I just finished reading Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle which is set between 1650-1714, and in it several characters carry around a sword openly as part of their outfit while others had to hide them. In general, who was allowed to carry a sword openly (in England, France, and the HRE) and were they prohibited from bringing it to certain places such as church, palaces (Whitehall, Versailles, etc.), and other people's private homes? Also, when did people stop carrying around a sword as part of their everyday attire?
I am almost half way through Stephenson's Baroque Cycle and also had question's about gentlemen and their swords.
I did a bit of googling and found that in early 16th-century Europe, a culture of violence developed that was directly related to the development of a light, portable and elegant new weapon – the rapier. Within a few decades, rapiers had become items of everyday apparel for men. Anyone could carry a sword, but the more elaborate the design and the more expensive the materials it was made from, the higher the owner’s social status. The shift from swords to pistols occurred in the early 1760s.
And here. http://www.eiu.edu/historia/Ellett.pdf This Pdf is particularity enlightening.