Alright, I'll get on (a) character(s), then.

Oh, something I missed about the Renaissance (it was really late when I wrote that <p) is that a large part of it was also about a return to 'Classical' styles of thought and architecture-that is, Greek and Roman, based on large open styles and geometric (and even number) styles, as compared to the 'Gothic' style which was more about what aesthetically looked pleasing, intuition and mystery, that was predominant during the Medieval period.

I already knew just about all of that-I'm quite glad to see someone else know that, too, though ^^
Actually, most of our current names for weapons (and especially swords) are modern inventions or at least modern uses of them. At that time, they were largely referred to as 'swords', with occasional use of 'longsword', 'long sword', 'great sword', 'dueling sword', 'side-sword/belt-sword' and so on. So, yeah, they weren't really classified by name back then, although I haven't heard of rapier specifically being used to refer to anything else.

As I'm not entirely sure about what your point was with the paragraph on two-handed swords... swords actually reached their longest length and greatest size in real life once plate armor was actually already in decline. The open battlefield of pikes, polearms and arquebuses was actually when the largest swords reached their apex use. While, granted, they were still an uncommon weapon (more dangerous to use than a spear, took way more training to use effectively, more expensive weapon and so on), the technological level here is actually the very best one for them.

Anyways, I'll pm you about the magic, then.

Oh, also, someone mentioned Le Chevalier D'eon (back on the first page, I think >.>) Yes, a great anime-a rare case of a tragedy that did not seem forced. Also a rare case of an anime that's better than the manga (by continents).