Hi fenlander,
Consistent with Tim's post, Egerton Castle, the renowned English swordsmanship historian of the Victorian era, observed that the degree of hand protection offered by a sword's hilt was a direct reflection of the amount of defence expected from the weapon. Until fairly late in the piece, the late renaissance, swords were primarily weapons of offence and the defence was relegated to an auxiliary implement, such a shield or dagger, or simply bodily evasion. The most basic form of defence, using a sword, is hiding behind one's blade from the threatening attack, usually called "covering". More advanced techniques involve parrying with various techniques using the blade or hilt.
As observed by Rich, handguards were also fitted simply to prevent the hand from slipping onto the blade. This is the case with most knives that carry a handguard, left hand parrying daggers excepted, as these had complex handguards designed to protect the hand from the opponent's sword.
As well as protecting and locating the hand, many handguards had a further role: That of allowing a greater control by way of improving the grip of the sword. Fingers and thumbs were often wrapped around parts of the handguard.
Cheers
Chris
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