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		The term comes from a Spanish word 
          "ropera" referring to a dress sword, an elegant weapon used 
          as an essential complement to the most elegant, luxurious and costly 
          garments of courtly knights, totally displacing the style of the Lower 
          Middle Ages in which the classic sword was much heavier and sober in 
          style. 
		The rapier is the forerunner of the foil used in modern fencing and 
          its arrival revolutionized the style of fencing used previously as it 
          rewarded intelligence, speed and artistry, not just brute force. 
		
		In the 16th and 17th centuries, these swords came into their own and 
          spread from Spain to the rest of Europe and became part of the costume 
          of any gentleman, thus becoming subject to the fluctuations of fashion, 
          hence the design of its elaborately ornamental Baroque hilt. 
		
      This is a high quality product made in Toledo Spain.
		 
		Tempered Stainless Steel Blade, 44".  |