How much did medieval knight's sword weigh?

Answer 1

That depends on a number of things, but a good general answer is "between two and four pounds." A Roman-style gladius will be lighter than a Celt-Iberian falcata, for instance; a copper sword will be lighter than one forged of bronze or iron.

Answer 2

There were two models of the pilum (throwing spear) a heavy one and a light one. Originally it weighed between 2 and 5 kilos (4 and a half to 11 pound) and lighter versions were made later. A soldier carried two of them. The tip was pyramidal, but the iron shank was not hardened, so that, with its softness, it bent after impact, was difficult to pull out and could not be thrown back at the Roman soldiers. It stuck in the enemy's shield so he cannot use it to protect himself. It had a range of 30 metres (100 ft.), but its effective range was 15-20 metres (50-70 ft.).The iron shank was 7 millimetres in diameter and 60 centimetres long (23 5/8 inches) and was attached to a wooden shaft, giving a total length of 2 metres (2.19 yards)

Answer 3

It would depend on the type of sword. The Roman-style gladius or short sword weighed around 3 pounds, or around 1.3kg. This kind of sword was used for thrusting, it was not a weapon designed to cut or slash. Roman training in particular emphasised this point - soldiers would lock together a shield wall and thrust their swords in between gaps.

Longswords - as the name implies - had a longer blade, they could be wielded one handed, but you would have to be very strong to do so. These were around 4 pounds, or around 1.8kg. These kinds of swords that could be wielded one-handed were typically referred to as "bastard swords" or "hand-and-a-half swords". This kind of sword was the more popular kind of weapon amongst medieval knights and soldiers. As the Roman style of warfare died out, medieval armies did not come close to the discipline the Romans had. As a result, there was less emphasis on fighting as a unit, rather than just a ferocious slog till one side broke. Due to this, the short sword fell into disuse, and the longsword began to dominate the close-quarters battlefield.

Greatswords or broadswords, huge, cumbersome weapons that could only be wielded two handed, such as the Scottish Claymore, were anywhere from 6lbs upward, or 2.8kg. These were normally used as ceremonial weapons, however they were used on the battlefield by knights.