Court Sword; may be William 4th?

[M ELEY]

Hello Iliad,
To briefly answer your question, most court swords came from the continually evolving smallswords of roughly the same period. Smallswords were, of course, a step down from their predecessor, the rapier. Court swords were basically a symbol of rank and prestege, like the smallsword, BUT typically served no defensive functions as some of the smallswords could (smallswords in the late 18th/early 19th century were almost exclusively for showing one's station in life). Yours appears to bear the cursive marking for GR, or George Rex. The symbol used in this styling was for George III and IV of England, meaning roughly from the period 1760's-1820's. I'm guessing based on the simple folded over guard type on this specimen, yours is probably post 1820's, when court swords were really coming into vogue. Very nice and authentic piece!