So most swordsmen during the Middle Ages wouldn`t try to cut or stab through armor but would try to attack the less well-armored or even completely unarmored body parts, for example, the legs. And while modern experiments show that good swords were able to cut through poorly made chainmail, banking on that was usually not wise. Obviously, the quality (as well as the price, more on that here) of both swords but also armor heavily depended on the skill of the blacksmith. And when an extremely good sword met a hauberk of suboptimal quality then modern tests show that the sword might have cut or pierced the chainmail. While a one-handed sword was hardly able to cut or pierce through a shirt of chainmail, the so-called hauberk blows and stabs that were delivered with enough force could still cause blunt force impacts or even broken bones. Here you can find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of medieval armor. The most robust armor that that kind of one-handed sword would face were Gambesons or, even more robust, chainmail. ![]() You can find out more about that (and whether medieval swords were sharp or not) in my article here. Have you heard the myth that medieval swords weren`t sharp at all? Like most myths that one also has a grain of truth to it. It was mostly used to deliver cuts and blows but could also be used for stabs. For more information on the reasons for that and which weapon instead of swords dominated (and decided) medieval battles you might want to check out my article here.ĭuring the 12th century, the typical sword was one-handed, weighed 2,8 lb (1,3 kg), was roughly 40 in (1 m) long, had a double-edged broad blade, a short tip, and was extremely sharp. The typical Early & High medieval swordīy the way, it might come as a surprise to you but swords were not that common, especially not during the Early and parts of the High Middle Ages. You can find that article here.īut let`s start out with the typical one-handed sword that was used during the Early and High Middle Ages. Because of that, I wrote a sister article where I talk about the effectiveness of medieval armor. Generally, it is important to state that there was a constant race between swordsmiths and armorsmiths to adapt to the newest developments in weapon or armor technology. The second type, the two-handed Longsword was developed in the 14th century as a response to the spread of Plate armor against which a one-handed sword was less effective. The first type, the one-handed sword that was used together with a shield, was used during the Early and High Middle Ages. ![]() When we look at how effective a medieval sword was then we can roughly split these swords into two types.
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