GRUESOME result of medieval SWORD strike on HEAD.

WARNING, there is some gruesome footage at the end of this video!
Jason Kingsley, the Modern Knight, weaves a tale of two different types of medieval sword. One certain, one more unknown, and tests one out to devastating effect. #sword #medieval #knight
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[@jamesevans5495]

"Choppy Boy" will now be a findable weapon in my next D&D campaign

[@ModernKnight]

excellent.

[@cmilla111]

If equipped, acquire luxurious mane and sword is soul bound unless you cut off all your hair.

[@markdurham5062]

Choppy Boy 1d10/ ver. 1d12 ?

[@jamesevans5495]

@@markdurham5062 1d12 slash + 1d6 bludg. I mean, did you see what it did to that skull?

[@jonathanwells223]

@@cmilla111 that would qualify it as a minor artifact I think

[@macguffinmuffin1156]

"I'm sorry if that shocked you..." Shows it multiple times in slow motion.

[@diggerbones5292]

Bahhhhhaaaa haaaa. Yes indeed, yes indeed 🥲

[@arkenarikson2481]

And with epic music to underlay everything. ;) But yeah, clearly would not like to see that used on a real human.

[@gohawks3571]

Well, on the upside if you were to be on the receiving end, there would only be a small moment where you would experience the horribleness, then you're gone.... Idk, trying to be positive🙈🙉🙊

[@Simon_Nonymous]

The modern era of being sorry for everything: I love weapons and their use but need to apologise for showing what they actually do to a head made of jelly.

[@Trekki200]

@@gohawks3571 I strongly suspect that with an injury like that you would not register what happened before being dead.

[@rileyernst9086]

Bastard sword: This is grandpa's sword. He was a fine gentleman and slew many enemies in battle. Cleaver: This is grandpa's sword. He hacked people to bits with it.

[@Coldyham]

With the first, the sword is the bastard, with the second, it's grandpa

[@chroma6947]

And now we will cut down this tree with it, seriously. Thats why little of these exist nowadays, buried due to family reasons or repurposed

[@Raphael-gd4ht]

@@Coldyham one is a Bastard sword the other is a Bastard's sword

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

If a sword survived many decades, then it likely was hardly ever drawn or a grandfather's axe argument is to bring forward.

[@hawkenparker1790]

One of my all time favorite things about you is your respect for the devastation these weapons bring. You just don't shrug it off as history, you grasp the weight of the terror and horror they caused way back when. I've never been able to see a skeleton not think about their family, friends, loved ones, the laughs and jokes they had, all to be stopped by whatever thing bludgeoned them on the head... Terrible....

[@FragGile]

Could just listen to this guy all day, never gets boring

[@RichyJFilms]

i would give up my pc game money for one month to get a history lesson from jason :D would be worth it

[@fueeegooo]

Agreed! I eagerly wait for every new video of his!

[@RichyJFilms]

@DeSPoTNemanjaS :P

[@MrPoupard]

Yes. Very fine communicator and knows his onions.

[@alexfarkas3881]

@@RichyJFilms Buy games made by Rebellion and you'll be using your game money to pay Jason for more content 😁

[@Engineer_Who]

"Might be filled with goo, might not. I'm not sure." Prop guy: _nervous chuckling_

[@OlaftheFlashy]

"It was too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it was a heap of raw iron."

[@justarandompenguin]

I recently found out you’re the ceo of rebellion developments, so I’d guess that this is more of a hobby/lifestyle for you. The point is, I could’ve sworn that you worked as a historian because of the crystal clear and informed way you present things. Amazingly done, excellent content!

[@ModernKnight]

Thanks, it's appreciated.

[@soccerchamp0511]

​@@ModernKnight So any plans for an immersive Medieval knight video game?

[@IgnizAnima]

I love the Sniper Elite games! I'd love to see them put all his knowledge to use to give Mount and Blade some healthy competition.

[@TonyMontanaDS]

Wait, what? The guys who make Sniper Elite, Evil Genius and Ground Control? For real?

[@BoristheBlade]

Jason's face after he swings: "can I even put this on KZbin?"

[@denizmetint.462]

Jason's face is proiceless

[@peterknutsen3070]

At least Jason doesn’t have to worry about demonetization.

[@haphazardlark1502]

The stunned pause after the chop got me XD

[@ToniGaSi]

I came here expecting a show of two blades choping things but instead I found a great speach about the fact that we need to rethink the way we are studying history in our museums. And it was totally worth it. My congratulations to you Jason, you are not only teaching us stuff, you are also making us think to learn better.

[@Gilgamezsh72]

"A brutal majesty". Very well put and I agree. Sometimes when a thing is made, not to be pretty, but to be very good at a particular task it's sheer ruthless practicality gives it a kind of beauty.

[@jenchan4817]

On what makes it into museums: The t-shirts I wear nearly everyday eventually get holes in them. at that point I usually cut off the collars and hems so they fit very loosely and start wearing them as night shirts. When they get too worn out even for that, they become rags for dusting and stuff like that. My wedding dress, that I wore only once if you don’t count things like trying it on in the shop, is in nearly perfect shape in a protective garment bag at my ex-husband’s house and probably will survive till both of us are gone and the kid has to decide what to do with it.

[@neutraltral8757]

What do you suppose that says about the chastity belt on display in the Doge's Palace in Venice?...... Does that mean it didn't get used much?...... But if it wasn't used then.. well... I mean.... n-never mind!

[@Dlt814]

This is precisely what happens with clothing. The expensive little worn garments end up in museums. The everyday items get reworked, refitted, and eventually become rags (or quits or stuffing or thrown to rot in the garden). So we have this misconception of what people wore, how small they were, when only the wealthy could afford to not wear something until it wore out.

[@IncredibleMD]

On the other hand, museums are also full of things that were never meant to survive past the life of their owners, let alone the owner's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandsons, like farm equipment, or things never meant to be preserved at all, like the stuff found in mass graves, or sunken ships, or just a place a battle was fought 1000 years ago that some kid happened to dig up. The fact that we've never found even a single one, and the propensity for artists to just make things up (even modern artists make up weapons all the time, despite infinitely better access to research material), makes me think these probably didn't actually exist. There are too many dime a dozen pieces of rust that used to be the swords of unknown vikings in museums to ignore the fact that we don't have a single one of those choppers. Why don't we find any of these in battlefield sites, after they were dropped by their owners to pick up the much nicer sword of the guy he just killed? Why do we, instead, find those much nicer swords? If they did exist, and were effective on the battlefield, there'd probably be fancier versions used by nobles. The Japanese had an extremely long handled sword, very similar in proportion to that one, called a nagamaki. The great unifier of Japan, Oda Nobunaga, was said to have preferred to carry one of them.

[@brettjohnson536]

⁠@@neutraltral8757I might be wrong, but I think chastity belts were a hoax from the Victorian era, kind of like the iron maiden

[@eugenemartone7023]

@@IncredibleMD There aren’t many swords left on medieval battlefields tbh. And many battlefields were picked by poorer people afterwards (at least in later times), and a cheap sword was still valuable. The reason we have all these “Viking swords” is because they were buried in graves or ritualistically left in bogs and rivers. Some “Viking swords” were single edged choppers too btw. Despite what’s said in the video there are actual falchions from the 13th and 14th centuries in museums in Central Europe. There are several possible reasons for why they’re underrepresented, they could be over represented in art, but their cheaper manufacture (and lower status), thinner blades (that are much re likely to become damaged and rust through more easily). It’s worth noting that the few examples that do survive are of a high quality, with ornamentation etc. One huge difference to the nagamaki is that they were cared for into the modern age, while older swords in Europe generally weren’t. Much like the nagamaki however they might have been reused (as meat cleavers perhaps?) after sustaining damage or being replaced by another sword. They also fill a gap between the early medieval choppers and the later messers and cutlasses, but that’s not proof of anything ofc and fit nicely next to the two handed longsword of the period. But to sum up, yes they did exist, and yes there were nicer examples of them (the ones which survive), and no they weren’t an artistic invention. They may be over represented in art, but imo that’s not the most likely explanation (especially given the somewhat insular nature of art in the period and the fact that a long sword would fulfil the same artistic purpose just fine).

[@sarar4901]

Re: museum hypothesis I've heard similar things held out by dress historians about the apparent prevalence of the twenty inch waist. "Plus size" pieces could be cut down to size and passed on. Average sized garments are easily used to death as hand me downs. That fancy dress you wore when you were sixteen and tiny was expensive and couldn't easily be refashioned to fit again when you outgrew it, but you probably feel sentimental about it and keep it. Same reason a lot of women have a prom dress in the closet somewhere that fit at 17 and never will again.

[@ModernKnight]

exactly!

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Agreed; a lot of more modern 'surplus' in museums from the gunpowder era onwards always seems very small, possibly because it was never issued.

[@sheepewe4505]

In a similar vein, supposedly many of the ornate full battle harnesses in museums are undersized because they were commissioned as a young nobleman's first suit of armour, and thus never really used in battle.

[@LyaksandraB]

More egregiously, those who use our very limited, very biased knowledge of the past to not only make political statements but push for social changes that affect everyone now and in the near future. "Women were forced to wear tiny dresses that were harmful to their health." Sure.

[@cathrynbreeding1285]

I was thinking the same thing. Survival Bias. It is also why we have certain thought processes about "vikings".

[@redclayscholar620]

"People call them 'ork swords'..." 'UMIEZ CALL 'EM WOTEVA BUT ORKZ CALL 'EM CHOPPAZ!

[@codyparker679]

I was thinking Tolkien orcs. I see you are thinking Warhammer

[@paavobergmann4920]

@@codyparker679 mooaaar choppaz!

[@KristofKristoferos]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!!!

[@balderfrey20]

Get to the choppazz?

[@paavobergmann4920]

@@balderfrey20 Mega-Choppazz!

[@michaelhoward487]

That head-chop gives the term "defaced" a whole new interpretation.

[@Mordred86]

I just imagine a castle or city blacksmiths trying to crank out weapons for a coming siege or refit an army that is needed quickly. Those blacksmiths had to go for something simple to use and quick to make for the mass production of an army. Feels like choppy boi type weapons would be the go to versus a complex sword

[@colemanfrost1008]

Nice

[@steezydan8543]

I could imagine just as well when the battle is over you just take all the big choppy boys and reforge them into "better" swords.

[@lextalionis0]

I totally agree. I can also see that great bloody thing being opted to chop wood for a fire or used to shape lengths of wood into a palisade - certainly not doing those jobs with a “proper” sword. Years later it might be reforged into one of those new-fangled plowshares

[@michaelfranciotti3900]

If your goal is to crank out cheap, effective weapons quickly, then I'd say spears and battle axes are the best bet. If you want swords, I guess flachions would suit those requirements better than a long sword. But the one handed falchion was more popular and easier to make. The 2 hander is still bad ass though.

[@rcfokker1630]

"Good enough, and plenty of it." ... is what wins Wars.

[@alexbeedie6940]

I collect antique tools and I used to think people loved over sized axes because of there abundance and availability, but I have came to conclusion in that they are more likely the axes that no one wanted to use and as a result have survived.

[@ShellShock794]

I have split a lot of wood in my shortish life and I've used and broken probably a dozen axes, I've used one splitting maul that still looks pretty much new. I hate using that damn thing

[@BreandanOCiarrai]

Nothing's really changed, to be honest. In the modern world we go through $500 Glocks and M-4s periodically, both to field attrition and replacing them for better models. A $2,500 Kimber or the like, however, gets passed down, not because it's a better weapon, per se (in the hands of a competent shooter, the differences are negligible) but because it's an expensive heirloom piece/range gun instead of a battlefield weapon. So there is current validation of the argument he made about why the fancy boys wind up in museums while the choppy boys do not.

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

survivorship bias, if you're willing to broaden the concept of survival to the trials of time and use.

[@cube1cze]

"It will end him rightly" Impossible sire that sword has no pommel !

[@hyperguyver2]

*skallagrim has entered the chat*

[@connormills5785]

Need to add pommel launcher

[@TheRealWilliamWhite]

I was looking for this comment

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

When there is no visible pommel, that just means the entire sword is.

[@josephmatthews7698]

Reminds me of Chinese swords. I honestly expected weighted rings to be installed where the X's are. In fact the legendary (and historical!) warrior Guan Yu used something similar only the handle was elongated into a polearm but he was also reported to be nearly seven foot tall so it fit him quite well.

[@nathanksimpson]

My sentiments exactly. East Asia has some of these weapons which are somewhat between a two-handed sword like a claymore and a polearm. Japan has the naginata.

[@norbertschanne1943]

had the same idea. Guandaos dating back to the Mongolian Yuan dynasty survived, and it might have been that Eureopean armies may have been confronted with these weapons during the mongol invasions in the 13th century.

[@tomvhresvelg9286]

@@nathanksimpson Nagamaki was closer to 2 handed sword.

[@killernor23]

You should try it on horse back against chain mail and see if it can cut through on a ballistic torso.

[@alamore5084]

GREAT idea. Would love to see this wealded on horseback. Obviously with the horse wearing a crinet and shaffron in case a chop goes awry.

[@toddellner5283]

I can also see the horse saying "Boss, I'm down with the long stick. I've even gotten used to the swingy shiny stick, but if you're waving that thing around me we need to talk."

[@inthefade]

It would be awesome, but very unethical to endanger a horse using a weapon like that imo.

[@MusikCabaret]

@@alamore5084 hows that a great idea? the illustration he showed in the video literally shows it being used on horseback cutting a torso in half.

[@alamore5084]

@@MusikCabaret Some representations in drawings are accurate others less so. It would be interesting to prove or disprove the damage which could be dealt. Plus would be rather good fun. Similar to Tods Workshop with the ubiquitous leg of lamb.

[@Elcore]

The mixture of sadness, anger, horror and excitement in Jason's voice when describing the choppy boi is the part that needed the content warning.

[@mariposahorribilis]

Wow! Brutally effective. "That ... was more gruesome than I expected." Kudos for your self-control sir.

[@fitz3540]

I used something very similar to this on a daily basis as a brush cutting tool in the woods! It definitely has a farm-implement feeling about it

[@Ser-Smiley]

"It will end him rightly" 😂

[@rickansell661]

It will end him ENTIRELY. Q-Branch Pommels 🤕 be damned, ending people wrongly, but completely, is the way to go.🍖☠️

[@mattellis4176]

Not likely- no pommel on that choppy boi!

[@tutes0133]

Let's be honest here lads. There's nothing "Rightly" about this brutal piece. It's savage effiency. Brutality given shape.

[@entropy11]

Museums have a tricky bias towards nobility and fancy pieces, simply because they were the ones who could afford to preserve something like that, rather than recycle it into something else. Workhorse items and weapons don't end up in museums, because they're used until they're used up, or until they're broken and made into something else. The big chopper probably was used by men at arms of all backgrounds, but it was cheap enough to be considered disposable. If it actually survived campaign, nobody had an interest in preserving it: that's some okay steel that could be made use of elsewhere.

[@TokarevArtyom]

Funnily enough, that was my point towards flails and maces for long time already XD maybe people would sometimes realise, that crude weapons of war.. would be just molten and re-smitten into smth useful after war ends.

Fortunately there are more and more museums of ordinary historical things, but they are quite new. There are museums of ethnography, but they are more about peasant items...

[@tommeakin1732]

I'd kind of alter that by saying that it's not just a case of "they were the ones who could afford to preserve something like that" - it's also a case of less wealthy people coming into possession of expensive items, realising the value and either protecting that item or selling it on. For a lot of people, if they find a rusted old, munitions-grade sallet in their grandads shed, they might let the kids play with it, take some interest in it and maybe even put it on display in their house - but there's a good chance they're not thinking "oh we need to send this to a museum" or "I need to try and sell this to a collector"

[@SuperFunkmachine]

That chopper will be taken back to the farm an used until it brakes.

[@lizcademy4809]

I can imagine a smith somewhere taking a choppy boi and using the metal to make a fancy show sword.

[@johnnymontalvo5620]

I love your theory about museums. It makes perfect sense: the items in our lives that are used, often get used until they break! I love weapons like these - the falchion type weapons. Practical items that people actually used. As an aside, it dimensionally almost reminds me of a Japanese Nagamaki, which is essentially a katana, but with a grip of about the same length as your choppy boy. I’d have to assume that they were used similarly.

[@user-ci7dy1qk6z]

I guess nagamaki is more of a naginata, but with a rope 'round the handle. Maki, btw, means "rope".

[@AirLancer]

@@user-ci7dy1qk6z Nah, proportions and blade type are very different. Nagamaki is like a katana except with a super long handle, about 1/2 the weapon's total length.

[@user-ci7dy1qk6z]

@@AirLancer I agree and do not at the same time. Naginata's kind of a katana itself. Differences are mostly in proportions. The other thing is that, as far as I remember, nagamaki was born from naginata. You see, naginata ca be quite short, just like europian polearms - about ones hight. And a blade can be about 60 cm. Thus, it is not that different from nagamaki.

[@KaneyoriHK]

It also feels like a temp weapon given people while their orders are being made

[@conchosewing]

this channel is so soothing to the mind in these insane times thank you, Jason Kingsley!

[@ModernKnight]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@farstrider79]

I agree with your assessment of some museum pieces. Everybody seems to want to buy really nice expensive toys and then never use them. The things you actually depend on get scuffed, worn out, and eventually broken and replaced.

[@charlottewalnut3118]

To be fair nights were rich and most likely could afford to repair their stuff like their armor your average peasant or conscript could not afford to have his stuff repaired not often so he just bought the cheapest thing he could that would actually work

[@nutyyyy]

Plenty of nobility and Knights absolutely paid a lot of money for fancy armour and weapons and used them. Even just for a single campaign. If you had the money, then spending it on your kit was just a given.

[@edi9892]

I agree. The sword you carried every day and probably used only once or twice was made to show your status and it got passed on. The same can't be said about your poleaxe, which probably got used until it was too chipped... This oversized falchion looks like something men at arms and lower nobility may use. Cheap, but devastating against lightly armored troops. Something you wouldn't be too sad, if it gets chipped...

[@edi9892]

Also, a personal defense weapon for every day carry will have vastly different requirements. (easier to carry and draw, probably more agile for partying and more versatile)

[@misterdayne2792]

@@edi9892 That monstrosity might even be deadlier if it stated to get chipped, with small jagged edges along the blade, mimicking the teeth of a saw.

[@edi9892]

@@misterdayne2792 Not necessarily from my personal experience. The best cuts I've had were with a mediocre grind, which feels on the finger like a shard of glass; something that is jagged, but only on a near microscopic level. However, such a grind doesn't hold on for long, just like a perfect razor grind. However, both would be probably ideal for self-defense, meaning when you want the optimal results but don't need the blade to last. Blunter blades, even if they cut somewhat paper perform far worse in cutting most targets and obvious chips do entangle with cloth and prevent the rest from cutting.

[@triela420]

@@edi9892 I call that sandpaper sharp. Easy to achieve it with medium rough sandpaper, and it'll bite into things like flesh or fabrics as easy as something razor sharp but as soon as you touch something with any resistance at all, like just drawing it across wood it smooths the rough edge out.

[@edi9892]

@@triela420 you can even do it on a concrete pillar...

[@kearnsey64]

Hockey announcer: "There's a face off in the corner!!"

[@aphillips229]

Noice.

[@aztecgoldmontizuma]

13:02 That shocked pause is priceless.

[@ethanhigley2845]

The spot you filmed in is beautiful Definitely film in that spot again.!

[@matiasrisso5917]

Arya: "Lots of people name their swords" Hound: "Lots of c*nts" Great video as usual!

[@jjf3161]

Lmaoo. Exactly what came to mind when i heard him say it.🤣

[@paulmacrath8985]

Great video! Due to the cheaper and quicker production the weapon would likely be commissioned on mass to equip many men. I believe the reason no examples remain are because the common soldier would have used such a blade as a tool outside of combat. Where the bastard sword is much more likely to be well maintained and used only for battle, if at all. The bastard sword was a status symbol and passed down through family members where the other sword would be more likely manufactured to equip soldiers for battle and then used as tools afterward by those same soldiers during times of peace. In most peoples eyes I imagine preserving such a weapon/tool would seem like preserving your families farm tools instead of using them. In those times most people simply couldnt afford to have such a tool and not put it to use during everyday life. Also I imagine due to the sheer amount of metal used many were likely broken down and repurposed rather then repaired, reused or preserved.

[@warpdriveby]

As a smith, a week would be quick for the degree of polish on the blade and fittings. Forging hasn't changed much, and provided high quality steel, could be roughed out in a day, heat cycled and annealed and refined the second and third. Access to water powered grinding would determine the rest, without it, it could take 2 or 3 weeks to hand polish a blade to working specs. A higher polish reduces friction between the blade and target, and is worth the additional work if possible.

[@kanledeluge9562]

As a mechanical engineer, I agree with your statement about the significance of polishing to mitigate friction.

[@warpdriveby]

@@kanledeluge9562 I'm really interested in exploring this now, and fortunately two of my blades need to be refinished. I wonder if there'll be a rapid transition followed by small further returns or if it will be more linear. I've seen it at work with tatami and biological (pigs and deer that were purchased dead and eaten after) targets but only between examples on the far ends, cheap crude heavy blades with a brushed finish vs handmade mirror polished or etched Damascus/patterned.

[@Joe___R]

The real problem with history is we only have records & evidence of a tiny sliver of human history. I believe you are correct in thinking some things are now in museums today because they didn't work well but were either expensive or esthetically pleasing so they were kept & have wound up on public display today.

[@roguewolfproduction3819]

Also issue of how much was destroyed after or during wars. So much lost, and no way to know how much.

[@JonatasAdoM]

Exactly. I never understood why a King's armor is for example used to define and describe medieval armors. It is not reflective of what the rest of the army would be wearing.

[@xBINARYGODx]

Keep in mind that a lot of what your average person thinks of these things is different to the people who study and research it (much of that difference is because of TV and Movies, btw).

[@xBINARYGODx]

PS - and this sometimes will affect what shows up in a museum (they need people paying to come in).

[@gerwantofrivera3725]

@@JonatasAdoM The Visby collection show more of the "other" armours and weapons. I believe that Lloyd have some material about it.

[@RedWolfRun]

“It hasn’t told me what it’s called yet.” I really like that and it makes sense.

[@m.maclellan7147]

I think he should name this "Mule" & his 'Mule with no name' as "Choppy Boy"! ;)

[@timhartherz5652]

Super-separator.

[@noybeeswax]

You celebrate different moon cycles don’t you?

[@RedWolfRun]

@@noybeeswax uh, what?

[@noybeeswax]

@@RedWolfRun nothing, he’s waiting for a pixie 🧚‍♀️ to whisper the name in his ear 👍

[@Skorpychan]

The trouble is that you could make 2-3 of the smaller sword from the steel used in the big one. You made big cleavers to supply an army in a hurry, then you recycled the steel into fancier swords to turn a profit. At least, that's how I see it. One sword is designed to look pretty and be easy to carry, the other is made to slice a man in two.

[@michaeljay4816]

You're reaction to the first chop of Mr. Choppy falchion was fun to watch. And the brutality seems to lend credence to the possibility that people would discard such a brutal weapon after a war. It reminds me of the British reaction to the more lethal bullets used by the South African's in the Second Boer war.

[@chrissymcgee5930]

That weapon makes total sense, a 2 handed axe suffers from generally having a fairly short cutting edge, this improves on that and still has the front heavy cutting ability.

[@breandan3280]

The Japanese have a weapon called a nagimaki which is the same as "choppy boy" for all intents and purposes. I think it's mostly an infantry weapon though. It's always amazing to me how two cultures, separated by thousands of miles, come up with similar tools.

[@baronblitzkrieg]

That was brutally efficient. Once you saw that on the field I can only imagine the terror it would invoke in the enemy.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

hmmm.was the long “choppy boy” perhaps an anti-horse sword?

[@andydeadpool8923]

I love the way you stood there for a few seconds, then "Yuck!" Sometimes you make my day, you really do!

[@rotwang2000]

When we look at the bodies found in battlefield burial sites, they have injuries that make the worst GoT and other movies/series can throw at us seem tame in comparison. We have evidence that wounded men would use their arms and hands in an attempt to ward off blows and cuts, before they had their heads hit repeatedly to kill them.

[@stefanfranke5651]

Indeed. I remember the docu about the battle of Visby. Gave me nightmares :c

[@wattyler9806]

Brutal.

[@RaDiumDrummer]

I recently was at Gotland Museum and had a look at the battle of Visby exhibition. There was a skull with like 4 holes and 3 crossbow bolts sticking out of the back of the head. He was probably running from the battle and shot down with a volley and later bashed with a battle pick for good measure.

[@wattyler9806]

Towton in England in the 1381 I think forgive me if I'm wrong on the date. Or visbe in Denmark in the 1360s in Towton a lot of head wounds in visbe they cut cut there legs and feet to get them down then finished them off in visbe they were farmers against danish professionals and German soldiers of fortune.

[@daveh3997]

@@wattyler9806 The Battle of Towton was on 29 March 1461 But that confusion is understandable as you died leading the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

That's an EXCELLENT point about museum collections and utility

[@krellio9006]

after seeing that thing split in half, i think the illustration didnt lie.

[@tommeakin1732]

Honestly, there's nothing about these weapons that makes me think they wouldn't have been used. Even in a battlefield saturated with mail, I can see something like this being a viable weapon. Even if you're not capable of cutting through mail in most circumstances, the amount of force transferred on a fine edge by a top heavy 2kg bar of steel of that length is absolutely going to break bones, even through mail and gambeson. If you want a sword-like weapon to be a viable primary weapon on a battlefield full of mail, one way of going about that could be to make it big and top heavy

[@romgl4513]

The question is, how long could a man swing such a heavy weapon. And by the rather rare use, I would say, not long. Weapons like spears, axes and maces are usually surprisingly light.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

@@romgl4513 Pole arms are pretty heavy they were in use commonly for ages. Sure you can't swing this for long full force but ideally you don't have to throw all your strength into every blow. Just let the weight of it do the work and of course your buddies are there to watch your back and like all fighting armies they would spell off to relieve each other on the front line. I personally see this as shock weapon.......for killing horses, breaking shield walls or even for chopping off the points of polearms. Sometimes ou have little guns, sometimes medium guns and then you have big guns. Maybe even just a man at arms solution to the poleaxe.

[@stefanfranke5651]

@@romgl4513 They are not exactly rarely used. You see similar types in many depictions of the 13th and 15th cent. book illustration. I would even dare to question the accuracy of the reproduction Jason wields (I hope he doesn't read this :/ ) I think as weapon type they are somewhat inspired by woodclearing or buchering implements but clearly they are specialised (longer, two handed) weapons for war. The same as you wouldn't make a battle axe as heavy and thick as a tree felling axe, they also would make the blades thinner. That clearly gets evident by looking at Falchions or later Messers, which mostly have a rather thin blade, a narrow back and good distal taper. I'd say 1 to 1.5 kilo would be sufficient for a stable blade, would make the weapon more nimble in the hand, much cheaper to produce in high numbers and the "Chopper" would become rather a "Slicer" in the end.

[@mawe9878]

@@romgl4513 It's 2.1 kg, heavier than most swords but still not very heavy. The action of using it reminds me a bit of chopping wood and people can do that for hours on end without the added incentive of mortal danger.

[@michelangelo1136]

[Greatsword intensifies]

[@jeleuri]

Choppy boi vs Ballistic head + plate helmet, please.

[@leoscheibelhut940]

Yes, please.

[@vaughanellis7866]

The 'Choppy Boy' was a tool, a workaday weapon of battle, the Sword was as symbol of Chivalry, If the 'Choppy Boy' was damaged or lost it was no big loss and after battle would as you say been collected up and repurposed into any number of things, the Sword had a higher investment in it and looks nice, it would be better looked after

[@jonjones1553]

I like your analogy. There are plenty of low mileage, shiny Ferraris in museums, but Fords were ubiquitous and now long gone.

[@pritzi101]

Fascinating, engaging and horrific. Just thinking of some real person being wiped out of existence like that is genuinely awful.

[@inthefade]

Yes. There is no romance with this weapon. It is just the cold, brutal, and honest truth of violence and war. I think it is the only ancient weapon I've seen that just leaves me feeling a sense of dread, sickness and despair. It even sent some chills up my spine. Pretty dang cool!

[@jaroslavpalecek4513]

Great to see Jason after such a long time.

[@KatonRyu]

Interesting that you name your swords. I name my fencing épées as well, though by this point all of them have had all their parts replaced so often their names are more like a lineage now than the name of one single weapon. The weapon I now call 'Lucy' has zero parts of the original Lucy left in it. In fact, those broken parts are still in my closet somewhere, excluding the original grip. And yet, I consider the current weapon to be the same one, despite all the parts being different. Not much bearing on the actual topic of the video, just something that I find interesting.

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

Now that is a classy way to solve the grandfather's axe debacle: "the name is not in the object but in what mounts to its legacy"

[@RealSaintB]

The approach to weapons like that really is "If it ain't broken, don't fix it."

[@IamOutOfNames]

I see Jason is still working for the Ministry of Silly Faces.

[@calebeakin6742]

My thoughts exactly, think he’s the branch manager….

[@Cormano980]

It's a YT thing, everyone does it, I don't know why though

[@stefanfranke5651]

Hope you taped over your webcam ;)

[@someguy2499]

IIRC Mount and Blade refers to these weapons as "cleavers" and they are inspired by the same medieval artwork.

[@HalfwayUK]

It also looks similar in proportion to what M&B calls the 'shortened military scythe', based on that weapon he shows in the Morgan Bible that's apparently called a Faussart or Warbrand.

[@NetherHawk]

@@HalfwayUK It is the same weapon seen in Mount and Blade as shown in the video, I immediately recognised it when I saw It. Though it's a shame there is so little evidence of it being used as it seems like it would've been quite effective.

[@daemonharper3928]

I've only recently become interested in swords, lockdown forced me off my bicycle and into learning blacksmithing as a new hobby. The lack of resistance when swords cut through representations of bits of people is truly horrific......they are devastating weapons and I thank my lucky stars that I missed that whole time segment of humanity.

[@Cricket2731]

Just think of the fun Doug Markaida of Forged in Fire would have with Choppy-Boy & a pig carcass! "It will KEAL!!!"

[@robinrehlinghaus1944]

Just like it is with great helms! There is such a small amount of surviving great helms, even though they were so extremely widely used for over a hundred years, but most of them were melted down and reforged into bassinets, which is also a reason there are so amny surviving bascinets.

[@deviltrigger29]

One swing, clean in half, crown to jaw. Brutal.

[@philipwebb960]

Don't worry, he got better.

[@DanielDangerous]

@@philipwebb960 oh nice, I was worried about that

[@denizmetint.462]

Perfection

[@toddellner5283]

That's war. Brutal and horrifying.

[@ragnkja]

I’m guessing “choppy boi” is the one that ended up with the name Biter.

[@ModernKnight]

yes, after that he bit me with affection when being cleaned. I like to think he enjoyed tasting real blood.

[@chocoman45]

@@ModernKnight I feel like if that thing could bark it would. Facing something like that would make almost anyone give pause, like facing down a large snarling hound.

[@minerwaweasley1008]

@@ModernKnight I had a knife that liked blood, especially mine. I called him the Vampire. If tools can be like this, then probably a weapon even more?

[@jarlnils435]

@@chocoman45 dogs who bark don't bite. This thing would not bark.

[@jarlnils435]

@@minerwaweasley1008 I have that kind of knife, too! I called it Chucky

[@thkwek7376]

looks incredibly like a chinese 'horse chopping sword' (zhanmadao).

[@davidfletcher6703]

That big pause after the chop into the head was priceless

[@sethaldarith6778]

Jason said it's made by Josef Dawes of White Wells Arms, for those wondering.

[@TalRohan]

thankyou yes I was wondering.

[@David-lu4gq]

Lots and lots of Choppy Bois shall be ordered I believe. One for me at least. 😂

[@yajurka]

This is what you get when butcher gets conscripted. Poor mr. Jelly had no chance.

[@toddellner5283]

As I mentioned elsewhere I think there's a very good chance that this is exactly what's at work here. This looks like a very old side-splitter/meat axe.

[@dolan3245]

My man just said 'choppy boy' and 'end him rightly', what a knightly memelord!

[@DanDavisHistory]

This was excellent, thank you.

[@ModernKnight]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Handyguy223]

I had never considered why a bastard sword was actually called that. I learned something in the first minute and then much more. Thanks for all you do and you're love of history. As long as you keep making videos I and I'm sure many others will keep watching them.

[@hardcode57]

When I saw 'choppy boy' I immediately thought 'hog splitter': not a sword but a tool that used to be used in abattoires for e.g. quartering a carcass.

[@cerebraldreams4738]

Honestly, these swords were probably used for woodwork, land clearance, and animal butchering after the war was over. After a while the blade gets too damaged to keep using, but the metal itself is valuable, so it gets sold off for scrap.

[@TheMonkey747]

He's likely correct in saying the people portrayed using weapons like these in illustrations were likely thought to be callous, brutal individuals that earned their title of Butcher. So are portrayed with butchering tools.

[@ryanrobot7975]

Is it just me or does the big chopper, look like an amazing anti-cavalry weapon. Especially if you're going after the horse, which I imagine was not the most chivalrous way to go about it.

[@ianturton6889]

Great to see you back again. Interesting as always

[@Mara999]

I can imagine the shock of the first time ever seeing this thing used on someone. In one chop someone goes from being a living, breathing person, with thoughts and ideas, to a pile of sliced meat. That is a brutal weapon and a really sobering reminder about how ugly warfare is, once you look beyond all the stuff about honour and chivalry. Still, that was impressive and really cool, in all its horribleness.

[@eatleadcobra]

On the subject of conjecture, I would think a weapon like that would also find a lot of use as a tool. As you said it's basically a two handed machete. Would have made a great medieval bush hog. Probably used until it was chipped to pieces and then the steel repurposed.

[@loonloon9365]

Does anyone know the name of this sword or where I can find illustrations on it?

[@Madlyshort]

@@loonloon9365 medievalbritain.com/type/medieval-life/weapons/medieval-falchion/ however, this one has been specially made from a single image with a long handle, it's the same type of blade, some nice pictures in the link from the article.

[@richardpashos]

@@loonloon9365 maciejowski bible falchion/chopper/cleaver

[@egregiouscharles9702]

After watching this video but before seeing your comment, I was thinking of making one of these for brush hog use. I have a lot of a particular kind of shrub I want to clear that's too heavy for a machete but too light for a chainsaw. I need to think about how often I'd have the clear space to swing it though.

[@genghiskhan6809]

@@egregiouscharles9702 Cold Steel has a machete like this called the 2-handed Latin Machete.

[@jesussavestrinahaifa5884]

As you started to explain and describe the orc sword prior to you mentioning the possible purpose of that sword of being an Executioner's sword, that's exactly what came to my mind as well. And then you confirmed what I was thinking by mentioning it later on in the video so it could very well have been for that purpose or chopping wood etc.

[@steventhehistorian]

You make a compelling point about how the most used implements may have been so mundane at the time that they weren't preserved. I never looked at it that way!

[@stephenschan]

The contrast between this gentleman’s chivalrous demeanor and soft, lilting accent at the beginning, as opposed to finishing with the demonstrably medieval butchery and surprising smattering of scrumptious jam- it’s truly, remarkably striking. Indeed, ol’ Choppy Boy ended the video rightly. I shall now go spend fifteen minutes online … and save hundreds on insurance.

[@kathleenball7910]

There is a horrid beauty in the slow motion replay. Given that our ancestors (minstrels and “historians” in particular) were demonstrably given to romanticizing wars and their implements, I think you may have something there in your hypothesis. Makes you realize just how many little mysteries of our own history there are yet to solve.

[@Arcaryon]

I always enjoy the more visual depictions or images for this reason, while not free form bias or outright lies, they tend to be more precise in their depictions as visuals are easily translatable throughout time while even actual historic records can feel almost deprived of life by comparison. Knowing what a small skirmish actually does for instance, changes the weight of, what might just be a minor sentence in an normal record.

[@BryanDraffen]

My favorite youtube channel providing wonderful insight on a fairly obscure weapon.. and a more well-known one. I'm glad these things are in the realm of fantasy for me!

[@BryanDraffen]

Have your PPE handy for bloodborne pathagenes!

[@Julie_b33]

Had no idea swords even had percussion points, or any idea about percussion points as a concept in general. Love to watch your informative videos!!!

[@denise9876]

The background music was very well suited to the way choppy boy cut cleanly through the simulated head. It was a very dramatic hit.

[@eowynmoonlight]

This channel helps me a lot in my fantasy writing. Thanks 😍 Ps: Do you plan do medieval music instruments video? We have here weapons, clothing, food... I think the music instruments are missing here and they were on every feast. It will be interesting to know something about them from you :) Just idea.

[@ModernKnight]

nice idea.

[@stefanfranke5651]

That's definitely the right channel!

[@pipebombpete.6861]

Where can I find your wrightings?

[@Sharon-bo2se]

Very good point about museum collections! When I worked on digs, I usually wound up in middens because that was where we could find the detritus of life. Usually not fancy, like much of what ended up in museums. An area of controversy as to what really worked and, not surprisingly, how much was repurposed over and over again. Metals, textiles, stone, are time, resources, and labour intensive so you make an excellent argument. Kind of wondering what damage Choppy Boy would do to a pig carcass; the skull and brain matter head was shocking.

[@Cricket2731]

The folks at "Forged in Fire" would have fun recreating these weapons! And Doug Markaida's "It will KEAL!!!" (Keep Everyone ALive) would be perfect!

[@IlicSorrentino]

Good video, as always. And quite interesting reasoning about the tools we find in museums.

[@Alex-tn7pv]

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH" Ork, 41st millennium.

[@Usernametaken1]

There’s a silent moment of surprise after the impact that’s just wonderfully genuine. Choppy Boi is an absolute machine.

[@barbellsandbowhunting]

I cannot express how much I love these videos.

[@gravygraves5112]

I think you're on to something with the museums having stuff that was not used often idea. I thought about it in terms of rifles from the first and second world wars. After both conflicts, the standard service rifles were cheap and plentiful and people used them all the time and modified them to points of being unrecognizable and basically wore many of them out because they did the job of being a rifle well enough and were inexpensive compared to a rifle that was precision made with a custom stock and a well made scope. You'd take the inexpensive beater rifle out and use and abuse it all the time and your nice rifle would rarely come out of the safe and so it stays well preserved.

[@joofbing]

I think your suspicion of essentially survival bias of museum items makes sense. 👍🏻

[@llabronco]

Wouldn't it be great if somewhere, centuries ago, in their language at the time, soldiers also referred to the long single-edged blades as "choppy boys?" haha

[@KroM234]

Funny thing is they probably did, as this kind of habits in Mankind is probably as old as language and tools themselves.

[@willek1335]

@@KroM234 It remained me how cannons were often named with various names.

[@erichusayn]

Would be cool to see a video of your entire sword collection.

[@shireboundscribbles]

Sword number 1: "a more elegant weapon for a more civilised age" Sweord number 2: "HULK SMAAAASSH"

[@BladeFitAcademy]

"Choppy Boy" is exceedingly impressive.

[@hansolowe19]

I really like your conjecture about expensive pieces in museums, it would make me happy if it were true.

[@DJMarcO138]

Jason is the man! Another great video in the collection.

[@neilfarrow1535]

Excellent video and reasoned speculation. Thanks.

[@AutoFirePad]

You totally nailed it in 11:40. It was exactly what I was thinking. (I am a farm man and a blacksmith apprentice)

[@kevadu]

This looks like the perfect weapon for a zombie apocalypse

[@kyleburrow3351]

Jason, after literally chopping a facsimile human head in half: "Wear a helmet." Me: *taking notes*

[@erickent3557]

Very much like your reminder regarding potential "selection" forces at play regarding which items may or may not have survived into museums.

[@ModernKnight]

My fave T-shirts and other clothes get used up, worn out and thrown away. I have a jacket that I haven't worn in twenty years, that was expensive and is still in great condition!