Why did people in the middle ages name their sword?

Answer 1

Possessions were few and far between in the middle ages; a sword was one of the most valuable things a person could have. As a result, knights wanted to show off their pride for their weapons by naming them.

2nd Answer: There was a tradition of naming weapons in the early middle ages, such as in the anglo-saxon and viking cultures. Generally the first person to carry a weapon into battle had the right to name it. Not only swords were named, but other weapons also, and sometimes armor and shields as well.

In such warrior cultures weapons and armor were very prized possessions, and men would form a strong psychological bond with such items. Much like an American Frontiersman who named his rifle, these names represented the life and death relationship warriors had with their arms and armor. Weapons were also sometimes named in memory of someone, such as if the weapon had been a gift from the namesake, or had been taken in as plunder from someone prominent.

Later in the middle ages, in the more continental traditions of knighthood in the high and late middle ages, this tradition was not formally practiced, although it is likely that some individual would have given their weapons informal nicknames.

Answer 2

Several varieties - Broadsword, Falchion sword, Longsword, Scimitar, and Greatsword.

Answer 3

Swords were used as weapons to attack an enemy, or to protect oneself from an enemy attack.