Basket-hilted sword
sword with basket-like hand protection
The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era, originating in the mid-16th century, characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages.
This variety of sword is also sometimes referred to as the broadsword, though this term may also be applied loosely and imprecisely to other swords.
The basket-hilted sword was generally in use as a military sword. A true broadsword possesses a double-edged blade, while similar wide-bladed swords with a single sharpened edge and a thickened back are called backswords. Various forms of basket-hilt were mounted on both broadsword and backsword blades.
One of the weapon types in the modern German dueling sport of Mensur ("academic fencing") is the basket-hilted Korbschläger.
Nomenclature
The specific designation "broadsword" is ambiguous, and can refer to many different types of sword.
Though attestations of "broad swords" date from the 11th century, these simply refer to any sword that happens to be broad, rather than a specific type. No style of sword was ever classified as a broadsword before the 17th century.
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