Medieval Knights
Armouring one's self during the Middle Ages was a great expense that only the wealthy could afford.
http://www.knightsandarmor.com/armor.htm
A knight was armed and armoured to the teeth. He had so much armour and weapons that he depended on his squire to keep his armour and weapons clean and in good working condition.
Armour
A knight wore a linen shirt and a pair of pants as well as heavy woollen pads underneath the metal-ringed tunic. A suit of chain mail could have more than 200,000 rings. However, chain mail was heavy, uncomfortable, and difficult to move in.
As time passed, knights covered their bodies with plates of metal. Plates covered their chests, back, arms, and legs. A bucket like helmet protected the knight’s head and had a hinged metal visor to cover his face. Suits of armour were hot, uncomfortable, and heavy to wear. A suit of armour weighed between forty and sixty pounds. Some knights even protected their horses in armour.
Among the earliest metallic armour to be worn by medieval knights was chainmail armour, consisting of tens of thousands of interlocking rings woven painstakingly by hand to form a shirt, coif, or leggings.
Late in the Middle Ages plate armour began to appear (ca. late 13th/early 14th century), first as reinforcements to vital areas such as the chest and shoulders, and finally as a complete suit (ca. early 15th century). The medieval "knight in shining armour" that most people think of is the fully plate-armoured knight. Chainmail armour was now relegated to protecting smaller vital areas that could not be covered with plate armour, such as the groin and under the arms. The shield became smaller, or disappeared altogether as it became unnecessary and redundant.
Ironically, it was soon after the development of the full suit of plate armour that the medieval knight's advantage in battle began to wane. With the effective use of gunpowder weapons (ca. 15th/16th century) the face of combat changed.
Weapons
A knight's weapon was his sword, which was about thirty-two pounds. It was worn on his left side in a case fastened around his waist. A knife was worn on the knight’s right side. Knights used other weapons in combat as well. A lance was a long spear used in jousts. Metal axes, battle hammers, and maces were also used to defeat the enemy.
A knight also needed a shield to hold in front of himself during battle. Shields were made of either wood or metal. Knights decorated their shields with their family emblem or crest and the family motto.
Medieval swords usually were made from a mild steel (low carbon steel). Most swords were double-edged, and featured a cross guard, hilt, and pommel. Apart from the sword another standard weapon of a knight was the lance. Lances were usually made of wood, with metal tips.
Fighting styles/techniques
Medieval fighters artfully ducked, dodged, parried and trapped. They used graceful footwork combined with equally graceful techniques. Fighting styles differed because of the weapons and nature of combat.
Among them are several manuals of unarmed combat, as well.
Medieval man-to-man combat is a brutal science. It uses techniques which are efficient and ruthless. The goal to put the opponent down quickly. A Medieval fight would be brief. I doubt a combat between individuals would last more than 20 to 30 seconds, and that only if both were equally skilled fighters. A fight between a trained man and a semi-skilled one would rarely last ten seconds, and likely be over in five.
Medieval fighters strive for powerful attacks. They do not use light techniques. Every strike is made to do damage. The power is needed for two reasons. First, power puts a man down fast. Second, a soldier would often have to attack an armoured opponent. Whether the armour was a leather jack, chain mail or plate armour, it took added strength to cause harm to the man inside the suit.
As for defence, the main trick of Medieval fighters was to not be where the strike fell. They would sidestep, duck, dodge and slip. Backing this up were various parries, deflections and blocks. A fighter would try to deflect a blow, rather than block it by catching its full force on shield or weapon. Many a defences was also a counter strike. Fechtbuchs show techniques that deflect the weapon and inflict damage to the adversary in the same motion.
The fighters might use shields or bucklers. These were not passive weapons or a wall to put up against an enemy weapon. Rather, they were used to deflect and parry. The shield could also be used to jam, block, trap and strike. In the hands of a trained fighter, it was as much as weapon as any sword or axe.
Looking at the real techniques, you see that they were very cunning and tricky fighters. A man might throw his sword, and then wrestle his opponent to the ground. He may use his weapon to trap, pin or hold an opponent. Any part of the weapon was dangerous. The blunt end of a spear shaft or the pommel of a sword was as much a weapon as the bladed end.
Medieval weapons were not sharp, in the modern sense. Only the three to five inches by the point of a sword or spear might be sharpened. The rest was dull, like a thin screwdriver. A sharp edge would lead to chipping the blade, but the slightly duller edge prevented it. Because they trained often, a Medieval fighter could cut with a dull blade almost as easily as with a sharpened one. He could even grab the blade and swing the weapon “backwards,” as it were.
Horses
A Destrier was a war horse which were used by Knights in the Middle Ages. It was brought to England by William the Conqueror following his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. A horse played an extremely important part in the life of a knight.
The Destrier war horse had a dense rounded body with a broad back, strong loins, powerful hind-quarters, and long legs with dense bones.
The Destrier war horse had a dense rounded body with a broad back, strong loins, powerful hind-quarters, and long legs with dense bones.
No comments:
Post a Comment