Weeb: Katana. Western brat: Long sword. Man of culture: Polearms.

@Hubert_Cumberdale_

4 жыл бұрын

Man of savage nature: Club

@Big_Red_Dork

4 жыл бұрын

@@Hubert_Cumberdale_ Man of Refined Savagery: Mace

@notsoprogaming9789

3 жыл бұрын

Context: Matt

@Echelon030

3 жыл бұрын

@@notsoprogaming9789 Lloyd: Spandau

@Kamamura2

3 жыл бұрын

I still disagree. If it was true, halberdiers and pikemen would not carry swords as secondary weapon - why, your polearm is everything you will ever need? Observe the paintings of landsknechts, best soldiers of their time - their halberdiers, or their doppelsoldners with those threatening flamberges, all of them are carrying katzbalgers - short, cutting swords that did not even have a thrusting point. Why? Because there are situations, especially in tight battles where you have no space for elaborate technical kung fu, and you need a short weapon, not long. Or Romans - if polearms were so superior, why did not they fight with spears, and instead prefered the gladius? Sword had the highest skill ceiling, was the most technical and versatile of weapons, so that's why the treatises and manuals focused on them. I disagree that it was "a gentry's leisure time pleasure", soldiers risking their lives were always very practical, and preferred simple stuff that worked. If the focus was on sword, that means sword was important. On the other hand, there is a saying in Czech "začínat od píky - 'to start with the pike'" that means starting at the very bottom, lowest rung of some hierarchy. That's because pikemen (in 30 years war or later, presumably) were the most basic troops that received very little training. The common sense was to arm village militia and levies with pikes - expensive swords would be wasted on them. As a pikeman, you just need to know 1) how to stand straight in a line 2) how to hold the pike properly, or how to rest the other end against ground 3) how to not sht in your pants and run away. That was all. You fought in a formation, you advanced on command, you retreated on command. If things went south, you just died to any other type of troop in the field. That's why there is no "Treatise on the noble art of pike - how to stick while avoiding being stuck in return" - or if there is, it was not a common topic. Halberd is a different beast, there is some kungfu to be done with halberds or similar type of shorter, cutting polearms, but pikes and spears are simple weapons. All of them bow to the sword, however - the king of the cold steel weapons.

"While you were mastering the blade, I was mastering the blade ON A STICK!"

@johann296

3 жыл бұрын

Ha, HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

@bizybliztaverage9414

2 жыл бұрын

While you were sturdy how to master the blade on the stick, I was MASTERING THE EXTRA LONGER STICK WITH A LARGER ON IT

@jonathanwells223

2 жыл бұрын

I too enjoy classic Jeff Dunham

@cyngaethlestan8859

Жыл бұрын

And all proud Lancasterians were learning the ancient martial art of ekky thump.

"I'm not always sitting in a helmet" You do. Just admit it.

@randomicus4782

4 жыл бұрын

dammit Bill, stop messing about !

@graylinshowell7051

4 жыл бұрын

That's his masturbation helmet.

@alpharage1090

4 жыл бұрын

He always sits with his helmet but he only takes it out on special occasion

@dwightehowell8179

4 жыл бұрын

Don't be like that. It's excellent exercise for his neck muscles!

@seneca983

4 жыл бұрын

Matt is secretly Lord Buckethead.

To bring it into a modern context... One thousand years from now, historians researching the late 20th and early 21st century may find a great deal of literature on the defensive use of the pistol. But they would be mistaken if they inferred from this that pistols were in any sense important weapons of war...

@davidlink3787

4 жыл бұрын

The pistol is basically the modern version of a sword, a sidearm. It's easy and convenient to carry, but for going to war you want a long gun.

@RockinTod

4 жыл бұрын

I had the same thought! I don't know if late ME and early modern Fechtbücher are "military manuals" for war. Did those teachers (Lichtenauer, Thalhoffer, Marozzo etc) write their books more for knights/men-at-arms, or for Burghers in cities.

@squidfish7144

4 жыл бұрын

Exactly, useful for civilian self defense, but in a military context, only really carried as a side arm by officers and other troops with other primary roles, and usually only used if things have gone badly. An archer or halberdier forced to use their sword are as reduced in combat effectiveness as a driver or machine gunner forced to use their pistol.

@Riceball01

4 жыл бұрын

@@davidlink3787 Pretty much, except that the pistol is used less often than the sword was and very few people in the military actually carry pistols. In some countries pistols are, or were, exclusive to officers and were badge of rank more than anything.

@Loromir17

4 жыл бұрын

Original artifact glock will be worth times more than an artifact AK, and the latter will have reconstructed wooden parts of incorrect size and assumed to be a stationary defensive weapon :D

10,000 years into the future: "It is common misconception that people used handguns as often as the ancient John Wick files would suggest... According to the Marvel manuscripts, many people didn't need these types of weapons as they had super powers. We are unsure how they did this...."

@randomicus4782

4 жыл бұрын

@@AKRex "... but the themes were"

@villehammar7858

4 жыл бұрын

Isn't this kind of what we're doing with revolvers in the Old West already?

@Morachnyion

4 жыл бұрын

The wars of the roses. Where people in rose shaped armor would yell violent love poems at each other to creep the enemy away. If that didn’t work. Less effective things were used. Like sword tossing.

@randomicus4782

4 жыл бұрын

@@Morachnyion holy crap, that would actually terrify me. just dont toss me !

@Morachnyion

4 жыл бұрын

If I do. I won’t tell the elf.

So, basically, if your enemy is inside of a tin can, you hit him with a tin can opener.

@danthiel8623

4 жыл бұрын

allluckyseven hehe what?

@thatdutchguy2882

4 жыл бұрын

Or a Goededag,...basically a club with a steel nasty bit on the end.

@WastelandSeven

4 жыл бұрын

ThatDutchguy Which is also a can opener LOL

@thatdutchguy2882

4 жыл бұрын

@@WastelandSeven Indeed,...or a concussion simulator xD.

@zanussi303

4 жыл бұрын

That tickled

"Polearms Dominated The Medieval Battlefield - Why?" Because of the nefarious influence of Big Polearm.

@Loromir17

4 жыл бұрын

You joke, but Big Sword is effectively responsible for the existence of the messers.

@Stefan-qr8ip

4 жыл бұрын

Why polearms dominated the medieval battlefield? Simple answer: long shaft and good penetration ...

@stein1919

4 жыл бұрын

Matt Easton is in the scabbard of Big Spadroon

@devin5201

4 жыл бұрын

Long weapon good!

@ArnimSommer

4 жыл бұрын

Make Polearms great again!

In German language there is the word "Spießbürger" what is translated into "polearm citizen". In the 10th century, the Emperor of the "holy roman reich of german nation" Heinrich I. built a lot of castles, in german a castle is a "Burg", from what the word "Bürger", citizen, is comming from. Not to be confused with the word "Burgmannen", what describes the fighting soldiers and knights of the Burg. Those Bürger, beeing privileged as well (Stadtluft macht frei, "city air makes you a free man") had to be able to fight with the "Spieß" (the pike), a up to 6m (20 feet) stick with or without an iron point. Everybody who was not allowed to carry a two bladed sword had to fight with the Spieß as primary weapon. You often see pictures of medieval battle scenes, where you see a massive number of soldiers carrying long polearms. The expression "Spießbürger" was changed to a negative term, meaning somebody who is denying everything new, even better inventions, thinking backwards, as Spießbürger demanded to keep to their pole weapons, when firearms have been in use for some time, outperforming sticks, making them obsolete. Linguists see this change in the 17th century. Today the short form of the word, Spießer, is still in use, naming someone who is backwards thinking, small minded.

@ravanpee1325

2 жыл бұрын

Also the phrase "to learn something from the pike on" (meaning "learn something from the button up")

In our group we can fight with swords at a high intensity, polearms we need to go much much slower because they are sooooo dangerous.

@lawsonbromley4208

3 жыл бұрын

I have never seen anyone actually fight with a pole arm. Any source or information that you could point me to would be very much appreciated 👍

I'm glad that you mentioned the "up-armouring" of other battlefield units. Whenever I see the tired "English longbowman versus knight" debates pop up people seriously underestimate how heavily armoured the archers were (especially around the Agincourt period). It's almost as if a well-paid professional soldier bought equipment that would keep him alive.

@followingtheroe1952

4 жыл бұрын

It's easier to apply video game logic and assume archers were the squishy DPS class

@alwaysbearded1

3 жыл бұрын

Almost? Most certainly they were. Not all of them of course and I'm sure the ratio of conscripts to pros changed with fortunes and the ebb and flow of power. Think how long it took for a Longbowman to train; they were specialists. Study of skeletons shows the affect of pulling very heavy bows in the attachment points of the tendons affecting the growth of the bones. Pole arms could be taught to the farmer who could then just go back to being a farmer until war season again.

@user-lt6ho5kt7v

2 жыл бұрын

You can certainly have some heavy defences if you don't need to move around that much. Like those steel hats sine crossbowmen had,quite heavy and a classic ranged infantry helmets

@simonadam2305

Жыл бұрын

Armour was quite likely sourced from defeated enemies as well I would say. After a long and successful campaign a soldier would have had a lot more and better kit than he started with.

"Polearms": For when you want to stab that guy, "Over there".

@ivannechkin3665

4 жыл бұрын

or a flamethrower

I would love a video focusing on cut-and-thrust polearms. How they were used, either by themselves or in formation, the different types and their pros and cons to one another, etc. Thanks!

@andybunn5780

4 жыл бұрын

Please tag me here if you find a good video on this

@Ondraeden

4 жыл бұрын

Yes please

This obsession with swords i believe was covered by shadiversity on his videos a time ago, we tend to always associate heroes and medieval things with swords so often that sometimes it can change drastically the way we imagine history to be. Its the same thing of the "old west pistols", it became an icon, or ideed rifles in the modern day, they are important, but great part of war is done by other weapons, such as cannons, tanks, aircraft, ships, machine guns, missiles, etc.

@ManDuderGuy

4 жыл бұрын

I think swords and pistols are just more relatable, so the stories and discourse and writing comes up in abundance for them. The common man is much more likely to have some experience with/need of a small weapon or sidearm than an ACTUAL big ol' weapon of war. It also just looks better on movie posters etc, in a visual-presentation sort of way. A pistol makes a cool accessory for the actor, but a big gun will instead dominate the scene and the presentation.

@BigTuk

4 жыл бұрын

The sword was fetishized because other tools were available to the commoners and had other non-war usage. Also keep in mind armor diminished the importance of swords.. Oh for personal defense a sword is great, if a brigand happens upon you on a lonely road etc. BUt in war, there are entirely different logistics and mechanisms at work. A battle is not a bunch of one on one duels to the death. IT's about momentum.

@ManDuderGuy

4 жыл бұрын

@Aint Jack That's neat, thanks for sharing the Korean angle.

@RyuFireheart

4 жыл бұрын

I think the hero image is more associated with the "hard to use weapons" or the ones that offers more risk or even things as close as possible to unarmed fights. Thats why the fight between the protagonist vs vilain its fought pretty much in melee range even in movies about modern times. People don't usually like fights where one does shot others at distance while taking cover (its only acceptable for killing the vilain unworthly "minions"). Fighting at distance may make you look weak or coward. Its human primitive nature that matters more in the end.

@omariscovoador7486

4 жыл бұрын

@@RyuFireheart sure thing, everything to be more appealing to the public. I for one would like a movie where they fight with guns the way its supposed to be, with covers and tatics, but i dont see it happening in the near future, at the moment what i like to watch are the real footage of soldiers with helmet cams.

A lot of those medieval drawings make me feel a lot more competent about my own drawings :p Also aren't pole weapons rarely used in HEMA because they're quite more dangerous than a sword, even when blunt?

@erojerisiz1571

2 жыл бұрын

It's literally impossible to make a safe steel polearm because they were that dangerous You'd need to make them out of rubber which eliminates the accuracy of weight

2:06 "you need to learn to use a sword unarmored regardless" My mom disagrees

Need a Mabinogion sequel where a magic halberd pulled out of a magic tree tells us which Welshman is meant to be the king of the EU.

@fuferito

4 жыл бұрын

"Brexalibur?"

@bBlaF

4 жыл бұрын

@@fuferito I don't want the generations to come thinking Boris had the first thing to do with this.

@fuferito

4 жыл бұрын

@@bBlaF, Not exactly the heroic profile, I'm guessing.

Very chill and informative video. Thanks Matt!

Very enlightening & informative video. Putting names to different pole-arms whilst showing pictures and paintings of them and which countries used or favoured what polearm & how they were used in battle is highly educational. Thank you

If Dark Souls 2 represented anything, it was because of the spin to win attacks!

@taekatanahu635

3 жыл бұрын

In Dark Souls 1 spears were so OP that they had to nerf them for later games.

@KirkWilliams300

3 жыл бұрын

@@taekatanahu635 right though I have seen some spears be used effectively as long as they avoid being parried.

A very underappreciated pole weapon is the berdiche, it seems it found its way in many armies since it's easy to make and durable. I think they are a weapon that deserve its own video

I completely agree that polearms dont get the love they deserve. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Hope you guys are getting enough sleep with the new baby, I know I didn't until mine turned 2. Love this channel ,Cheers!

Might swords be preferable in siege assaults? ...or urban warfare, if you have to go into buildings. I do think swords are grossly over-represented, but I'm sure I heard that the majority of medieval battles were sieges. Also maces and warhammers too, If we are talking about anti-armour, they should get a mention.

@fabiovarra3698

4 жыл бұрын

most sieges were only camping around a city or a castle waiting for the besiegeds to run out of food, siege assaults weren't much common beacuse the high casualties they demanded

@sullir9397

4 жыл бұрын

I think the real point is that people didn't learn a preferred fighting style like we do in RPGs. They learned warfare, which included proficiency in a lot of different equipment needed for many different scenarios one might encounter in war. There were specialties, but they would be much broader, such as archer (which would need to know how to use hand weapons), footman and cavalry.

@Zigg33

4 жыл бұрын

you are right in everthing you said except that sieges werent assaults, as represented in movies.. but just alot of logistics and waiting. But when it came to assaults, yeah short weapons and shields rulled ...

@Zigg33

4 жыл бұрын

also i would add that bows and crossbows were also very effective in your scenario...

@hrotha

4 жыл бұрын

@@fabiovarra3698 All-out assaults were relatively rare. Skirmishes and sallies during sieges were not.

I'd love any show which is about polearms! If you want ideas though, how about a description of how to classify polearms? Thanks for coming back in time again!

Favorite Lines from Shakespeare (for me) include -- "SHALL I STRIKE IT WITH MY PARTISAN?"

@neutralobserver3423

4 жыл бұрын

"DO, IF IT WILL NOT STAND!"

@dominiquepemberton3935

3 жыл бұрын

Hamlet act 1 scene 1

I´m a great fan for a long time now, and the quality of the videos is ever increasing. Would like to watch something like "misconceptions about plate armor" like swords penetrating plates as they were made of paper. Things the movies make a lot of people belive. Keep doing a great job!

There's a general pattern that holds across much of Europe and Asia throughout antiquity: If a weapon had no practical application outside of a martial context, it tended to have high value as a status symbol. Swords, maces and war hammers fall into this category. They were the sort of weapons noblemen like to hold when having their portraits painted. Lower down the prestige scale were weapons derived from hunting weapons, like spears and bows. These weapons didn't clearly denote high socio-economic status, but they did have some association with wealth surplus lifestyles even if people of lesser means also used them. At the bottom of the prestige pile were weapons that either were, or were derived from, agricultural implements and other tools used by the peasant classes in their day-to-day toils. Many pole arms fall into this category. If you carried one of these into battle, in most cultures, that marked you out as a peasant. Peasants in any age aren't sexy and their accomplishments aren't worth writing about (at least in the opinion of the literate wealthy class).

This video has got some BIG context energy!!! Particularly when you were talking about who fencing manuals were actually written for and you didnt even give us that juicy C-word, but was it dripping with context that is so often missed!

Fascinating video. I have been interesting polearms since I played D&D in the 1970s. Swords dominate in fantasy movies and role playing games, but this video sheds light on the reality of things.

Can you do a video about the lance types carried in the medieval era ?

Huzzah, a polearm video! I would like more of these, please...your polearm videos are my favourites.

Absolutely fascinating. I love the fact that even today there is still a huge research opportunity for historians with respect to polearms. Let's hope this might be the start for more of them to do that.

Great video Matt

These videos get better and better

Could we, please, get a tour of your book collection and/or a recommendation of book titles dealing on subjects such as these?

excellent video, I learned a lot.

Even not being a huge fan of painting, I request more of medieval art, please!

Hi Matt, you asked for suggestions: Can you do a movie fight review of Ivanhoe (1952)? Thanks and keep up the good work!

Beautiful video

Well you asked for a video idea and this talk about polearms reminded me of the peculiar Dutch one, the Goedendag. It is referenced quite extensively as being a weapon of the low countries, but I've seen it described as a flail type weapon, or a mace, or a club with points sticking out of the sides, or even just a club with a point on the top like a spear point. I'd be curious to know which it actually is, but it is also interesting to think about why there is so little consensus about this weapon.

Could you do a video on the history of dragoons/mounted infantry please?

I'm german and it took a while until I understood that you said ,,Bloßfechten". 😂😂😂

@X3RUBIM

4 жыл бұрын

Haha, da bist du nicht alleine :D

@stolzerpfalzer768

4 жыл бұрын

I’m german!

Question for you, Matt. We often hear about how shields largely fell out of favor for knights once plate armor became more common, but no one ever says the two were NEVER used to together, which implies there may have been the odd case of a knight intentionally using both full plate armor and a shield. In regards to actual combat, are there any reasons a knight might have opted to still use a shield despite also wearing full plate? Do we have any historical examples of someone doing this?

Excellent. Subbed.

10:19 All that armor and sometimes a beverage as well, awesome

It’s somewhat informative that you tell us how these pool alarms are used and were used in the battlefield but what would really be useful is to have you in full armor taking a poll warm and thrusting it against us wine cork us or maybe taking a pool alarm and denting the currass breast plate

Hi Matt. Can you do a video on books you suggest? For warfare, weaponry, tactics, or general medieval history?

You've probably covered this, so I apologize for any redundancy, but ive seen different definitions of what a "morning star" is.. some as a spiked chain flail, others as a spiked mace. Could you clarify in a future video? I love your content and learn a great deal from your channel. Thanks in advance!

Future video ideas: do you know of any combat manuals for frogmen in WWII or later? What would be the special contextual considerations be for underwater fighting, say with a diving knife or a Fairbairn-Sykes knife?

The first thing that got me interested in how medieval and ancient weapon and armor systems actually functioned in a practical sense was reading SM stirling ember verse books. Can’t believe it took me so long to find this channel

One plus of this is that I get to scoop up all my favorite polearms at quarter price of a sword of the same level of craftsmanship. The downside of course being that so few people are actually making them.

Thank you again and again for spreading the truth and common sence among this sword-madness.

On railway maintenence when started in the 80's, with BR , one of the items used was a slasher, an agricultural billhook. Strimmers and chainsaw were not as readily available, requiring training and by the 90's certification, and regulation including the PPE. For line side management ,the slasher , cut and drag was still used. I Often see this Drag and unbalance element as being the key to its wide use. Since given the heavy armoured opponents were considered high value hostages. Maybe not so much at Flodden, when the Chivalry practice seems to have changed, possibly War of the Roses and Anglo-French codes of conduct in the later 15th Century. ? Pike lost at flodden ,yet was the most adopted weapon into the 17th Century. Lindybeige spear test was very good. Maybe we should get back to growing and tending hedge rows, with a slasher and relearn those skills . IMO. Thanks for upload.

Beautiful. And swords have been pretty expensive as well, at least in the middle ages era. What sprang to my mind as equally popular, yet concerning spears: In 14th century Bamberg, Germany, townsfolk was equipped with a Crossbow and a small square-like shield (Tratschin) to protect their city. They then could throw in their own knives or axes or whatever. Which makes more sense than the pikes and spears many guards do carry on battlements in movies, does it :)

Could you do a video on the weapons engineers? Thats probably not the right word but that seems like a really interesting topic. The testing and conception of these designs.

great video

Please talk more about Medieval cavalry role in the battlefield. How would they be able to charge against a formation of pole weapons??

@etiennesauve3386

4 жыл бұрын

I was thinking a bit along the same line. Some considered cavalry the queen of the battlefield in medieval times so maybe polearms were used as a counter-mesure

@2bingtim

4 жыл бұрын

@@etiennesauve3386 To charge disciplined quality infantry armed with spears, pikes or poleweapons was extremely costly(suicidal) & stupid. Most horses would refuse to charge home against a "hedge"" of points. Cavalry would usually wait for archers, crossbows, handguns, their own melee infantry or artilliary to begin to break up the units moral & formation & then charge into any gaps formed. The classic medival knights charging home with lances couched was principly for dealing with other cavalry, infantry without pole weapons(swordsmen, archers etc), or already broken & fleeing troops.

@etiennesauve3386

4 жыл бұрын

​@@2bingtim You are totally right but the thing is how frequent were those disciplined quality infantry present on medieval battlefield. If I recall correctly, the armies of the times were the collection of the retenues of the various lords present in the battle plus maybe a few mercenary bands but not all of them were like the swiss pikemen and I think their uniqueness is one of the reason they gather such fame. I also wonder to what extend medieval infantry was trained to fight in formations. I am under the impression that it only became generalized in the army of the renaissance. I would assume that most baron did not maintain such unit as they might be quite expensive. Dukes and counts could surely have the possibility to field such units but my guess is that they would still be few in number. As such, I wonder about the impact of those units on the larger battlefield as cavalry deterrent as they surely could have been avoided and isolated. Finally, If we look at the attittude of french knight at azincourt, it really looks like infantry was looked down upon by knights and would charge them without afterthought with the result that we know. Also what about the reach of the knights with their lances? did you need extra long pikes to be effective or was the regular spear long enough?

Great video Matt. What are your thoughts on HMB? Do u think the 21 on 21 fights show how a small scale medieval skirmishes might have looked liked?

May I ask what's the Italian book on polearms? Congrats for the content, extremely interesting as always! :)

Gday Matt, much love from Australia, can you do a video on the bill hook, its something that google kinda sucks for as there isnt much about them and i dont know how reputable they are

8:08 "On this channel I've spoken sooo much about…" CONTEXT! "…the reach factor." Oh :(

Could you make a video eventually talking about your life and how you approach an investigation on a medieval topic?

"You are not bringing a full polearm into the living room for a video!"

Could you continue your series on how to use a spear? What would you teach a regiment of spear using farmers? What spear techniques would you have all the farmers in your country practice throughout the year so that they'd be formidable on the battlefield? If you want to know where my personal interest lies, I want to practice the spear, and I have enough gear to do some "spear fencing" with a friend, but I don't know what to do to get better faster. I can't really do full HEMA classes, but any HEMA friends I've sparred with easily kick my arse.

Absolutely love that black steel helmet. What is the style and type? Maker?

Well Matt actually cleared up some things for me here and in previous polearm vids. I'm not into HEMA as a practise, but it definitely helped me to understand some medieval features that were a total mystery to me for quite a bit. When I was researching Slavic early medieval warfare it seemed they were always portrayed as carrying no armor and a javelin (or two) against Byzantine army for example. So I was like wtf no swords? But they were in general treated as a dangerous enemy in these sources, so it kinda bugged me. And this continued, javelins or spears were widespread through all Middle Ages. There are descriptions of Pomeranians (north-western Slavs) thrusting Danes' feet with their spears when they were crossing the wooden bridge above them. Well anyway, archaeologically when you pull the stats from the Middle Ages polearms (spearheads specifically) are like 60-70% of all melee weapons found in this territory. Well I trained a lot with a stick when I was younger and it's extremely effective when used by a skilled weapon, I can only imagine what a skilled spearman could do back then. He was definitely able to keep a distance against a sword wielding armoured enemy and probably slowly bleed him to death. I imagine a grappling on a ground would do too if you could shorten the distance holding the spear just beneath the head and try to thrust into the biggest hole you could find. They were also used for cutting with a slightly more rounded heads, so if you had no armour on your legs for example you could quickly bring your opponent to the ground by attacking legs. It's a very interesting topic and I think Matt should elaborate on that a few times more.

What was the Italian written book on pole-arms that you referenced ? I’m interested in reading it.

Could that "equipment" be a new suit of armor by any chance? Will there be videos about it?

Thanks Matt, I will pay attention any time polearms are mentioned. There are some things that I'm curious about that I believe are hard to discover. Spear and shield, how often were spears used two handed while the shield was slung on the back? I'd imagine that when you are in a unit and in formation, the shields would be out in conjunction with the spear. When in skirmish situations where you had substantial armor but only a few comrades around, I'd imagine using the spear two handed with the shield on your back would be more beneficial since you would be less concerned about missile weapons used against you (if you weren't armored enough, that shield would be your life line and you would treat it as such). The shield would cover your back, but you'd still want it available in case you lost the spear since sword and shield is probably just about as good as a spear by itself. I can't seem to get away from the notion that if you were in very close with a shield, It would be the most advantageous to drop the spear and pull out the sword because it is a weapon better suited to be used one handed, the spear still having merit as the primary weapon before it gets really close in because of reach. I believe if you weren't using a shield, the spear would be better until that time to dagger your opponent, the sword would strictly be a backup weapon to the spear.

As someone who does foam combat and uses a polearm most of the time, it's great to see the poles geting some love :3

Since you brought up that a late medieval helmet like the sallet in the video could resist/deflect rounds from a modern 9mm (9:40), perhaps you could put that to the test or make a video on it with discussion about your source(s). There doesn't seem to be much online besides Skallagrim testing a viking era helmet from 2016, with mixed results but it was generally ineffective against both black powder and modern firearms, including a Smith & Wesson SD9 VE.

Hi Matt YOUR CONTENT IS GREAT ... recently came to see "1917" as highly parallel to "LOTR" first on the beginning and end in grassy peace w/ a "walk into Mordor" between and other analogous elements... there was a lot of walking and running around w/ fixed bayonets -- HOW DO WARRIORS AVOID IMPALING THEMSELVES AND THEIR MATES while so carrying?

You touched the major point lightly. Economics of war. Even if the sword was something from Warhammer 40K and goes through armor like a hot knofe through butter, with a fixed amount of money you can produce more polearms than swords. It's the same reason that AR-15 (or M16 in some regions), G3 and AK-47 are main infantry weapons, because they are cheaper than more specialised ones. And don't forget that at the time, a mercenary soldier paid for his own equipment.Although, my favorite weapon remains half a brick in a sock. It kills people, but leaves buildings standing :)

As a follow on it could be worth talking about how for example early medieval warfare, which is what we kind of imagine in our heads from say the 12th century roughly, developed through the high medieval period of the 14th century using the weapons you've described but then talk about how it evolved into the late medieval/very early modern warfare which is largely dominated by the pike block and german and Swiss mercenaries. As a British person we don't really see how the development went in school as the English used the longbow and Bill for so long but the evolution on the continent and things like the Italian wars are fascinating and kind of relevant to what you spoke of today.

I can see why the bill hook was so loved as a pole arm. You've got a thrusting point, a cutting edge, and the ability to hook your enemy off his horse or off his feet. You've pretty much got most of your major possible techniques covered.

Would be very interesting to get a good impact sensor and do some strikes against it with different weapons to check the energy concerned.

Big assortment at New York Metropolitan. And to support your thesis of the focus on swords, while visiting, my friend could not believe halbardes were actually used in battle. He's was like "I'm sure the were only used in parades or as piece of art."

Oooh the colour of that helmet! Love it! I want!

Matt, do you think there's any way simulate polearm fighting without killing ourselves?

@valledafightaable

4 жыл бұрын

I suppose non-metal heads on polearms.

@deathbyastonishment7930

4 жыл бұрын

Valdemar Cornelius the problem is weight and leverage, you need the weight in the head and length in the shaft to simulate the weapon, but those two factors make sparring dangerous

You mention units being armed with varios non uniform weapon types, and the "war wagon" instantly comes to mind, do you think you could do an entire video on the war wagons? I think they are a very underappreciated part of warfare back then. Not many people have covered this topic in depth and I think it would be really interesting for all your viewers. I would love a long video on the war wagon because they are awesome!

5:05 Where is that photo from? i would like to recreate something like that in real life ad would need the full photo if its possible.

I'd like to see a video where you talk about the similarities of warfare and weapons from different parts of the world.

It would have interesting to hear your thoughts on middle ages and Renaissance melee weapons for siege and naval warfare.

@scholagladiatoria I'd like to hear more about the roles of medieval artillery against armour. Were things like scorpions or arbalests used in this context? If so, how?

Do you have a video with more detail on that specific helmet?

Could we get a video on who historically used weapons like the partisan or spadone? I've read it was primarily the sergeants (or the equivalent thereof) in the block but I haven't seen any solid evidence of that other than one article somewhere.

"Hey folks, medieval RoboCop Easton, here!" ^^ ~ Jokes aside, how muche trained were those commoner pole-arms equipped medieval troops you talk about here? 🤔

@Rokaize

4 жыл бұрын

Philip Zahn Probably depended on their background. I’m sure a fairly wealthy-ish man at arms would have very good training. Since that is their job after all I would imagine.

@scottbauer71

4 жыл бұрын

Swiss regulars very much, Irish farmers not so much

@icejohn94

4 жыл бұрын

It will depend on who we talk about. Man at arms will have fairly good training. I gess poeple with halberds poleaxe or polehammer would have training. But were i would doubt on any training is for pique man, lances vouges, and bardiches.

@joelallgaier2626

4 жыл бұрын

Commoner "Arrow fodder", untrained and thrown at the enemy.

@chrissiddall8525

4 жыл бұрын

There were Trayned Bands of volunteers in most larger towns (drawing their strength from the town and surrounding rural parishes) and they would get a couple of days a month, to train together.

Hmmmm great video!

I was reading an account from the English Civil War about how Pikemen resisted wearing their regulation hanger swords and gloves/gauntlets, presumably because the soldiers thought the gloves and sword got in the way of them doing their job.

Hei Matt, I'm Italian, can you give me the title of the book you mention in the video?

@stolzerpfalzer768

4 жыл бұрын

Get off the comments

@galaxy7nails613

4 жыл бұрын

@@stolzerpfalzer768 It's "out of" not "off." Jetzt verpiss dich

@stolzerpfalzer768

4 жыл бұрын

Galaxy 7 Nails no it’s not. Learn some English or why did you reply in german? We don’t talk german here!!!

@M.M.83-U

4 жыл бұрын

@@stolzerpfalzer768 Sorry? I dont understand.

Matt, you mentioned spears as part of polearms, by that view polearms have dominated EVERY battlefield upto the gunpowdwer era. If one includes musket & bayonet as a pole weapon it extends well into the gunpowder era. (Until the use of bayonets on the battlefield became a rare thing. Post WWI for sure.)

@VideoMask93

4 жыл бұрын

Tinman 18 Yes.

@ME-hm7zm

4 жыл бұрын

Yes indeed; it's not until the ring bayonet that pikes finally go away (and the Swedes kept them into the 1720s).

@mikerodrigues9822

4 жыл бұрын

Ironically most of western heavy cavalry neglected the lances in favor of pistols and sabers, with only a few units in each army dedicated to lances. The only exception is the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

@adenyang4398

4 жыл бұрын

Mike Rodrigues Although not heavy cavalry, the likes of Stratioti mercenaries also generally replaces their light lances/spears with pistols and rifles since the 16th century. (while keeping swords) Ming cavalry in general also tended to favor armored horse archers with shorter cutting weapons (as opposed to being lancers). Heavier ones often wielded glaives, lighter ones also functioned as dragoons primarily armed with sabres

@TheSamuraiGoomba

4 жыл бұрын

Quite true. Spears are a simpler form of polearm. Polearms indeed dominated every battlefield across all cultures until around the time of revolvers and machine guns, when pike blocks were no longer workable.

That picture at 6:26 is interesting, because it has a one-handed flail with a long chain and a two-handed flail with barely any chain.

Another aspect of military fighting that is usually totally ignored in popular culture is the the role of teamwork and group fighting. If you watch most movies and TV shows, it is just a massive free-for-all. Some of the better descriptions of disciplined fighting is in the works of Bernard Cornwell. Better described in his books than in the TV series.

video idea shorter impact weapons (hammers axes maces) vs polearms against armor

I know of one book on polearms in English, "HAFTED WEAPONS IN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE EUROPE The Evolution of European Staff Weapons between 1200 and 1650 " by John Waldman. It covers most of the main ones.

easy to make, easy to repair, reach advantage, possibly even a cheap missile weapon. hell in 2020 a pointy stick can still do a lot of dmg

@jintsuubest9331

4 жыл бұрын

Sharpen pointy stick will always do lots of damage regardless of time.

@TheChiconspiracy

4 жыл бұрын

Better leverage and power. Not necessarily easy to repair though. If you crack your halberd shaft, you can't just get a blacksmith to hammer it into shape again.

@wouter.de.ruiter

4 жыл бұрын

that's the essence of war: take a sharp stick and make a lot of holes ;)

@SepticFuddy

4 жыл бұрын

@@TheChiconspiracy You just swap out the shaft. That's where "cheap" comes in

if you are looking for video suggestions, i'm repeating mine: Movie fight: 1973 Three Musketeers with Michael York; the fight in the monastery. Also - Born for the Saber - recent Polish docudrama (available on Vimeo worldwide) - i'd love to hear your thoughts on both of these.

Once I learned about pole-arms I got hooked.

@danthiel8623

4 жыл бұрын

oiSnowy hehe nice

@voiceofraisin3778

4 жыл бұрын

Its a nice idea but the final Bill is always painful.

@danthiel8623

4 жыл бұрын

voice of raisin boi

The Spanish did try and use Rodeleros (sword and shield armed soldiers) in the early 1500's as a deliberate copy of the Roman Legions to try and break enemy pike formations. (The Spanish didn't realize that Romans used their swords only after they'd "disarrayed" the enemy with a volley or two of javelins). The Rodeleros did have some success in one battle against a pike block that was already partially broken by cannon fire but were never able to repeat this success and were removed from the Spanish order of battle by the 1530's. A lot of these soldiers would go on to serve with the Conquistadors in the conquest of the Aztecs who didn't have the disciplined polearm formations they had in Europe. As for swords in general I can imagine they would have been more useful than polearms in attacking a walled city or castle than in an open field battle or when the armies were raiding civilian farms and small villages to supply themselves as they moved through the countryside.

The amount of information in treatises is indicative of how swords were not a battlefield weapon, and how these were for non-soldiers. Soldiers don't learn how to fight from reading books. They learn from their military training. Also, they don't learn to fight one on one. They learn to fight as a unit against units.

Subjects like this is why I think there should be more crossover and co-operation between hema and buhurt (BOTN, IMCF, etc.) guys. I'd be really fascinated to see Matt try out buhurt, just to build bridges. :)