Overview of historical British arms laws

This is a loose list of laws about arms and armour in the British Isles by monarchical period.

England

Plantagenet era

• 1252- All able men from age 15-60 must practice archery on Sundays and ban all other sports.

Edwardian era

• 1285- Ban of fencing schools within city limits.

• 1328- No person but knights shall wear a sword within city limits except when entering or leaving a city.

• No person shall be found with sharp arrowheads.+

• 1318- Ban of armour at parliament.

Henriad era

• 1415- Soldiers must bear the cross of St. George.

Tudor era

• 1540- Reestablishment of fencing guild, specifically the CoMoDs*.

• 1540- Ban of thrusts.

• 1566- Swords must have a blade no more than [41 inches], daggers [1 foot], or buckler spike of 2 inches.

Scotland

Bruce era

• 1318- Men worth 10 pounds must have a minimum of an aketon, helm (bascinet), maille gloves, a spear and sword, men who could afford a cow must have a spear or bow with 24 arrows.

Stuart era

• 1488- Men worth 10 pounds must have a minimum of a helm (bascinet or sallet), pisan, leg harness, sword, spear, and dagger; yeomen must have a bow or axe in addition to the previous; and Burgess to have white armour or brigandine and plate gauntlets.

• 1488- Ban all sports except archery.

• 1540- Noblemen must have plate armour; lower status men must have jack plates, hauberk, or brigandine, splint pisan, maille knee pans, and gauntlets; yeomen must have jack plates, hauberk, or brigandine, splints, helm (sallet or bonnet), pisan, and sword.

Great Britain

Stewart era

• 1603- Repeal of Tudor sumptuary laws.

• Ban of two-handed swords and replace with swords and targes.+

• 1689- Right of Protestants to bear arms

Georgian era

• 1745- Ban of Highland dress (including arms) except for military regiments.

• 1751- 1st of many military regulations regarding weapons (see previous post for these and others).

• Ban of dueling.+

Ireland

• 1695- Penal laws ban right to bear arms for Catholics

• 1777- Code Duello

United Kingdom

• 1903- Firearms sale restrictions.

• 1916- Sword ban in military.

*CoMoDs: Company of Masters of Defence

+: No discernible date