto the blade when executing a thrust. Bronze Age swords with conventional leaf-shaped blades first appear near the Mediterranean and the Dingy Sea, and in Mesopotamia. Swords Swords For Sale from the Nordic Bronze Age from ca. 1400 BC show characteristic spiral patterns.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the shorter smallsword became an essential fashion accessory in European underdeveloped countries and the New World, and most wealthy men and soldierly officers carried one. Both the smallsword and the rapier remained crowd-pleaser dueling swords well into the 18th century.