1.   All were armed - some with rifles, others with spears, while nearly all wore swords and carried shields.

2.   He wore a sword, but it had the light, ceremonious quality of a court decoration rather than a weapon for use in earnest.

3.   Another emotional issue flared up in Fremont schools over the carrying of kirpans, sacred ceremonial swords worn by Sikhs from childhood on, signifying baptism.

4.   Each session of parliament begins with a prayer that MPs say standing up, a practice sometimes attributed to the difficulty of kneeling to pray while wearing a sword.