I.33 Sword & Buckler: Half-Shield vs First Ward (July 2019)

[@swordandshield]

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[@wimsele]

Thank you posting. As always your videos and techniques are very interesting because you delve into what it "could" have been like to fight with real sharp blades... no point systems or judges, just death (instant or slow) if a wrong move is made.

[@30Salmao]

I'm amazed how your leactures became so much better with the years even tho they were incredible since 4 years ago when I find you channel. Your content is gold, best I know in shield fighting. Thank you a lot by sharing your knowledge.

[@SchildwachePotsdam]

Thank you for sharing your interpretations Roland. I am very much looking forward to fence with you and Cornelius again :)

[@swordandshield]

See you soon, Martin!

[@jeffreypurcell4681]

Once again very interesting and it’s great to see you and others keeping medieval history alive.

[@scholarwithasword591]

Bingeing all these in preparation for a coming tournament. ⚔

[@SuperOtter13]

I always appreciate your views and explanations of i.33. Love your channel, thank you for sharing this with us.

[@swordandshield]

You are most welcome.

[@Hordalending]

It looks incredible fun - and meaningful

[@FlorisGerber]

I was not too fond of the idea that the book shows the positions "folded", but this counter against the wrestling seems a very good indication that you might be right. Looks very natural and simple, which cannot be said for most other interpretation of this position i have seen. Looking forward to the BBB!

[@bashkillszombies]

As a competitive fencer since age 12 watching stuff like this it makes me realise how much people attempting to teach overcomplicate things that are common sense and natural. Perhaps common sense isn't common and it needs to be said for those, but to me it adds to the tedium that detracts from the sport.

[@swordandshield]

You are so blessed if your natural responses are all you need to prevail. Us common folk have to train martial arts for many years to replace instinctive responses by martially sound ones.

[@pinocchio418]

Well that perspective is understandable since sport fencing is just the little brother of sword fighting and on a martial level quite simple. Welcome to real shit.

[@JRT176]

@@pinocchio418 Don't be a shitbird.

[@BoddhisattaHoja]

So, let me guess: you fence with a wire called foil. Sorry man, but it's common sense: a tiny bit of wire it's not a sword and martial arts are no sports. Go back to your "competitive fencing".

[@matthewpham9525]

@@BoddhisattaHoja Get help

[@igneous061]

as always, amazing explanations....gona have to get in i33 some day :)

[@swordandshield]

You should!

[@talleman1]

No one is ever smiling when they do this drill.

[@GaryChurch-hi8kb]

Amazing stuff.....I wish they used this kind of swordfighting in the movie industry. Hollywood people must be absolute idiots.

[@jeffreypurcell4681]

Question for you, how prevalent was swords for the common man ? I would assume a sword would have been a expensive piece of kit for him. Another question, who exactly would these training manuals be for ? Wasn’t most of the medieval population illiterate and didn’t have access to them ?

[@toddh377]

Encase you never get a reply, I believe it was the nobility and those that served them militarily.

[@JorgeRodriguez-zc7fc]

I recall reading somewhere that a rusty used sword costs a day wage and a new sword costs a weekly wage. I do mot remember where I've read it though.

[@andrewk.5575]

The prevalence of swords in a medieval context depends quite a bit on when we are talking about. Basically, if you have a sword in the Viking Age you were rich where as if you had a sword in Renaissance you could still be a nobody. Much the same is true of the training manuals, it depends on when we are talking about. The truly medieval manuals (I:33, Fiore's La Flora di Battagalia, and Lichtenauer's Kunst de Fecheten) are notoriously difficult to follow because they were written for the armed nobility who were supposed to know quite a bit about fighting before they ever read the book. By the late 1500's literacy had improved dramatically and lots more people could afford swords so later authors (Joachim Meyer, Vincentio Saviolo, Jeronimo Sanchez de Carranza, and George Silver) go much more in depth with their theory and actually take the time to explain what their terms mean because they were aware that their books could well be bought by people who had never held a weapon in their lives.

[@razorboy251]

Really depends on the era, like Andrew K. points out. Certainly by the time of the Hundred Years War a common infantryman or an archer could own a sword and it wouldn't bust their wallet. In fact a sword was part of a required kit of a professional English archer. But the prevalence of swords among the non-nobility and what might be termed professional soldiery (men-at-arms) is still debated.

[@swordandshield]

As was said before, it depends on time, region and social strata. In contrast to popular belief, swords were very common with Scandinavians even at the very beginning of the Viking Age. The oldest known Viking ship burial was found in Lithuania. It is believed to contain slain Vikings buried by their comrades after a fatal raid. There are more swords than bodies in that ship. It is dated to 750. We should also refrain from addressing this subject from a modern consumer's perspective. Swords were not necessarily purchased like a modern person may buy a car. They were often issued, either from a liege lord or a city magistrate. There are many medieval stories about fighters being bestowed with a sword, yet I am not aware of a story of someone going shopping and coming back with a sword. What kind of equipment to bring to war was often subject to legal regulations, and e.g. in Carolingian times, it was clearly determined how many men a lord had to bring to campaigning and how to equip them. This depended on size of farms, and small farms would have to combine their resources to equip one warrior according to the law.

[@SuperOtter13]

Maybe a strange off topic question, but the hats/head covers worn by the men in the intro. What are they called? I had assumed they were only worn under armour but looking at iconography of the time makes them seem more prevalent than that.

[@bretalvarez3097]

The thick multi layered versions are called “arming caps” so I would assume the civilian versions worn by the men in the intro would just be called “caps”, but of course in the local language. This is just a guess though so take it with a grain of salt.

[@swordandshield]

As you say, it seems to have been a widespread item of dress in the 13th century. its use faded out in the 14th. the reason for this obscure fashion is still unclear. My guess is that it is a response to the hotter climate in the High Middle Ages, wearing something reflecting the sunlight, avoiding straw hats that were common with peasants. In the 14th century, average temperature dropped in Europe and there was way more rain. This when the cap is seen less frequently in images, however, everybody wears a woolen poncho-like hat now.

[@jimmynicolas4602]

Super ! 😁

[@pinocchio418]

Okay let's just make a lower bind into an upper bind...that's just not right ;)

[@swordandshield]

You are still welcome to bind low, if you please.

[@pinocchio418]

@@swordandshield well its not a matter of choice in my book since it creates a complete different dynamic. I read that I.33 part after watching your video and I cannot even remotely see a similar technique as presented. I would say it starts with a short edge cut from below. Nevertheless the whole sequence is cryptic even for old fencing book standards.

[@ajithsidhu7183]

Great vid please do one on a sabre tutorial and double handede axe

[@swordandshield]

I am not training any of these weapons, so it is unlikely that there will be an according video anytime soon. Thank you for your interest.

[@ajithsidhu7183]

@@swordandshield can you do one on a spear for a pratical application ?

[@johnmartlew5897]

This is so silly. Copying manuscript drawings, how old, so literally. Artists with no concept of perspective first understood by DaVinci and not widespread till well after him. Mime artists at best here. Have fun. Don’t ever get in a rest duel with this.

[@Br1cht]

Witty comment.