{{Short description|Type of sword}} {{for|swords with undulating blades|flame-bladed sword}} thumb|Three flamberge examples
A '''flamberge''' (also '''floberge''', '''froberge''', and other variations) is a medieval sword that is swung by a number of fictional heroes of ''chansons de geste'' and romances, and the word became a generic name for a large sword.<ref name=counson>{{cite journal |title=Noms épiques entrés dans le vocabulaire commun |first=Albert |last=Counson |journal=Romanische Forschungen |volume=23 |issue=1 |year=1907 |pages=401–413 |jstor=27935661 }}</ref>
In early texts, the words "floberge" and "froberge" (Italian: ''fusberta'' or ''frusberta'') are used, but the name developed under the influence of the word "flamber". Swords by that name are wielded by Renaud de Montauban (and his cousin Maugris) in ''The Four Sons of Aymon'' (12th century); Antenor in the ''Roman de Troie'' (12th century); Begon, the brother of the eponymous hero of ''Garin le Loherain'' (12th century); and the hero of ''Galien le Restoré'' (15th century).<ref name=counson/>
In early-20th-century works, swords of the name were wielded by Dom Manuel of James Branch Cabell's ''Biography of the Life of Manuel''<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Long Night of a Virginia Author |first=James |last=Blish |journal=Journal of Modern Literature |volume=2 |issue=3 |year=1971–1972 |pages=393–405 |jstor=30053192 }}</ref> and by Prince Valiant.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hCBmDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |page=68 |title=The Definitive Prince Valiant Companion |first=Brian M. |last=Kane |publisher=Fantagraphics Books |year=2009 |isbn=9781606993057}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GznpDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA42 |page=42 |title=Medievalist Comics and the American Century |first=Chris |last=Bishop |publisher=UP of Mississippi |year=2016 |isbn=9781496808530}}</ref>
''Flamberge'' ("flaming"), from the French ''flamber'', has many connotations, including swords without a flamed blade. The term is a frequent name or alias for swords in medieval ''chansons de geste'' and romances, where it often denotes a large sword.{{cn|date=March 2026}} Egerton Castle used the term to refer to swords that were a transition from the rapier to the smallsword. These swords did not necessarily have an undulated blade, a feature that was added to increase profuse bleeding in victims.{{cn|date=March 2026}} According to Castle, this is the case in some Swiss rapiers, but ''flamberge'' quickly became a disdainful term in France to refer to flamboyant swords.{{cn|date=March 2026}} This comes from the French expression ''Mettre flamberge au vent'', meaning "To put [the sword] in the wind". Here, it is suggested the wielder of the sword likened it to the mythical sword Durendal, which alternatively was called Flamberge.{{cn|date=March 2026}}
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Medieval European swords Category:Mythological swords Category:Matter of France