My goodness, those bronze weapons you have look absolutely gorgeous.

"he had a dirk-like wit" gently does it, changing the English language like that could lead to a long dark teatime of the soul

In the book the Odyssey, the author often says " the cruel bronze " when talking about spears.

i am so glad ive found a channel that covers bronze age weapons in any detail

Form follows function. Your interpretation matches what I thought the moment I saw this thing. Some people miss the forest for the trees. Long thin blade obviously for stabbing. Lack of hand protection suggests use with shield or buckler. Overall fragility also suggests use in conjunction with a heavier weapon.

@stocktonjoans

9 жыл бұрын

it's obviously not designed for hacking or slashing, so if everyone was using similar weapons at the time, there would be no need for a hand guard, if anything it would get in the way, it would make a fine primary weapon in a random scrap and as you said, it would work great as a secondary in a larger battle

@otterno.1128

3 жыл бұрын

I imagine the most widely used weapons in bronze age Europe were as lindy said either clubs that haven't survived or small one handed battle axes. Most of the bones we have from the battles of the time show caved in skulls and crushed bones as by far the most common cause of death, with nicks and cuts on areas such as the arms.

I do love your use of technical terms such as "stabby"

Your videos are amazing. I've just finished watching the entire weapons and armour playlist and I felt the need to say that. Keep it up!

Wait, archaeologists named those things "rapiers"? That's... odd, since my instinct would just to call them daggers or short swords. If someone wants to call a bronze sword a rapier, I think of the Aegean Type A or Type Ci sword that could get up over a meter long!

@kevinsullivan3448

7 жыл бұрын

But those Aegean weapons weren't thin stabbity swords.

The short dirks are clearly different in function and use style from the long rapiers. The problem is that there is a continuum of blade lengths.

As far as I can remember this is the first HD video of you talking about some points. The HD-Lloyd is a whole new experience! Well made!

I used two high quality mics, and the sound they produced was worse.

I expect to be acquiring one in the reasonably near future, so I'll wait to have something to show.

Would love to see both these videos! They're so great, I love everytime a new one comes out!

I love the style of humor :) Would like to see more commentaries on movies - I find them hilarious. Oh, and kudos to you for your videos!

For some reason, the auto system doesn't work with my videos.

1080i, actually, which might account for the strobing on fast-moving objects, because KZread prefers 1080p..

I like your videos, you are informative with a sense of humor.

Loving the new setup, Lloyd.

We know from historic periods that bucklers were used, and in conjunction with light thrusting swords too.

Difficult to put start and end dates on. I was considering 'side-sword' as a separate weapon.

Good point about using the buckler to shield the sword hand. This come sup frequently in the I33 manuscript of the late 13th/early 14th century AD. It serves a duel purpose. Firstly as you said it protects the sword hand and secondly hides any motions one may be starting from the enemy.

I'm so happy you're doing weapons again.

Spears, yes, and clubs, and palstaves (a fore-runner of the socketed axe).

I didn't say that they are the 'true' rapiers. I just wanted to talk about them, and that is what they are called.

Depends on how you use it. A small wooden shield is very effective for light infantry moving through rough terrain and fighting in quick, mobile engagements.

War bows had heavy draw weights, much heavier than hunting bows. They needed to penetrate armour and kill quickly. Professional archers were strong.

Love these videos. They're always very educational. Request: Could you do a video touching on how different swords are classified and used (ie: rapiers v.s short swords vs. two handed swords vs. katanas, etc)? Sort of a "Swords 101: Sword types and their employment in battle". It might make a good series, even. You could cover different types of shields, clubs/maces/flails, etc.

Bronze is such a beautiful, warm metal. I look forward to these videos!

Very fascinating stuff, and nicely done... thx!

If you mean the one with the curly bits, that's the Witham Sword (not to be confused with another much later Witham sword).

Stay tuned for the bronze age 'halberd'.

I love all of these historical youtube vids!

Digging the HD, man. Looks great.

Those are beautiful, something about bronze that just looks so damn good!

After tangs were developed, no one went back to rivets. The riveted handle was a rendering in bronze of the way tools were made in stone. An example of extreme conservatism.

Watching Lindybeige videos IS life, man.

I'm quite excited for this. I hope one day you can do a video on the plethora of types of polearms that were used.

So hyped for more HD videos.

I didn't feel that when holding it, particularly.

Maybe instead of a rapier, it should be called a sting. It's about the right size for a hobbit.

An interesting video, as soon as I saw that blade I thought 'how the hell was something as tiny as that, no hand grip and such, used at all?' Excellent explanation, it makes immense sense using it with a small buckler. I can immediately think now of great ways to receive a strike on the buckler, and use the outstretched position of his blade to shank him :D

Yes, that one hasn't had a handle put on it yet.

It is so long that it seems that it would be used differently.

Triple yes on this, please. The khopesh has always fascinated me.

I'm all for this! it's always great to see stuff on the more unusual, atypical, and occasionally outright bizarre things weaponsmiths, soldiers, and the occasional peasant with an attitude came up with to hit their fellow man over the head with repeatedly and with great force.

wow. such an improvement in quality. good stuff lindy :)

I'd argue the rapier was used for around 250 years, roughly 1500 to around 1750, with the Longsword being it's Predecessor and the Saber taking over for Officers, Artillery and Cavalry

Moghul armoured elephant?

Not Bogarde or Gently?

Yes! The videos look great Lindy!

Stay tuned on this...

To JimmyNapalm. Lindy makes it pretty clear at the start that the term rapier has been given by archeologists and curators etc to distinguish it from the other different weapons of the era for modern purposes. Otherwise you'd get a gazillion different objects all around the world through history all called the same thing. Most sword authors/commentators, curators and other associated sword people would say the true rapier starts about 1500ish, not any earlier.

Some may have been votive. Indeed, some didn't even have functioning rivets. The examples you see in this video, though, are quite practical. They are stiff enough to do the job. All swords can bend. These do not bend easily.

Amazing works of skill!

Swords did not appear in the chalcolithic period. Tin makes copper a lot tougher, and swords need tough metal to work well.

Does anyone know where I can buy a modern reproduction of one of these bronze age rapiers. I really like the look of them and I already have the buckler to go with.

Well, I never thought of it that way. Nicely put.

I didn't know these existed till now they seem quite interesting. are they sharpened like other bronze swords of the period with the pounding method?

What's the geographic range on these weapon types? the video mentions that similar pieces are found in bronze-age britian, but do we have similar styles in places like the near east?

Do you mean half-swording (holding the blade) or hand-and-a-half swords (bastard swords)? The answer to both is yes.

Dear Lindybeige, could you make a video about maces (both ancient and medieval ones)? Expecially the shape and material of the "heads". Thanks.

Could you make a video about that scythe-sword thing, the top one of the weapon collection? I'm quite curious as to how one such as that would have been used. Thanks in advance!

Were the hilts really THAT short, +Lindybeige?

That's actually a point that I brought up in a paper at university, about thrusting rather than chopping with Minoan swords. They had some blades which got as long as 111cm (43.7in), with many of them reaching over 75cm (29.5in). But they also had a propensity towards large rectangular or figure-eight shields which covered the entire body, and so one would have to try and otherwise get around them.

I was wondering what the stiletto looks like compared to both the dirk and the bronze rapier. Regarding the buckler you were demonstrating with the rapier is it just me of does that look like it could pose as headgear?

My first thought on seeing the weapon: "Look, a D&D short sword". Informative as usual, BTW.

Hey Man Love the video, since the rapier is a amazing thrusting weapon (probably the best 1 handed one there is) just wondering What would be the BEST overall 1 handed cutting weapon? (maybe an axe as it can also do SOME damage to a heavy armored knight?) Keep up the interesting videos!

@ErikBrdski

10 жыл бұрын

Well if there was a best weapon, all others would be useless. It depends on the situation. Fighting a knight in plate armor would be a death sentence if you have no armor on you. That's why they were so expensive. But you would want to have a heavy hammer or a spear or a long sword with a thin tip. A dagger could also be used. I'd say your best chance against a armored knight would be to miraculously poke him with a really thin and sharp point (a long nail on a stick could work) and poke into his armpit where there is only mail armor and a gambeson. Because of the thin sharp long nail, the nail would go through the rings on the mail and rip through the gambeson. If, again, you manage to have tremendous luck, you could stab him in the arm pit. At this point you leave whatever you have on yourself and run like hell in any direction hoping he wont catch you (as knights were a lot more agile then people believe but still not as quick as with no armor at all). If he is alone, he will probably bleed to death. Congratulations! You got an armor that is worth like a small village.

How do you find the difference between a dirk/rapier and a spearhead? Is there one or is it just a matter of length of the handle?

I think lindybeige covers the imperial system in another of his videos - the main point being that the basic measures of the imperial system are based on people - a foot is obvious; a yard is about one stride; a pound is about the weight of a convenient rock that fits nicely into the hand; a pint is about what a thirsty man drinks in one go, etc. The exact values have been tweaked slightly so that different units of the same quantity have round conversion factors but they're still people-sized.

Do you know if there was any advantage to swords being riveted to the end of the handle, rather than attached with a tang? Was it cheaper or easier to produce? Because it seems like a tang would be more versatile, so the rivets must provide some advantage.

lindy's made a few videos that combined seem to cover this question. in one he mentioned that the widening at the base was most likely to keep the sword from rattling, and the widening near the tip would put the place the blade is most likely to strike at in a better place for leverage. also, thicker near the end makes for a stronger hit, though going overboard will weaken the weapon and make it harder to use in general.

Bucklers were commonly used in Renaissance Europe. They were generally used as a backup weapon by archers and pikemen, or used by light infantry who attacked pike formations. Most bronze infantry consisted of spearmen with fairly large shields. The rapier & buckler would seem more like the backup weapons of an archer (or chariot archer) than a primary weapon.

no hand guard to stop your hand from slipping onto the blade when stabbing and its a stabbing weapon?

very sleek looking "rapier" I like it.

Please, please, please do a video about the Khopesh. I watched the video on the Kopis and was wondering if it functions any differently.

Never heard about chain as a tool of measurement, but when it comes to inch, foot and yard, they are easier to divide by 12 and all factors 12 can be divided into. And if people were to count in dozenal/duodecimal, then it wouldn't look like 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 etc (although that's how you measure things in computer graphics and the like.) There would be a simpler system, as described in that video I mentioned, and people would also have to relearn to count, which feels very inconvenient.

Thanks for this-when I read the title I thought "absurd, you can't have a bronze rapier!" Glad to have learned something new. On a related note, it it possible that this weapon was intended more for everyday self-defense (or for murder) than for battle? I admit to not knowing anything about the societies where these weapons were used, so I'm very comfortable with the possibility I'm wrong.

Have you ever heard of the Flemish dirk? I was speaking to some reinactors and one of them was dressed as a lower class 14th century Flemish militiaman and was equipped with a Goedendag (as he likely should be from my understanding) and had a crude 0.6 meter (2.5 foot) flat iron bar with a fine point at the end at his waist that he called a "Flemish Dirk". Now as I had understood it until then (but my understanding is pretty much limited to the July 1302 battle of Courtrai) the Goedendag was the primary armament of the common militiaman and he wasn't issued much else. However, this fellow said that the Goedendag was simply the primary designed to dismount men or even kill horses and the dirk was the way of dealing with men one on one in the field or on the chance the got passed the spear, and that it was likely adapted from some sort of agricultural implement used for poking holes in the ground and likely started rather small. From looking at it it looks almost like a flat iron club with a wrapped leather handle with sharp point (I presume) for dealing with mailled opponents. Does a crude medium length stappy instrument like this ring any bells?

Did they use that small bucklers back in the bronze age? Stabing might be better for the weaker bronze so it wount bend so quickly by impact, but how is the grip of the handle? Its looking like you can slip of it and cut your own hand if stabing to hard.

I noticed in the middle of this video that is a window you are standing in front of. It looked like a cabinet. love the view as well back there.

Which type of rapier do you think is most effective against Captain Farrel?

Thank you for clarifying what a dirk is, I have been reading A Song of Ice and Fire, and I as having to assume

What is the name of the sword with the mouse ears at 3:57. I fell like I've seen it many times in depictions of Celtic warriors.

In Scotland we also have a larger form of buckler known as a Targe, which was used in a very similar manner with a blade in the same hand. Also with a sword/mace/other in the main hand. :)

I love Lindybeige's weapon videos!

Where can I find your video on the advantages of the British Imperial Units compared to metric? I would like to watch that again but could not find it...

Why are some swords (gladius and a few of the few of the weapons at end of this video) made narrow in the middle, wide at the base and near the tip?

There are several impressive examples in the National Museum of Ireland, most notably the Lissan Rapier which has a much more recognisable blade shape and length for the term rapier. There are also examples that offer somewhat better (though still marginal in the grabd scheme of things) hand protection.

Awesome, u learn smth new every day :P Pls do a video on those egyptian sword/axe stuff u showed at the end and how exactly were they used :)

also, wakizashi are made primarily as secondary slicing blades, though their reduced length made it easier to stab with them as well.

i tried lookin into it apperently some of the sites i read through said something about irish nationalist adopting the kilt as some sort of pride thing which makes no sense seeing how they never wore kilts also apperently even the scottish didnt wear kilts in ireland due to bogs or something and there was some historical sightings of the english tracking movement this way based on the scotish apparel do u know anything about this lindy? im terribly confused on the matter and any info is nice.

Probably best not to mention that detective. It upsets a lot of people who wish Adams had continued writing Hitchhiker's Guide instead.

Is it possible that those rapiers are leaf shaped bronze age swords that have been sharpened and sharpened until they are reduced to rapier size?

@kynigosthewolf4573

7 жыл бұрын

I doubt it. The "leaf" shape of early bronze blades served the purpose of adding mass, to compensate for the softness of the metal, relative to the beginning. The blades, when sharpened, would likely have followed the same shape until they were just unusable.

YES! THE WEAPONRY VIDEOS ARE BACK!

Something rather odd about the second sword from the bottom: it looks quite interesting being composed of a single piece of metal, but I see no cross guard at the hilt to prevent the user's hand from sliding up into the blade and the handle seems very flat and rather unwieldy. Any idea how this sort of sword was meant to function or if it was a piece of a larger weapon?

Is there a maximum length the Bronze Age rapiers could reach? Is a bronze rapier similar to the length of the steel one you showed at the beginning feasible?

Fair enough. I was taking the swords from espada roperas to the beginnings of the small sword into account. Rapiers were used alongside side-swords too. The difference between the two is murky. Labeling swords in general gets convoluted anyway. For example look at cavalry rapiers from the Deluge and the 30 years war. Apparently people were still writing treatises on rapiers into the mid to late 18th century.

When you display this buckler it seems awfully small, could you perhaps do a video about shield sizes and their different uses? Thank you

The point is that when you are using a measuring unit for most practical purposes, you're not converting between different scales very often. What is important is that the unit is a convenient subdivision of whatever you're working on.

Interestingly enough, there is a Qin Dynasty weapon that is very similar but very long at 94-cm. The grip and the blade were, however, made with one piece of bronze and it does have a tiny guard.