Swords/axes/flails are used for personal combat (of which there was a lot on Medieval battlefields) or as a secondary weapon when the spear is impractical (too close). You use spears or halberds in large formations. So yes, social distinction is an influence on what weapons you use. If you want to be seen, prove your manhood and get heaps of ransom money, you have to fight one-on-one with swords like REAL MEN, not be a faceless peon with a sharp stick.

Romans also threw sharp sticks at the enemy before charging, so it wasn't just their swiss army penknives vs the phalangites. The gladius WAS their secondary weapon.