Sabre

The sabre or saber (see spelling differences) is a type of backsword, usually with a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger.

Ultimately based on a medieval type of single-edged weapon, the sabre was adopted as the weapon of heavy cavalry in Early Modern warfare. Although sabres are typically thought of as curved-bladed slashing weapons, those used by the heavy cavalry of the 17th to 19th centuries often had straight and even double-edged blades more suitable for thrusting. The length of sabres varied, and most were carried in a scabbard hanging from a shoulder belt known as a baldric or from a waist-mounted sword belt, usually with slings of differing lengths to permit the scabbard to hang below the rider's waist level.

History

Origins

Sabre-like curved backswords have been in use in Europe since the early medieval period (some early examples include the falchion and the Byzantine paramērion). The oldest well-documented "sabres" are those found in 9th and 10th century graves of Magyars (Hungarians) who entered the Carpathian Basin at this time. These oldest sabres had a slight curve, short, down-turned quillons, the grip facing the opposite direction to the blade and a sharp point with the top third of the reverse edge sharpened.

Saber (Fate/stay night)

Saber (セイバー, Seibā) is a fictional character from the Japanese visual novel and anime series Fate/stay night by Type-Moon and its prequel, Fate/Zero, by Type-Moon and nitroplus. In Fate/stay night, she is Shirou Emiya's servant while in Fate/Zero, she is Kiritsugu Emiya's Servant. An agile and powerful warrior, Saber is loyal, independent, and reserved; she appears cold, but is actually suppressing her emotions to focus on her goals. Her class is considered the "Most Outstanding", with excellent ratings in all categories.

True identity

Saber's full name is Arturia Pendragon, a character inspired by the legends of King Arthur. At her nativity, Uther decides to not publicly announce Arturia's birth or gender, fearing his subjects will never accept a woman as a legitimate ruler. She is entrusted by Merlin to a loyal knight, Sir Ector, who raises her as a surrogate son. When Arturia is fifteen, King Uther dies leaving no known eligible heir to the throne. Britain enters a period of turmoil following the growing threat of invasion by the Saxons. Merlin soon approaches Arturia, explaining that the British people will recognize her as a destined ruler if she withdraws Caliburn, a ceremonial sword embedded in a large slab of stone. However, pulling this sword is symbolic of accepting the hardships of a monarch, and Arturia will be responsible for preserving the welfare of her people. Without hesitation and despite her gender, she draws Caliburn and shoulders Britain's mantle of leadership.

Sabre (fencing)

The sabre is one of the three weapons of modern fencing, and is alternatively spelled saber in American English. The sabre differs from the other modern fencing weapons, the épée and foil, in that it is possible to score with the edge of the blade; for this reason, sabreur movements and attacks are very fast. For the other two weapons, valid touches are only scored using the point of the blade. Like foil, sabre uses the convention of right-of-way to determine who acquires the touch.

The term sabreur refers to a male fencer who fences with a sabre. Sabreuse is the female equivalent.

The weapon

The cross-section of the sabre blade is Y- or V-shaped, unlike the quadrangular shape of the foil, but not as stiff as the épée. Adult (size 5) blades are 88 cm (35 inches) in length. At the end of the blade, the point is folded over itself to form a "button", although no actual button exists. The bell guard of the sword is curved around the handle, giving the fencer hand protection. On electrical sabres, a socket for the body wire is found underneath the bell guard. A fastener known as a pommel is attached to the end of the sword to keep the bell guard and handle on. The handle of a sabre is standardly a straight saber grip, as other grips are incompatible with the bell guard. The entire weapon is generally 105 cm (41 inches) long; the maximum weight is 500g, but most competition swords are closer to 400g. It is shorter than the foil or épée, and lighter than the épée, making it easier to move swiftly and incisively. Many equate the sabre's blade to a matchstick, in that they are easy to snap but relatively cheap to replace.