Knight sword
| Knight sword | |
|---|---|
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|
| Information | |
| Weapon type: | sword |
| Designations: | Knight sword, knightly sword, battle sword |
| Use: | Weapon, ceremonial weapon, professional weapon |
| Working time: | 10-14 Century |
| Region of origin / author: |
Europe |
| Distribution: | Europe , Asia , Africa |
| Overall length: | approx. 90 cm to 130 cm (90-100 cm on average) |
| Blade length: | approx. 70 cm to 110 cm (76-82 cm on average) |
| Blade width: | 4.5-6 cm |
| Blade thickness: | 5.5-2 mm |
| Weight: | approx. 0.9-1.3 kg |
| Handle: | Wood or horn wrapped with metal wire and leather |
| Particularities: | Fuller which, depending on the type, extends on both sides over the entire blade or its half / third. |
| Lists on the subject | |
A knight's sword is colloquially known today, in contrast to the long sword , above all one-handed sword types from the European Middle Ages , which were mainly used as combat weapons by the sword nobility in the period from the 10th to the 15th century . The term can be used to include all straight swords of the high and late Middle Ages that are wielded with one hand, whereby the transitions to the Viking swords of the early Middle Ages are fluid.
description
In comparison to early medieval swords , the main characteristic is the long quillons, which caused the cross shape of these swords. According to the Oakeshott classification , two basic types can be distinguished among the swords of the European High and Late Middle Ages. On the one hand, these are swords, which usually have wide blades and are characterized by cutting edges that are convex in cross section, and, on the other hand, swords with a blade tapering towards the tip and with a rhombic cross section. The swords of the first group (type X – XIV) were mainly used between 1050 and 1350 and were mainly used as cutting weapons against light chain armor. The swords of the second group gradually replaced them around 1350 and were increasingly used as thrust weapons until the beginning of modern times to pierce heavy plate armor. Hand - and -a-half swords and two-handed swords must be considered separately within both groups .
development
The European, medieval sword developed seamlessly from the spathe during the early and high Middle Ages . The so-called "Viking sword", which was widespread from around the 8th to 10th century and can be divided into types I to IX, can be regarded as a kind of transition type to the high medieval sword forms. Contrary to the common name, these swords from the Viking Age were not only widespread among Vikings, but also in the rest of Europe, for example in the Franconian Empire. The blade shapes of these swords diversified over time, the guard was now always made of metal and became wider over time. The blade, initially only designed for the cut (rounded cut-optimized location , relatively parallel cutting edges), was designed more stab-heavy in the High Middle Ages and indicated an increased decrease in the blade width towards the location. From the 10th century onwards, complex damascene was increasingly abandoned and refined steel blades were used, which were forged using the “three-layer technique” or “soft core technique”. As with every utility weapon, the fluctuations in quality were sometimes very pronounced.
Well-known swords from the High Middle Ages are the Joyeuse , which was supposedly the sword of Charlemagne , and the Imperial Sword , once insignia of the Holy Roman Empire .
In the middle of the 13th century there was a turning point in weapon technology, because the ring armor was improved and increasingly reinforced with plates, which required even more stab-heavy blades. A variety of sword types were developed, but they soon lost their impact in favor of stabbing effectiveness. In the middle of the 14th century, the long sword and types XIV to XVIII became more and more popular, because the high medieval design became increasingly ineffective due to the development of plate armor . In the last hundred years of the late Middle Ages, a large number of different types of swords arose, each adapted to their task.
From around 1600 firearms became increasingly popular, which resulted in a reduction in armaments. As a result, the swords became overall slimmer and developed into rapiers . In the modern fighting style, in which as a rule no shields were used, the sword hand was more exposed to the opponent. This ultimately led to the formation of complex vessels and thus to the abandonment of the cross-shaped knight sword with simple crossguard. Parallel to the sword, however, forms with broad blades, such as the basket sword, were also in use in modern times .
construction
- → Main article: sword
Forging production
steel
According to numerous studies of European ancient, Roman, medieval and Renaissance steel products, it can be assumed that there were very different quality grades, ranging from pure iron to high-quality steels. The raw material for sword blades usually came from local racing furnaces (in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance also piece furnaces or blast furnaces ) in the form of iron shells , which were typically contaminated with numerous additions of slag , sulfur and phosphorus . After the pieces had been pre-sorted according to carbon content and purity, they had to be cleaned by folding and forging. The process was repeated up to ten times, depending on how good the starting material was. In this way, refining steel with a carbon content of 0.4 to 1.1% was obtained, which could then be used to manufacture blades.
The quality of such steels could possibly compete with modern steels. 0.005% sulfur and 0.015% phosphorus, 0.75% carbon and a homogeneous carbon distribution with very few slag inclusions enable a very high quality, usable blade. Investigations of late medieval and Renaissance steels show that blast furnace technology of the 15th and 16th centuries enabled the production of steels with a slag content of only 0.3%. Compared to modern steels, the slag content of 1 to 2% reduces the tensile strength of the steel by up to 25%, depending on the size and distribution of those non-metallic inclusions. 0.3-0.6%, however, should only bring about a 10% loss of tensile strength. A steel that was so pure for the state of the art at the time, in the form of a sword blade, should differ only insignificantly in its cutting and cutting performance from modern unalloyed carbon steels.
construction
As studies on original swords show, numerous forging designs were used in Europe. The simplest and most widely used construction since ancient times was an iron blade with separately carburized cutting edges; this procedure was used when high quality steels were not available. Between the 3rd and 10th centuries, very complex damasks were used, which in most cases had a soft iron core and separately carburized cutting edges. In the High Middle Ages, damascene was no longer used in the course of the improvement of the kiln technology; iron and steel were instead “ laminated ” together in order to fully exploit the positive properties of the respective material. This resulted in the following options: soft core method (a piece of steel “wrapped” around an iron core), three-layer method (an iron bar between two steel bars, or vice versa, shaped into a blade) or stacked construction (several steels in a stack welded together and formed into a blade). The aim was that the cutting edges and the surface of the sword were rather hard, but the inner core was rather soft, the blade thus had a sharp edge and was flexible and break-proof to a certain extent. Another method is forging the blade from a whole piece of particularly homogeneous steel, which has also been practiced, but not as often as laminate techniques for reasons of cost and other technical restrictions.
Heat treatment
According to the observed structural formations of the original steel under the microscope, three basic methods can be distinguished: quenching (complete or incomplete - the so-called "slack quenching"), quenching and tempering and then stepped deterrent . The last method is that a workpiece is immersed in the quenching medium several times in succession for a very short time and then pulled out again. The surface becomes hard for a short time, the heat remaining inside the workpiece causes "tempering from the inside". This allows the exact hardness of the cutting edge to be set. The optimal variant, however, is a full hardening (the complete conversion of the carbon into a martensitic structure) and the subsequent tempering, whereby the full potential of the material can be used. The success of such a heat treatment requires a homogeneous, pure material, otherwise there is a risk of cracking - for this reason, incomplete hardening ("slack quenching") became one of the most common types of heat treatment in the European Middle Ages, as it is easier to accomplish was. There is also evidence that selective hardening was also practiced, but the specific technology is still unknown to this day. In addition to water, there were also other quenching media (oil, salt solutions), which have unfortunately been forgotten today, so that the correct process has to be scientifically developed.
The hardness achieved thereby usually varied from 200 to 650 HV. It can be observed that the middle of the blade was usually softer than the cutting edge, for which there are several explanations: clever “fire control”, selective tempering or thermally resistant insulating layers such as clay . The average hardness of the cutting edges of the original swords is given in the sources mentioned above as around 45–54 HRC, a degree of hardness which, from a mechanical point of view, represents the best compromise between hardness and toughness, which corresponded to the intended use of the combat sword of that time.
polishing
After production, the blade was handed over to a specialist, the sword sweeper , who grinded and polished it, a fine mirror polishing being the ideal. A pronounced skill of the sword sweep can be proven historically; Files, various natural stones and polishing powder were used. The fine polishes as well as the visible welding patterns on the surface of the blades can be proven indirectly, so the surface finishing was closest to that of the Japanese and Arabic blades.
use
Most forms of the high medieval combat sword were worn together with a shield or buckler . The ring armor and most helmets usually offered good protection against the sword blows, but these could be cut or at least damaged under certain circumstances. B. the illustrations from the Maciejowski Bible prove. There are also images in the Codex Manesse , where a helmet is split open by a battle sword. Combat swords were mainly used by the armored cavalry of the sword nobility and functioned as a rider's cutting weapon; Protected by a large shield, the rider was able to deal with sword blows if his main weapon (usually the lance) was lost or destroyed. Furthermore, the battle sword was used in court battles , which were usually fought with either a shield or a buckler (fist shield). Combat swords were used to a lesser extent in knight tournaments , but this led to an increased risk of injury and blade wear. The battle sword was usually replaced by special tournament swords.
The use of the combat sword as a fencing weapon is also documented; the oldest surviving fencing book with the designation " Tower Fechtbuch I.33 " testifies to a mature sporty and knightly art of fencing using a combat sword and a fist shield. The combat sword of the early, high and late Middle Ages offered the user at the time a versatile bladed weapon that met the requirements of warfare and self-defense of the time.
Carrying method
Usually the sword was kept in a scabbard that was attached to the weir hanger . The scabbard of a utility weapon (as opposed to purely ceremonial and status weapons) was usually made of wood, covered with leather and supplemented with metal parts (scabbard, chape). The inside of the scabbard was lined with fur to prevent the weapon from accidentally sliding out. The scabbard was often artistically designed with fabric or leather wraps. The weir hanger itself was usually on the pelvic belt , with the weapon attached to either one or two leather straps around the weapon’s center of gravity. This ensured that the sword dangled freely from the belt and could be pulled quickly if necessary. Carrying the weapon over the shoulder was probably also practiced and could be used primarily for transport purposes. There are also opinions that the battle swords were attached to the saddles of the horses, although the sources are still in doubt.
One of the widespread notions today that swords were carried on the back for the purpose of better mobility and speed of drawing originates largely from the Japanese culture, and is also based on a misunderstanding. The main weapon of the Japanese sword nobility before the 15th century was the long sword tachi , which was carried during combat like a saber on the defensive hanger in the belt area. A special subspecies of these swords, the nodachi , was sometimes very long, so it was attached to the back / shoulder for transport after the fight. In the 20th century, the corresponding illustrations and written sources found their way into popular culture; In particular, the character of the ninja from films always carries his sword Ninjatō on his back. This way of wearing found its way very quickly into the film industry and computer games and is generally rarely questioned today, even though such a way of wearing cannot be historically proven anywhere in the European culture.
Fighting style and effect
The sword types X to XII according to the Oakeshott classification were primarily designed for the cut. Since most warriors of the early and high Middle Ages either fought on foot with a shield or attacked as armored cavalry with a lance, a straight cut weapon was an advantage. The armor of this time consisted of chain or scale armor , which in most cases offered good protection against sword blows. In the 12./13. In the 19th century, many improvements in chain armor technology took hold, which led to changes in blade design. Swords were made more stitch-heavy and more often provided with a pointed spot instead of a rounded spot (typical for Spathae and “Viking swords ”). However, the battle sword always remained a primary cutting weapon. The type XIV (from the 2nd half of the 13th century) was conceived from the start as an equivalent cutting and stabbing weapon. With the advent of the plate elements, the pure cut sword designs became increasingly ineffective, so that they were replaced by other sword shapes in the course of the 14th century.
Cutting and cutting technique
The technique of the combat sword differs significantly from the cutting technique of the oriental saber or Far Eastern blade weapons such as katana or jian . Fencing books are to be mentioned as primary sources of fighting technique . To execute a full blow, the fighter took a step forwards or backwards simultaneously with the swing and used the rotation of the body (the hip in particular) as a source of impulse for the blow. This rotation also enabled the blade to be pulled back in a curved manner, which allowed the cutting edges to “work” properly. With this, the sword cut is actually a “pulling pressure cut” (similar to a chef's knife) and not a “chopping” as is often claimed by modern fencers and the media. The analogy to an ax or a baseball bat is therefore not given. In manuscript I.33 teaches also that end fencing blows in an extended forward position, the langort , which is understood as a key position. The effect of the blow in this case comes almost exclusively from the rotation of the hip and the forward movement of the body; the physical strength of the arm, as is often mistakenly assumed, is almost irrelevant. In contrast to the straight sword, sabers have a natural pulling component due to their blade curvature. This shows that a combat sword can only “work” properly if it is used correctly and professionally.
The use of the combat sword to contuse the enemy or to “hack” the armor, as it is often portrayed in the mass media, is neither proven nor possible. The headlong balance, the moderate weight (1.1 to 1.2 kg), the relatively small blade thickness and the sharp cutting edges are only designed for cutting and stabbing - powerful, uncontrolled blows on metal parts and other swords directly with the cutting edge might damage the sword irreparably damage without significant damage to e.g. B. to cause armor. From the oldest fencing book of the European Middle Ages, the " Royal Armories Ms. I.33 ", the use of the combat sword as a cutting and stabbing weapon is clear. When moving ("parrying"), hitting your own cutting edge directly in front of the opponent's cutting edge was avoided as far as possible (i.e. force against force). The usual handling, on the other hand, was to hit the opponent's blade at a slight incline to the side at a flat angle in order to work in a way that saves energy and the cutting edge and to move the attack to the side with the slightly lateral impulse component. A shield or buckler was almost always used with the sword.
Sharpness and mass
With regard to the mass, there are studies that show that the usual mass of a combat sword is between 0.6 and 1.4 kg. Most combat swords of the High Middle Ages should have weighed between 1.1 and 1.3 kg. The often quoted and often exaggerated weight of 20 or even 40 pounds (9 to 18 kg) is a fantasy product of the modern age, due to the romantic transfiguration of the Middle Ages. These ideas are also to blame for the decorative and exhibition swords, which by nature are not combat swords, but purely visual imitations that have almost no physical similarities with originals. Swords for theater and exhibition matches are basically made as sword-like tools with a striking edge and material thickness of up to 8 mm, so that they can withstand the hitting "edge against edge" with almost no damage and thus meet the dramaturgical requirements, which significantly increases their mass .
The sharpness of the sword is largely determined by the macroscopic and microscopic structure of the cutting edges. As the originals show, the blade cross-section was i. d. Usually "lenticular" and the cutting edge generally had a grinding angle between 30 ° and 45 °, which enables a good, if necessary "razor-like" sharpness. It is often claimed that European swords had blunt edges, similar to a chisel iron , but such ideas are based on typical machine-made 80 ° cutting edges of modern replicas and misinterpretations of medieval blades with a hexagonal or octagonal cross-section. No known European original sword, which was explicitly designed and built for cutting and cutting, has the blade geometry of a chisel or chisel . Slender, slightly convex cutting edges of European originals basically correspond to those that can be found on Japanese or oriental blades.
There is also direct archaeological evidence such as the mass graves of the Battle of Towton and Visby , which reveal clean, smooth cuts on bones and skulls (including tooth roots). The remains of Richard III also reveal sharp cuts on the skull. Such injuries require correspondingly sharp blades, and if one takes into account that cutting and cutting were routinely taught in the fencing manuscripts of the late Middle Ages, the above cutting angles, fencing book instructions and forensic findings give an overall picture that is consistent with the modern and largely source-free The idea of the "blunt swords of the Middle Ages" is in fact not compatible. It is true that different types of swords and daggers made different demands on the sharpness of the edge, contemporary tests with modern equivalents of linen and wool-based clothing of the Middle Ages clearly show the level of sharpness required for the cutting technique from the fencing manuscripts mentioned above and which cannot be compensated by more “muscle strength” or sword weight.
The oft-cited need for bluntness by metal armor and parierendes fencing along the lines of modern fencing sword is not supported by any sources, neither "on armor is tapped as with clubs" nor "you hit wild edge against cutting up a give up" is in historical fencing sources available . In order to effectively protect the cutting edge from becoming blunted too quickly, one would only have to resort to 1. correct offset at a flat angle to the opposing blade surface, and 2. mace , war hammer or special armor fighting techniques against heavily armored personnel.
Efficiency
The effectiveness of the combat sword has now been directly proven by many attempts in experimental archeology . A weapon that weighs around 1.2 kg and is historically correctly balanced, polished and sharpened is capable of severing human limbs with one blow and even damaging chain armor and helmets. The Maciejowski Bible and the Codex Manesse contain numerous illustrations, where chain armor is penetrated by the one-handed combat sword, limbs are cut off and helmets and skulls are cut up. Even if the splitting of a helmet is rather an exaggeration for the purpose of glorification, the effect on armor is quite understandable and reproducible.
According to studies by A. Williams, it takes around 170 J impact energy to damage an original ring armor from the 15th century with a sword simulator to such an extent that it would theoretically endanger the life of the wearer. Here, however, it must be taken into account that there have always been considerable fluctuations in the quality of armor and sword weapons, and by no means every armor was so bad that it could be cut through "with ease". Such an amount of energy could definitely be applied to a heavily armored knight (20 to 25 kg full body armor including helmet) on the warhorse at full speed, but it is doubtful that a partial penetration of the armor would seriously injure the opponent or kill him immediately, because the gambeson usually underneath should considerably dampen the shock and cut effect. The scientific tests also make it clear that neither “brutal strength” nor “enormous weight of the sword” could help to completely cut through high medieval ring armor or late medieval plate armor with a blow or blow.
Modern broadswords
"Broadsword" is a direct translation from the English broadsword , a name for the modern, common in the British Isles basket handle sword (Engl. Basket-hilted sword ) and related with it types. The original English name is a contrast to the smallsword , a type of sword . Consequently, the term "broadsword" is of modern origin and was not used in the Middle Ages.
See also
- The Egyptian Kopesh
- The Italian Schiavona
- The Chinese Dao and Chai dao
- The German Katzbalger
Two-handed:
literature
- Thomas Laible: The Sword - Myth and Reality. Wieland Verlag, Bad Aibling 2006, ISBN 978-3-938711-05-7 .
- Stefan Mäder: Steels, stones and snakes. On the cultural and technical history of sword blades in the early Middle Ages . 2001.
- J. Emmerling: Technological investigations on the sword of Horrweiler . Research and Reports. Municipal Museums in Berlin, Vol. 8, 1967.
- B. Neumann: Roman damascus steel . In: Arch. Eisenhüttenwes. 1, no.3, 1927.
- Alfred Pothmann (ed.): The ceremonial sword of the Essen cathedral treasury . Aschendorff, Münster 1995.
- Alan Williams: The Knight and the Blast Furnace . Brill Verlag, 2003.
- George Cameron Stone , Donald J. LaRocca: A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times . Courier Dover Publications, 1999, ISBN 978-0-486-40726-5 .
- Christian Hardinghaus: Weapons and armor of the Romans - about the equipment and clothing of the legionnaire in the late phase of the Roman Republic . GRIN Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-638-87354-3 .
- E. Oakeshott: The Sword in the Age of Chivalry . Boydell Press, 1964, ISBN 0-85115-715-7 .
- E. Oakeshott: Records of the Medieval Sword . Boydell Press, 1991, ISBN 0-85115-566-9 .
- Sword in hand . Arms & Armor Inc., 2000, ISBN 0-9714379-0-4 .
- Swords of the Viking Age. Boydell Press, 2002, ISBN 0-8023-1294-2 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.zornhau.de/source/schwertexkursion/index.htm Original sword around 1100, see ZEF-5
- ↑ Laible, 2006 (p. 26 ff.)
- ↑ Craig Johnson: Blade hardness and its structure , literature list
- ↑ Laible, 2006 (p. 122 ff.)
- ↑ Stefan Mäder: Archaeometallurgical Literature (PDF)
- ^ Radomir Pleiner: The Celtic Sword , 1993
- ↑ Janet Lang: Study of the Metallography of some Roman Swords © 1988
- ↑ Stefan Mäder: Steels, stones and snakes. On the cultural and technical history of sword blades in the early Middle Ages. (PDF; 31.5 MB)
- ^ Ian Peirce: Swords of the Viking Age . Boydell Press, 2007
- ↑ gladius.revistas.csic.es
- ↑ gladius.revistas.csic.es
- ↑ gladius.revistas.csic.es
- ↑ Mäder, p. 168
- ↑ Pothmann p. 3 ff.
- ^ Alan Williams: The Knight and the Blast Furnace, © 2003 Brill Verlag, pp. 939-942
- ^ Williams p. 932
- ↑ Craig Johnson: Construction and Toughness of Medieval Swords
- ^ Oakeshott, Peirce: Swords of the Viking Age . P. 146
- ↑ Herbert Westphal: On the development of medieval weapons (PDF; 10.4 MB) p. 53
- ↑ p. 3 ff.
- ↑ Neumann, 1927, p. 243; ders., 1954, pp. 63-64.
- ↑ Emmerling, 1979, p. 127.
- ^ Alan Williams: The Knight and the Blast Furnace . P. 11 ff.
- ↑ p. 193 ff.
- ↑ Mäder, p. 38 ff.
- ↑ ARMA: Fighting Manual I.33
- ↑ Dieter Bachmann: Transcription of the Tower Fechtbuch I.33 ( Memento from October 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Tilman Wanke: Essay: One-and-a-half-hand two-handed ( Memento from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 6.5 MB) p. 16
- ↑ Hammaborg: Make a good cut ( Memento from January 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b About the sharpness of blades. Site of Tremonia Fencing. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
- ↑ Royal Armories Ms. I.33 Transcription and Translation ( Memento of October 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Weight of historical swords, research by Dr. Timothy Dawson
- ↑ Carlo MAPELLI, Walter Nicodemi and Riccardo F. RIVA: Micro Structural Investigation on a Medieval Sword Produced in 12th Century A.D. ISIJ International, Vol 47 (2007), No.. 7, pp. 1050-1057
- ↑ ZEF-12, long sword, second half of the 15th century.
- ^ Archaeological find from Fullerö (Sweden), photo: Peter Johnsson
- ↑ Peter Johnsson: A Masterpiece of the Sword Smith's Art
- ↑ Roland Warzecha @ Dimicator: Original cross-sections of late medieval blades, Ex. 1 and Ex. 2
- ↑ Sword from the tomb of Sancho IV of Castile, ca.1295
- ↑ Kate Meyer's Emery: The War of the Roses: Towton Massacre.
- ↑ ZDF info: Mysteries of the Middle Ages - The last battle of Visby - Part 2
- ^ Jo Appleby et al .: Perimortem trauma in King Richard III: a skeletal analysis.
- ^ Hugh Knight: How Sharp Were Medieval Swords?
- ↑ Fabric Armor Tested - AKA: Why Dull Swords Fail. Accessed August 9, 2019
- ↑ a b David defeats the Philistines, folio 39
- ↑ Expulsion of the Israelites from the city of Hai ( Memento of January 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Alan Williams: The Knight and the Blast Furnace Brill Verlag, 2003, p. 942 f.
