I hoping there is someone here who knows a few things about swords who would like to take a stab at this question.
So, from what I understand, pre about 1500AD, swords where designed to combine both chopping and stabbing ability. They had a sharp edge and a tip pointed enough to stab someone.
However, around 1500AD (or maybe a bit later), armour started to get much more sophisticated and more wide spread. Chopping or slashing no longer could reliably defeat armour, so the trend was towards highly pointed swords with little edge that could be used to stab through armour and force your way through the sophisticated armour joints.
Around the same time a fashion developed for men to carry sword in cities. Because most foes were criminals and not actual soldiers, the opponents rarely had armour. Because of the desire to daily carry a sword, they wanted light swords which led to the popularity of rapier like swords. They didn't have the weight for chopping (and didn't need to cut through armour), but they made good slashing weapons and great stabbing weapons.
Not long after the gunpowder age got into full swing and the knight in armour died.
As armour was made obsolete did the pointed stabbing sword and the rapier converge around this point in time? Is my timeline here correct?
Im not an ace on the subject but iirc the rapier came around the 1500's and was kinda like the glock of the time where you'd just wear it around the city so you can fuck up your neighbor or second class citizens lookin at you and so you didnt get ostracized by your fellow NRA members for not looking sexy with your ar-15 on your back and shit. As for why straight swords were phased out, I think that was more of a deal with the pike phasing it out. Again I ain't a genius here but a sword or most other hand weapons or whatever couldn't really deal headon with a formation of pikes, and pikemen were usually just breastplate and pokey stick so I don't think armor was the dealbreaker but it was just outclassed by standard more mass producible, slightly longer range infantry.
again I only know this from like vague understanding and researching of medieval combat but hopefully I'm right on the matter cause it seems like until a real knight from the time comes around you're stuck with me sorry lol
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