In a sword, the crossguard (or cross-guard) is a flat bar of metal at right angles to the blade, placed between the blade and the hilt. The crossguard stops other blades from sliding down onto the hand of the sword's wielder during combat. Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century A sword (Old English: sweord; akin to Old High German: swerd, wounding tool; Proto-Indo-European: *swer-, to wound, to hurt) is a long-edged bladed weapon, consisting in its most fundamental design of a blade, usually with two edges for striking and cutting... See also: Hilt (band) and Peter Hilt Hilt of Szczerbiec The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. ... Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in fencing with a sword. ...

The crossguard is the simplest form of guard; as swords evolved into lighter, faster duelling weapons, the crossguard became more elaborate, forming first quillions, and then the Basket hilt. For an account of the Steven Spielberg film, see Duel (movie). ... See also: Hilt (band) and Peter Hilt The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. ...

Oriental swords, such as the katana are known for having generally circular crossguards, the artistic design of which is emphasized. Due to the rarity of iron, and thus bladed weapons, in the East, each sword made is painstakingly decorated, and crossguards are found in a variety of elaborate designs. Katana of the 16th or 17th Century, with its saya. ...

Crossguards sometimes contained holes above, with which combatants could insert their fingers through to improve their grip while fighting.