Today, weapons that fire hot lead across thousands of yards, destroy cities in a single blast of insane fury, or disable a man without harming him at all are the bread of butter of conflicts the world over. But even though they no longer have a place on the battlefield, there is something noble about the melee weapons that once ruled the battlefield.
The sword in particular has a special place in the hearts of many. Perhaps it is because it is the preferred weapon of duelists, and we find something special about the idea of two men facing off, skill against skill.
Be it gracefully curved katana from Japan, or brutally efficient zweihander's from Germany, their is no denying that the sword is the single most dominant melee weapon in popular culture. Even in movies filled with firearms, it is never a surprise to see a suitably epic sword duel between the hero and the villain.
But let's not ignore the other weapons of ages past. For example, the spear. Despite the somewhat weaker popularity of it in pop culture, it is a fact that a spear is almost universally considered superior to the sword; there is a saying that a swordsman most possess three times the skill of a man wielding a polearm to best him.
For this reason, polearms have served as the primary weapons of the vast majority of armies since the dawn of human history. The relative ease of making simple spears, combined with their high efficiency, makes it hard to find a weapon more suitable for the armies of ages past.
The last class of weapons, bludgeons, is overlooked even more often than polearms. But maces, warhammers, and flails all have their own uses, even if they aren't as graceful or pretty as the other weapons; their brutal efficiency simply cannot be ignored.
In particular, a bludgeoning weapon can have devastating effect when employed against armored foes. It is for this reason that at several points in history, western knights preferred maces and flails over swords as their sidearms.
Finally, lets give a bit of recognition to shields. While not strictly speaking a weapon, a shield is almost unmatched for value in a melee fight, even if they aren't particularly popular in modern movies and culture.
A skilled fighter can defeat almost any attack with a good shield in his hands, and the best can use them as a brutally effective bludgeon. Dual-wielding may be popular in movies and games, but I'll take a shield for my off hand any day in real life.
That's all I have to say about melee weapons today. I hope you've learned a little about the weapons that defined our history for so many years, and that you give them at least a little respect even in a world with guns and bombs. - 33385
The sword in particular has a special place in the hearts of many. Perhaps it is because it is the preferred weapon of duelists, and we find something special about the idea of two men facing off, skill against skill.
Be it gracefully curved katana from Japan, or brutally efficient zweihander's from Germany, their is no denying that the sword is the single most dominant melee weapon in popular culture. Even in movies filled with firearms, it is never a surprise to see a suitably epic sword duel between the hero and the villain.
But let's not ignore the other weapons of ages past. For example, the spear. Despite the somewhat weaker popularity of it in pop culture, it is a fact that a spear is almost universally considered superior to the sword; there is a saying that a swordsman most possess three times the skill of a man wielding a polearm to best him.
For this reason, polearms have served as the primary weapons of the vast majority of armies since the dawn of human history. The relative ease of making simple spears, combined with their high efficiency, makes it hard to find a weapon more suitable for the armies of ages past.
The last class of weapons, bludgeons, is overlooked even more often than polearms. But maces, warhammers, and flails all have their own uses, even if they aren't as graceful or pretty as the other weapons; their brutal efficiency simply cannot be ignored.
In particular, a bludgeoning weapon can have devastating effect when employed against armored foes. It is for this reason that at several points in history, western knights preferred maces and flails over swords as their sidearms.
Finally, lets give a bit of recognition to shields. While not strictly speaking a weapon, a shield is almost unmatched for value in a melee fight, even if they aren't particularly popular in modern movies and culture.
A skilled fighter can defeat almost any attack with a good shield in his hands, and the best can use them as a brutally effective bludgeon. Dual-wielding may be popular in movies and games, but I'll take a shield for my off hand any day in real life.
That's all I have to say about melee weapons today. I hope you've learned a little about the weapons that defined our history for so many years, and that you give them at least a little respect even in a world with guns and bombs. - 33385
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If you still want to learn more about ancient weapons, be sure to read my article about Roman Swords and other weapons of the Roman Legions.
