How is a medieval sword used?

Answer 1

the sword was, in many ways, not the main weapon of warfare - in the viking era and earlier, it was a weapon of the highest nobility, who were rich enough to afford one. in the later medieval period, although much more common, it was usually carried as a secondary, back-up weapon - the spear, or polearm was a far more common weapon - it takes a lot less practice to use well, and keeps the enemy far away, at the end of a pointy stick, rather than up close.

However, the sword was used in personal combat, and when forces were too close to use the long, bulkier polearms.

Many techniques were developed for use of the sword in the most effective manner, and were taught throughout Europe. the masters who taught sometimes produced books of their method, given to their pupils as reminders. Many of these have survived, the oldest surviving one is called i.33 Walpurgis, and was written somewhere around 1305 in Germany, and it clearly demonstrates methods of defending yourself and attacking the enemy which were already highly developed by that date.

The entire technique is very different to the aimless hacking and bashing seen in films, being comprised of fast movements of the feet to close the distance, and turning of the blade to deflect an enemy's attack without damaging your own sword. Similar techniques of footwork, defence and attack are to be seen in hundreds of surviving fighting manuals from the medieval era and renaissance, some of which teach techniques for countering armour, some of which show techniques for unarmoured civillians. All, however, show advanced and athletic Martial Arts which use the sword for lightning-fast strikes and accurate, controlled fighting.

Answer 2

Swords evolved and changed over time during the medieval period.

In the Saxon, Viking and Norman periods, swords were single-hand cutting weapons used for slashing only - the other hand held the wooden shield. Such swords could deliver a severe cutting blow (as evidenced in the murder of Thomas Becket, when the top of his skull was sliced off), but against an opponent wearing mail armour the best that could be hoped for was a powerful blow that would break the underlying bones of an arm or leg by its sheer force.

This was the style of sword up to the late 13th/14th century when grips were extended to "hand and a half" or even two handed size and the blades were lengthened considerably. These meant that the user had no free hand to support a shield, so he was always at risk from missile weapons such as arrows.

Hand-and-a-half and two-handed swords could be used both for slashing and thrusting but they needed longer training periods to be able to use them skilfully. Shorter single-hand swords continued alongside these longer versions.

A very short, thrusting style of sword also developed by the 14th and 15th centuries; these had a blade that tapered from quite wide at the grip to very narrow at the point, much like a dagger.

By the mid 15th century and into the 16th huge two-handed swords were fashionable, particularly among mercenary troops (Landsknechts) from Germany and Switzerland. The user needed a large area in which to operate and he was always at risk from firearms which began to appear at this time, but the effect of such a swords was fearsome.

Answer 3

By advanatage I can only give you its significance on how people are using them to decorate their house or room with medieval swords to reflect the royality of a place. In earlier times they were more than a sword and were used in fighting.