:this article describes the medieval weapon. for the finnish heavy metal band, see falchion (band). thumb|falchion thumb|falchion from medieval painting  a falchion (; old french: fauchon; latin: falx, "sickle") is a one-handed, single-edged sword of european origin, whose design is reminiscent of the persian scimitar and the chinese dao. the weapon combined the weight and power of an axe with the versatility of a sword. falchions are found in different forms from around the 11th century up to and including the sixteenth century. in some versions the falchion looks rather like the weapon-seax and later the sabre, and in some versions the form is irregular or like a machete with a crossguard. == types == the blade designs of falchions varied widely across the continent and through the ages. they almost always included a single edge with a slight curve on the blade towards the point on the end and most were also affixed with a quilloned crossguard for the hilt in the manner of the contemporary arming swords. unlike the double-edged swords of europe, few actual swords of this type have survived to the present day; fewer than a dozen specimens are currently known.the conyers falchion accessed january 27, 2007. two basic types can be identified: *cleaver falchions: one of the few surviving falchions (the conyers falchion) is shaped very much like a large meat cleaver, or large bladed machete. this type is also illustrated in art (e.g. the westminster hall mural, shown to the right) the type seems to be confined to the 13th. and 14th. centuries. *cusped falchions: the majority of the depictions in art reflect a design similar to that of the groÃes messer. a surviving example from england's thirteenth century (the thorpe falchion) was just under  in weight. of its  length,  are the straight blade which bears a cusped or flare-clipped tip similar to the much later kilij of turkey. this blade style may have been influenced by the turko-mongol sabres that had reached the borders of europe by the thirteenth century. this type of sword continues in use into the 16th.
Medieval_blade_weapons Single-edged_swords