Medieval swords of some periods were very large and heavy.  Soldiers during the middle ages had to deal with both the weight of the large weapons and the weight of there shields and great suits of armor.   The heavily muscled knights of this time period could lift a great amount, but they could not do battle with the heavy weight of their battle gear without some changes in their fighting style.   This article will go over some of the tactics medieval soldiers used to win a battle with a medieval weapon in hand.

The horse riding medieval fighter was not troubled by the great weight of his gear like his foot bound comrade.   These fighters had strong horses to move them and their heavy armor around and could afford to expend some energy doing violent slashing movements with their medieval fighting sword.  Unfortunately, it was rare that medieval soldiers had horses to fight on and most soldiers could not expend all of their energy on powerful battle movements in combat.

Soldiers without horses needed to conserve energy.  Wild slashing movements with a large medieval sword can waste a lot of energy and quickly tire the fully armored soldier.   Why would  a soldier use all of his energy to slash his opponent down knowing that he wouldn’t have any left to fight his next opponent with?

Foot soldiers developed techniques that allowed them to vanquish their enemies while conserving energy at the same time.  They would primarily block their opponents attacks with their large shields and armor and kept their sword arm fresh for attacking movements.  Attacking movements consisted mostly of short jabs used to impale the enemy.  These jabs could be used right away as a fierce and aggressive offense or they could come after a successful block has been made and while the enemies body is exposed.

Heavily armored soldiers could also afford to grapple with their enemies without fear of getting sliced easily.  They would use the weight of their armored bodies to throw their opponents off balance.  Following this they would bash their enemies with their shields or stab them with their swords.  Warriors dressed in large sets of armor could easily scare a less equipped army into surrendering without blood shed.

The weight of the medieval sword, set of armor and large shield was a big inconvenience.   Improved fighting styles were great, but many forces with less armor were able to defeat their more armored but less mobile combatants.   Although tiring, I know that I would have much rather been in a suit of armor when doing battle in the medieval ages, how about you?