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A rapier is a relatively slender (they could have blades over an inch in width), sharply pointed sword with a blade at least 90 centimetres in length, often sporting an elaborate hilt and hand-guard. For most of its period of use, the rapier was double-edged, some later rapiers were single-edged (with a sharply triangular blade) or edgeless. A rapier is capable of both cutting and thrusting attacks, but the thrust is the main attack in all rapier fighting styles.

The term refers to a variety of blade and hilt forms depending on who is writing and when. It can refer to earlier "spada di lato" (much like the " espada ropera") through the high rapier period of the 17th century through the smallsword and duelling swords, thus context is important in understanding what is meant by the word. (It should be noted that the term "sidesword", used among some modern historical martial arts reconstructionists, is a 21st century coinage from the Italian "spada di lato" and is not an accurate historical term.)

The rapier began to develop at around 1500 as the Spanish " espada ropera", or "dress sword". The espada ropera was a cut-and-thrust civilian weapon for self-defense and the duel, while earlier weapons were equally at home on the battlefield. As a result of the geometrical theories of such masters as Camillo Agrippa and Ridolfo Capo Ferro , the rapier developed, by the year 1600, into a primarily thrusting weapon.

The rapier became extremely fashionable throughout Europe with the wealthier classes, but was not without its detractors. Some people, such as George Silver, disapproved of its technical potential and the duelling use to which it was put.

While by the year 1700 the rapier had been replaced by the lighter smallsword throughout most of Europe, this weapon is probably the oldest European sword that still has a living tradition; that is, fencing masters exist that can trace their lineage of teachers back to the 18th century and before. Two of the most famous of these current-day masters are Maestro Ramon Martinez and Maestro Andrea Lupo Sinclair. Others have learned from these maestri, and currently Europe and America are experiencing a revivial of historical fencingHistorical fencing is any European system of use for the sword that predates the three classical fencing weapons. These systems may be traditional, or they may be historical martial arts reconstructions. See Historical European Martial Arts, German school.

The rapier is also the sword most often associated with duels of honor depicted in literatureLiterature is literally "an acquaintance with letters" as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary; the term has, however, generally come to identify a collection of texts. The word "literature" spelled with a lower-case "l" can refer to and movies, such as The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers Les Trois Mousquetaires is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, pere. It recounts the adventures of a young man called D'Artagnan after he leaves home to become a musketeer. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his f. However, such films are often far from authentic, so far as the fighting techniques shown go.

For a more detailed explanation of the primary use of the rapier-- dueling-- see European dueling swordThe duel has its origins in judicial combat, a particular subset of trial by ordeal that formed in the so-called Dark Ages through such traditions as the Scandinavian Holmganga and continued though the Middle Ages as a highly codified and legal form of pe.