Medieval swords of some periods were very large and heavy. Soldiers during the middle ages had to deal with both the weight of the large weapons and the weight of there shields and great suits of armor. These soldiers may have been very strong, but they still had to fight differently than a soldier wearing zero armor and fighting with smaller and lighter weapons of choice. I wrote this article to go over the basic strategies medieval fighters used to fight and slay their enemies.
Medieval soldiers fighting on horses did not have the weight trouble that many other soldiers had. These fighters had strong horses to move them and their heavy armor around and could afford to expend some energy doing violent slashing movements with their medieval fighting sword. However, mounted soldiers were rare compared to foot soldiers and that means most people did not have the luxury of using big slashing combat movements.
Soldiers without horses needed to conserve energy. It burns a lot of calories and quickly saps energy away from the soldier when he slashes with a heavily armored arm and a large sword. Why would a soldier use all of his energy to slash his opponent down knowing that he wouldn’t have any left to fight his next opponent with?
Foot soldiers developed techniques that allowed them to vanquish their enemies while conserving energy at the same time. They would primarily block their opponents attacks with their large shields and armor and kept their sword arm fresh for attacking movements. Short jabbing movements were used to stab the enemy because this movement did not take nearly as much energy to make as a swipe or slash. These jabs could be used right away as a fierce and aggressive offense or they could come after a successful block has been made and while the enemies body is exposed.
Soldiers encased in heavy army had the luxury of being able to wrestle with their opponents without fear of getting cut along the way. They would use the weight of their armored bodies to throw their opponents off balance. Following this they would bash their enemies with their shields or stab them with their swords. Warriors dressed in large sets of armor could easily scare a less equipped army into surrendering without blood shed.
The major draw back to the heavy medieval sword, shield, and set of armor was its weight. Even with improved fighting techniques, it was possible for more mobile soldiers to perform guerrilla warfare to eventually tire the medieval fighter down. Having said this, I think that were I to go back to the middle ages I’d rather be the guy in the heavy armor than the more mobile soldier.
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