14th century longswordFrom 1300 onwards the shape and strength of the sword changed rapidly because the growing use of armour and a shield was unnecessary. The grip and the blade became longer so that it could be used two handed now that a shield was not longer necessary. The large swords were longswords that could be used with one or two hands. They were the predecessors of the later and even larger two handed swords. Large swords were only used by infantrymen. The shape