In a short time, the sword became widespread not only in the army, but also as a civil weapon among rich people and nobles, gradually becoming one of the attributes of the noble class in Europe. The sword was the recognized distinctive sign of the nobleman.
The deprivation of the noble title was accompanied by the so-called "civil execution" - the breaking of the sword in the presence of witnesses (usually at the frontal place, at the confluence of the people and after the pronouncement of the verdict, sometimes over the head of the convicted person). The sword is one of the classic weapons used for fencing.
