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AlphaDog posted:Edit: Wasn't one of the functions of the Zweihander to chop through pike shafts? I swear I read that somewhere but I can't find a reference now. I think that came up in the general military history thread some time ago, with the conclusion that that particular tidbit is most likely conjecture. I think I have read somewhere that it was fairly common to have a few guys with Zweihändern in a pike formation, but their main purpose was to protect the ensign and/or to quickly exploit any holes in the enemy formation. Maybe this misconception comes from a bad translation somewhere, something like "and the Zweihänder cut their way through the pikes" was taken to literally mean the weapons instead of just the people wielding them or something? Perestroika fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Feb 16, 2013 |
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Feb 16, 2013 18:22
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Since gladiators and stuff was touched upon, I've been wondering: What was the status of slavery of europe during the middle ages? While the roman empire relied on it a great deal, it seems to have become fairly rare afterwards, especially as time went on. I get the impression that after the end of the middle ages slavery had become virtually nonexistant in most of europe and even illegal in some places. How did that change come about, was it merely impractical or maybe even out of disdain for the concept?
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Jul 1, 2013 11:25
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GyverMac posted:In regards to Zweihanders, I've read that they were made as a counter to the pike formations at the time. Wich makes sense, since a big sword with a long reach is perfect for chopping apart pikes. But where the Zweihanders actually effective beyond that? Did they train the zweihander wielders to act in coordination ala the pike and halberd formations? Or was the zweihander training mostly focused on invdivdual skills? Somebody can probably answer this in much more detail, but if I remember correctly the guys wielding the Zweihänders would actually be kept close to the center of the square, possibly as a guard for the ensign. I figure they'd be kept there more as a kind of tactical reserve to exploit any openings that presented themselves or if two squares got stuck into each other very tightly.
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Jan 19, 2014 20:05
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WEEDLORDBONERHEGEL posted:den oberhou fur den stuck; perhaps something like "An overhand blow for the sword"? "Piece" can mean "weapon." Any native speakers want to correct me? No idea about the etymology of things, but maybe "stuck" is a form of "stock" (stick) to mean a spear or other polearm? So that the sentence could mean something like "using an oberhau for/against the spear"?
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Feb 4, 2014 01:45
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NyxBiker posted:I bet the slings were very unprecise though, also why use a Sling instead of a Bow? Which is faster and way more precise in my opinion Both slings and their ammunition are very cheap to make and don't require much in the way of know-how to build, and they're also really easy to transport. Any given slinger could easily carry several dozen bullets and several slings on their body, and when running low each of them could probably restock on their own. Making sure your archers all have working bows, enough strings, and sufficient arrows at all times would be a somewhat greater logistical effort. Slim Jim Pickens posted:You're assuming that both projectiles are being launched at the same angle. The slinging website doesn't elaborate on the angle of launch for their tests, but the longbow records are the results of a flight shooting competition where it's normal to fire at 45 degrees. Without having to guess about angles, we can just use muzzle velocities. One additional factor that might make a difference could be the flexibility of the projectile. An arrow, having a fair bit of its mass as relatively flexible and compressible wood, might flex and bend a bit during impact, spreading out the transfer of its energy over a longer period of time. Meanwhile, a lead or stone bullet would be harder and smaller, focusing the transfer of the energy into a smaller period of time, leading to greater peak forces that could dent a piece of armor that an arrow might not. I don't actually know whether this effect is significant enough to make a noticeable difference, but when you look at the way an arrow bends back and forth upon being loosed it doesn't seem impossible. 
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Feb 2, 2015 13:38
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Obdicut posted:Which makes sense, given that you need a lot less metal for a spear, javelin, dart, or what have you, and it's a modification of the most common hand-to-hand weapons as well. That brings up the question of why the Franks used axes instead, assuming the reports are accurate. Perhaps it was simply the ease of carrying them? I'd imagine you could just carry a throwing axe in a sling, your belt, or a pouch, while a javelin is something you'd probably have to carry around in your hand all day long. I suppose that would just be very convenient, especially if you're involved more in smaller-scale raiding and skirmishing as opposed to larger-scale field battles.
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Jun 13, 2015 14:24
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deadking posted:I came across some references today in some Carolingian sources to individuals fighting judicial combats with big sticks (fustes) rather than swords, etc. Does this happen in other times/places? I was under the impression that most judicial duels were fought with potentially lethal weapons. Now, I'm not certain whether this actually was a judicial duel, but I'll take any excuse to post Talhoffer's illustrations of "man with mace in a hole against woman with flail" 
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Jan 21, 2016 18:27
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Verisimilidude posted:Grip strength plays a huge role, obviously. If you can grip sufficiently stronger than the person pulling, you should be fine. Also kitchen knives tend to be insanely sharp, and the overall length means it is easier to pull forcefully than a sword. Would I personally do it? No, and I have pretty good grip strength, but it was certainly done historically and makes sense from a physics perspective. And besides, at the end of the day it also just makes sense from a survival perspective. Even if things go wrong and your hand does get injured, it's better to have a sword in your hand with a sliced palm than to have a sword in your guts with a sliced liver.
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Jun 23, 2016 22:28
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Edit: Never mind.
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Oct 28, 2016 19:30
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Cyrano4747 posted:A dude in TFR just posted a box thread for a reproduction medieval crossbow he had built. I'm not a crossbow nerd but it's neat as hell and looks halfway accurate. Coincidentally, Matt Easton also got his hands on a fairly similar crossbow made by the same guy and talked about it a bunch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3L6Ek9zLVA
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Feb 16, 2017 11:38
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Hogge Wild posted:They are large peasant's flails with iron bits added. They were cheap to make and could hurt people in heavy armours, and were quite common rebel weapons in the late Medieval and Early modern periods: Apparently even the short-handled ones like that did exist, though the length of the chain usually trends towards the shorter side. Matt Easton did a video on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGf7n7iUF_k
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Mar 7, 2017 21:59
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