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Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
On the same page Norman cited a 1970 reference from RBF van der Sloot who states that c.1655 these swords were called 'walking swords'....which nicely concurs with the 'town sword' term you have considered for these light self defense swords.
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Jim, I just found out that the German term for them is "Promenierdegen", i.e. a "promenade sword" .
http://www.myseum.de/index.php?optio...limitstart=190
It all falls in place nicely. Town sword, scarf sword, epee de ville, promenierdegen, all of these terms basically tell us that these swords were essentially lightweight alternatives to the more cumbersome rapiers, and brought along while on leisurely strolls in one's town.