Toad’s Chorus

The medieval swords used in battle could be quite large and cumbersome.   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.

The horse riding medieval fighter was not troubled by the great weight of his gear like his foot bound comrade.   The wonderfully built horses of these days allowed mounted soldiers to spend more of their energies on broad slashing movements with their medieval fighting sword and less on walking around.   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?

Soldiers of this time period created fighting styles that used less energy so they could still be victorious in battle and protected by their great armor as well.   These soldiers did not use their swords for blocking and would completely rely on their armor and shields.   Attacking movements consisted mostly of short jabs used to impale the enemy.  Aggressive fighters would make their stabbing movements at the start of battle in the hopes of a quick victory while more defensive fighters would wait until they saw a good opening before striking.

Soldiers encased in heavy army had the luxury of being able to wrestle with their opponents without fear of getting cut along the way.   Using the weight of their armor, they would knock their enemy off of their feet and onto the ground.   Following this they would bash their enemies with their shields or stab them with their swords.  Soldiers in heavy armor were very intimidating to lesser armored soldiers for their sheer appearance of invulnerability.

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.