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The swords of Europe were already manufactured in the early European bronze age, around 2000 BC. Their appearance was mostly independent from their counterparts in Mesopotamia and the Aegean.

Weapons from Early and Middle Bronze Ages are relatively rare finds. Most are uniquely made daggers and swords with elaborate decorations of incised lines and geometric patterns, probably made for the leading men of contemporary societies. These prestigious weapons were rarely found in European graves, but more often in watery sites, indicating they were some kind of votive offerings.

The early bronze blades of Europe maintained the shorter length and widened base to fit the handguard and fastened with rivets. Swords of that time were mostly unique, and often contained false rivets that didn't actually connect the blade and the hilt. This indicates that such swords were less effective as weapons, especially in slicing motion, but could still be effective at thrusting and especially as symbols of status and prestige. The technique of a tang and a pommel being cast in a single piece with a blade, eliminating weaker joints, also allowed for the swords to be made more rapidly, enabling more serial manufacture. Blade and hilt shapes varied between areas, from broad-leafed to straight shapes.

The rarer, solid-hilted swords probably maintained their prestigious significance even into the Late Bronze Age, when they were outnumbered by the newer flange-hilted swords.

Flange-hilted swords were the most common type in the middle and late bronze age. They enabled quicker and more serial production - a large contrast to the previous uniquely-designed swords of the early Bronze Age. An organic, most probably wooden grip would be attached with rivets to the flanged hilt and handguard plate.

Sources: docs.google.com/document/d/1mnK9tpEvz9UgeVWuUh8fPF…

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Edited with Vegas Pro Edit 19

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