GIANT SWORDS from history

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[@nuclearmedicineman6270]

So, you're wondering which is better, girth or length? Neither, it's not the size of the sword, it's the skill of the swordsman that counts.

[@arcturuszero9242]

Well done 👏

[@honkbrother8000]

A spear takes far less training to kill a armed man then a knife would.

[@Jake-ALGSxNBPL]

Trained swordsman vs civilian with a M4A1 assault rifle. Weapons do matter as well

[@Tathanic]

@@Jake-ALGSxNBPL assault rifles are terrible swords

[@h0m3st4r]

@@Jake-ALGSxNBPL That civilian probably doesn't know how to disengage the safety of that gun, let alone how to aim and shoot it without missing every shot, so while the weapon does matter, the wielder matters more.

[@DH-xw6jp]

At 11:32 Shad starts speaking in tongues and the weather turns foul, striking at his companion.

[@marvhollingworth663]

I had my doubts about their real location, that weather was more like what we get in England.

[@averageeughenjoyer6429]

Everyone is speaking in tongues

[@Blue10Blue10go]

This is an interesting dynamic. It's like something that you might expect to see in an anime.

[@CalebS1330]

If you haven't seen that bit yet and click on your comment to jump to that point it is especially funny how accurate it is.

[@booshmcfadden7638]

lol

[@Chris-ok4zo]

I'm a simple man. When I see the words "giant" and "swords", my attention has been got.

[@Lord_Humungus]

Overly large swords are rubbish

[@filmguy8966]

Wendigoon, is this your alt account?

[@Chris-ok4zo]

@@filmguy8966 No, but I am a fan of his.

[@Roboticus_Prime_RC]

Horse legs are very fragile. To the point that you usually have to put them down if they get injured. The nodachi was probably made long so you could cut at the legs while staying out of reach of the rider.

[@pkonneker]

And honestly probably chop/hack/bludgeon more than cut.

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

That's not exactly true, it's not that they are fragile as much as horses spend majority of their time, even most of their asleep standing up. So it's really hard to heal a horses leg. (tho especially with modern technology it can be done) they were used for that tho yes, and not necessarily just the legs, the larger handle is for a strong and powerful enough grip to even stab /slice through the horses body if needed

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

The longer more curved blade also helped the horses run right into the blade when held up.

[@4Curses]

Wouldn't a Naginata do that job way better? You have more reach in addition to a good amount of blade.

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

@@4Curses not really but I'm sure they were used as well tho.

[@RoulicisThe]

The "Montante" is more a "style" than just a sword. It's a swordstyle (Italian one, unsurprisingly) that was made specifically for use with Greatswords. The basic principle behing the style is to use the momentum of your sword to keep swinging continuously. The style was very popular amongst Italian mercenaries, since they were often employed as scouts, skirmishers or bodyguards and thus often had to fight outnumbered, and this "Montante" style is incredibly good when you're facing multiple opponents. At least that's what I've read about, but if someone is more versed on the subject than I am, I'm sure they'd come and correct me xD

[@A_Medieval_Shadow]

I mostly thought it's iberian (Spanish-Portugiese). The italian Spadone comes very close in style, but both has Treatizes from Swordmasters who were born in spain or later imigrated to Italy. Well, except for the native italian ones of course 😂 But yes, I made a video about the Montante a few weeks ago where I talk about the fightingstyle too. You are right about using the Momentum and the need of moving it continuosly

[@Insaneurpist]

And I enjoy your videos very much sir! I often use them to help me train with my zweihander (I made a couple of videos to track my progress and form) keep up the great work!!!! 👍

[@SoHanged]

My friend, the Montante is a weapon and a fighting style originating from the Iberian peninsula and more precisely from the kingdom of Spain, you are confusing yourself with the Italian Spadone.

[@A_Medieval_Shadow]

@@Insaneurpist thank you very much for these kind words😁

[@ANDELE3025]

>Italian one, unsurprisingly Much like the adjacent southern france and spanish variants, its mostly translations of how the german(ic) mercs kept backstabbing the locals after clearing bandits or escorting a priest (typically from another priest or church) and sweeping their far less backstab happy local mercenaries rather than a actual "italian" style of use. The actual italian style bits are mostly the sports/fencing stances for duels and adding in the existing grappling styles when unable to swing the weapon freely (much like french use as a shitty spear and spanish addition of the batting motions and emphasis of maintaining fully horizontal guards most likely from the same translation issues other manuals had when converting compound words).

[@BluegrassKnight]

I'd like to add a fact about horses for context involving anti-horse weapons, Shad you may not realize that while horses can move around on their own if they have an injured leg! However, if the horse is under a burden (such as a rider or knight), that will immediately lose balance and fall! As well it doesn't take much injury to a horse's leg to hobble them and make them all but useless, that's why sometimes you'll see plates on the front legs of a horse, since they were the most vulnerable during a charge!

[@franohmsford7548]

I don't know if setting for a charge would be a good idea against a horse if all you have is a sword no matter how big the sword. That's a lot of tonnage bearing down on ya and even for something significantly smaller like say a Lion people tended to use SPEARS for this!

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

@@franohmsford7548 people also hunted bears and mammoths with sharpened sticks. Not exactly a realistic argument. I get your point tho. But they factually were used not just for cutting the legs but even impaling horses /slicing up the body as it passes by.

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

@@franohmsford7548 that's also why the swords intended for this regardless of blade length have 2-3 foot long broader handles.

[@franohmsford7548]

@@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812 That would be a Pole-Arm. At 3 foot you're talking about a handle alone reaching from your foot to your groin!

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

@@franohmsford7548 well I mean my legs are definitely longer than 3 ft lol but I understand your point, and yes it would generally be closer to 2ft like a large sword. However there are many which instead of a 5- 6ft blade may have a 4ft blade with roughly a 3ft handle. And yes it obviously has relation to and shares concepts with a polearm but is still a sword. For anti calvary use

[@andreas_rr]

In german we have two names that fit even better than "Zweihänder" as that can really just mean any two-handed sword. First, theres *"Bidenhänder"* , which is just a older word meaning two-handed sword ("Bi" -> two), and second *"Gassenhauer"* , which literally means "alley-chopper", as those swords are (said to be) used to, well, chop alleys into the enemy ranks. Technically, *"Schlachtschwert"* (battle sword) exists too, but i've never really heard that being used. Maybe that's more of a warsword equivalent, but i can't tell.

[@tommeakin1732]

Huh I've only really heard Schlachtschwert used. But I may be biased as I think that's a word that at least has some use in it's meaning as it's not uselessly broad

[@ETHANR26]

haha germans have bi swords

[@A_Medieval_Shadow]

The word "zweihänder" referred mostly to Longswords and the contemporary word was "Schlachtschwert" (Warsword or Battlesword) which could be read in some sources. Then again, it gets confusing avout the right word over the lenght of time and usage after the 17th century so please take it with a grain of salt.

[@kingofhearts3185]

Gassenhauer is a pretty cool name too, tells you exactly what it's there to do.

[@saphcal]

im disappointed theres no Dreihänder

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

If you're not familiar with it, there is the "Grand Falchion" which was an anti-cavalry sword for attack horses. Also I believe the Nagamaki is the Japanese anti-cavalry sword. Anti-cavalry swords like that are are also one of my top picks for an adventurer who would be fighting various fantasy beasts.

[@LurkerDaBerzerker]

I don't see grand falchions being used for horses; their blades would be too thin for such a task. Falchions aren't the mix up of a sword and axe, as many seem to think. They are anti armour, cloth armour.

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

@@LurkerDaBerzerker They are anti-flesh as much as they are anti-cloth and the bare flesh of a horse would be easy to cut even with a thinner blade. Also not sure how a thin blade makes them no good for the job or how you concluded they are thin, or even if you found a thin one, why you think that means they're all thin? The proportions also give away its use. If it was for fighting against people, the blade would either be longer, or the grip would be shorter. The design is optimised for attacking larger beasts, not people. Japanese Nagamaki: Has an unusually long grip for its comparatively short and choppy blade. Its an anti-cavalry weapon designed to attack the horse. Chinese Zhanmadao: Has an unusually long grip for its comparatively short and choppy blade. Its an anti-cavalry weapon designed to attack the horse. European Grand Falchion: Has an unusually long grip for its comparatively short and choppy blade. But you think its somehow... NOT an anti-cavalry weapon and wouldn't be any good for attacking a horse.

[@LurkerDaBerzerker]

@@RainMakeR_Workshop First of all, I don't believe there are any surviving Grand Falchions? James Elmslie is the head honcho when it comes to European single edged blades, I suppose I could hit him up and ask if he knows for sure whether or not any Grand Falchions are anti cavalry, meant for attacking horses. And yes, falchions are anti flesh, if they cut cloth armours well then flesh is rather obvious, no?

[@1stCallipostle]

​@@LurkerDaBerzerkerAs you can literally see in the video you have commented under... A lot of Swords made for anti-horsie or anti-armor are not particularly thick. Steel>Bone in terms of durability, simple as. And thin blades can very, very much cut well (check the rapier tests)

[@brianhowe201]

Something like a swordstaff, with a long haft would be good. A nagamaki or nagintana is a good example. Really just a shortsword mounted on a 4-5 foot pole would be good.

[@Ethonra]

I was watching an Elden Ring Strength Only Challenge when this video popped up. Lol

[@jerm2332]

GinoMachino I take it?

[@Ethonra]

@@jerm2332 Got it in one. 👏

[@Ethonra]

@@jerm2332 You guessed correctly in one go. Impressive. 👏

[@X-atm092]

Gino is always a solid choice.

[@tylerrobbins8311]

Just a heads up on claymore confusion it just means greatsword/big sword. The really large claymore is actually from the lowlands and was more or less just the Scottish version of a warsword/greatsword. There is a lot of names for pretty much a polarm sized sword used during the 15th-17th centuries. The basket hilt broadsword was called claymore by the victorians, it also was common from the 15th-20th century. It's still the parad sword for Scottish regiments in the UK.

[@Robobagpiper]

But the large two-hander wouldn't have been called "claymore" in the Lowlands in period - because (for the most part) they spoke Scots there, not Gaelic. I have skimmed through several collections of 17th & 18th century Gaelic poetry and found no references to a two-hander at all, but that's not surprising because weapons are spoken of in more poetic terms like "na lannan liath" (the grey blades). I know of no contemporary documentation linking "an claidheamh mòr" or its anglicized form "claymore" to the two-hander. I would love to be proven wrong on this point. Furthermore, in the 18th century, "an claidheamh mòr" definitely refers to the basket-hilt broadsword in Gaelic usage, and in English/Scots as well (for example, see Adam Skirving's song "Johnny Cope": "In troth, quo Johnny, I got sic flegs / wi' their claymores and philabegs", referring to the Jacobites at Prestonpans). Victorians calling the basket-hilt "claymore" represents continuity from 18th century practice, not a break from it (and is a rare instance of Victorians getting history right!). It appears that "claymore" didn't start to refer to the two-hander until the 20th century. The "great" in "an cleadhamh mòr" appears to be in contrast to the small court sword, which was "an claidheamh beag", so the notion that it *must* be the two-hander is predicated on a misunderstanding of what it's "great" in comparison to.

[@johnstuartkeller5244]

Victorian classification lead to both stage combat classification and AD&D classification, and no end of confusion.

[@tylerrobbins8311]

@@Robobagpiper Intresting haven't heard that side if it. Will then I might stand corrected.

[@kagemushashien8394]

@@Robobagpiper "You'll make an excellent Sword-Brother in The Grey Blades Guild"

[@tommeakin1732]

From wiktionary: "Scottish Gaelic claidheamh (“sword”) + mòr (“great”)". Not to simplify too much, but that suggests highlands to me more than lowlands considering lowlands is more Scots, a brother (or child, I guess depending on how you look at it) tongue to English? As for later use, I would *guess* that the term may have been stuck on Scottish baskethilts as they stuck with baskehilt broadswords and backswords when the English did what the English do and drop their ways (the British baskethilt seemingly starting in England) so they can follow trends from abroad; with swords like the rapier, which morphs in the smallsword and spadroon, and then sabres. While the earlier baskethilts are hardly that much bigger or heavier than most of those, I suspect the smallsword and spadroon played a part in the baskethilt seeming "greater". So likely after 1700 if I had to guess

[@Robobagpiper]

When you compare sizes, you must always touch tips and make them go "ting!"

[@XtreeM_FaiL]

That sounds so... happy but in old English.

[@laterreurrouge1917]

A bunch of males in a steam bath: "Well .......the rules are the rules ..........*ting* !"

[@DRofYouTube]

Pause

[@KairuHakubi]

Videogame swords are like cartoon kids. They exaggerate the size to create the visual clarity, because the real life size variation is too small to follow easily with the eye especially in a simplified style or really zoomed out.

[@mohamed-fb9vt]

There's giant swords like zwiehander and Japanese nodachi

[@KairuHakubi]

@@mohamed-fb9vt feel like you missed the point of my post there, friend.

[@anderporascu5026]

A simpler answer, large swords are both compensation and people getting carried away in fantasy land. They figure in a non logical world why is everything else forced to follow logic. When it comes to real life though we get the bland unexciting version but learn over time to appreciate it's value.

[@ezrafaulk3076]

Not necessarily anymore; maybe early on, or in a certain artstyle, but you can make a realistically proportioned videogame weapon that's easy to follow now if you wanna.

[@KairuHakubi]

@@ezrafaulk3076 strong disagree, it's harder than ever. videogames are crammed with visual noise, it's harder than ever to see what's going on. and until we go back to a 'living cartoon/anime' gaming paradigm, that won't change.

[@wildwolf111]

It is 斩马刀. Direct translation to 斩 (cut) 马 (horse) 刀 (blade/sword/knife). Zhan4 ma3 dao1. Basically a sword to cut horse.

[@trathanstargazer6421]

M'lord! Their taking the weapons to Isengard!

[@jaffarebellion292]

Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him.

[@matohibiki]

Gard, gard, gard.

[@MattWinkler1]

Love the thought that our ancestors got just as hyped about the idea of "swords but bigger". There are some bearing swords / parade swords in Blade and Sorcery (a VR video game) - it seems pretty realistic in that they're absolutely unusable one hand, too clunky for precise thrusts, and too slow in general, but with massive reach and crowd control. Would be really fun to get the guys' thoughts on such physics-based medieval combat games.

[@Nerdnumberone]

It would be interesting to have bearing swords in a fantasy context, but then have a superhuman hero come along to use it for real. Alternatively, the sword of such a great hero might become a bearing sword after the hero passes away. Alternatively, some humanoid of great size, such as an ogre, might steal a bearing sword to use, giving an interesting story to how a brutish monster got his hands on a well-made sword.

[@GodsPoisonSamael]

The blades of the Koloss in Mistborn are massive slab like blades weilded by enormous blue skinned humanoids and in some cases by allomancers with assistance from their metal based powers.

[@4Curses]

Someone with troll/ogre/giant blood shouldn't have a problem with that size of sword

[@theblueshadow3537]

Kicking the greatsword into action allows you to deliver a strike quicker and with more momentum. It is also just easier especially if you have a heavier sword.

[@williansnobre]

Just like Beidou does

[@keatonisballin]

Nothing makes me click a video faster than Shad's giant sword. Heh.

[@Blurns]

I wasn't expecting to hear Shad mention ending someone rightly.

[@johnstuartkeller5244]

Had he mentioned ending someone leftly, though, that would have been gauche.

[@jamesfrankiewicz5768]

The Sephiroth sword falls in a lesser known category of sword known as a chōken (literally "tall sword"). Mostly, they were made as ceremonial objects for shrines, but their is one ryūha, Kage-ryū (unrelated to the more famous Yagyū Shinkage-ryū and its forerunners) that practices with unusually long swords up to about 4 feet in length, and they refer to their swords as chōken. Also, zanbatō (Japanese) = zhǎnmǎdāo (Mandarin). They were also present in Korea (probably more often where the Japanese encountered them), but I don't know the Korean term. Oh, and the "chunky boy" at the beginning, it's not that far removed from executioner swords of Baden-Württemberg (southwest Germany) and northwestern Switzerland near Lake Constance ("der Bodensee"). The real ones were a little bit shorter than your example, but also had a greatsword-length hilt, and were sometimes also flamberged. Edit to add: the greatswords of the same area have both straight varieties and flameberged varieties, but both types are about the same length: around a 4-foot or so blade with about a 1.5 foot hilt.

[@kuronoch.1441]

Fun fact: there is actually a guy who can effectively wield a sword as long as Sephiroth's. His sword is in Atsuta Shrine, and the sword is given the relatively lame name of Tarōtachi which roughly meant "primary (or prime option) tachi".

[@Matsudai]

Yep, Shad, you're right about the Nodachi. It's basically a Bearing sword. The one for anti calvary was the Nagamaki. It was as long but had a handle that took up half of the total length. *Edit spelling*

[@Zagskrag]

The first kanji in "nodachi" (野) heavily implies actual battlefield use. Or more specifically, use in fields, as opposed to tighter areas like forests or castles. Whether that use consists of anti-cavalry work or something else is a different matter though.

[@TONEDEAFSOUND]

i think both were used for multiple situations

[@mrpurple2306]

If 'Grutte Pier' can do it, so can i. Right?! XD

[@TheHornedKing]

Could you make a video about flamberge-blades?

[@jessedijksma3442]

When I saw the title I knew you'd mention Grutte Pier (Pier Gerlofs Donia) and his sword. He is a cool legend of the Frisians. You can read about him on Wikipedia

[@booshmcfadden7638]

Forged in Fire had contestants make his sword. You can find the video on YT.

[@Zylo1111]

Look at that wind blowing Nate's amazing hair around, standing next to those sword he could be on a cheesy medieval romance book cover.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

I hope they won't use those swords on me...I need a vacation! - Boromir of Shadiversity

[@shawn6860]

I will agree with Nate that Great swords, like staves would need to be sized to the person. So shorter or longer versions of greatswords might have been a thing.

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

There where many varying sizes. The Japanese greatswords for example, odachi and nodachi, range from just a 3ft blade all the way up to some over 17ft long have been found.

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

But the most commonly used nodachi had a 5 to 7foot blade and 2-3 foot handle .

[@kuronoch.1441]

​@@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812 Though the 7-foot is almost straddling the limit of usability, yes. Though Magara Naotaka (a samurai known for wielding excessively long odachi in the Sengoku period, mainly because he's just a tad shorter than the average NBA center) had been recorded to be wielding swords as long as 9 feet on the blade, the only recovered sword from his belongings measured 7'3" on the blade.

[@ThadDePadua9928]

21:55 Well, that's true. Originally serving as ceremonial swords but can be like an emergency weapon; if neccessary as this applies to anything. A representative weapon to show off. 23:01 Indeed. ;-;7 Edit: Yeah; like an emergency weapon, my bad. Grammar moment lol. Honestly I always see swords as a versatile and balanced weapon class which I like, ofc Spear is the meta. *Maybe a swordspear should do --*. o_o

[@ElkaPME]

tbf, you can't really use greatswords as backup weapons bc they're designed to be the primary weapon in mind, unless you meant the ceremonial weapons could be employed as emergency weapons

[@drzander3378]

The montante techniques described in the video for guarding another person are from de Figueyredo's 1651 treatise.

[@weonconpatasbreadcake6494]

The Bearing sword really fits for those uber-siced weapons in games

[@supersteve3548]

Woah, that’s a big sword

[@EpicJasonX9000]

I wound love to see Shad do a follow up video but based on Morgoth’s hammer. Which I would imagine would be massive and extremely heavy. But it would definitely be a fun topic of discussion. Especially if Shad was able to recreate his helmet with the Silmarills attached.

[@lonewolf4562]

Man I love your videos that are what got me into swords

[@george-by]

I'm just amazed how good the on-screen chemistry is. It's very difficult to make a youtube conversation feel natural and better than just one person talking.

[@din_djarin4607]

Love your content man! Keep it up!

[@yeeyw]

Man the algorithm really boosting you up this is the 8 times i got recommended on your videos

[@EksaStelmere]

Despite being an anti-cavalry sword, I suspect the nodachi was usually employed by someone on horseback. Imagine for a moment a unit of horsemen rushing against a cavalry flank and slicing at the riders and steeds from their offhand side.

[@axelk4921]

When I was in Istanbul in 2009 in the armory of the Topkapi Palace They exhibited an unadorned almost 3 meter (about 8.5 foot) long anti-cavalry sword, which according to the exhibition was used in a battle, but not to get the riders off the horses but to break the legs of the charging horses or with good luck cutting them off. Unfortunately, photography was forbidden in the armory and I couldn't find any pictures online there are only pictures of the decorated swords of the Ottoman fighters But there is an official picture with "Hungarian swords" from the Topkapi Palace Museum that have similar sizes

[@tylerrobbins8311]

Love the vid Shad seriously you and the boys keep it up.

[@xxTerraPrimexx]

Loved this one nice job

[@dmoneyonair]

i absolutely love when shad gets in petty arguments with nathan and tyranth

[@Regfife]

4:45 "Mmwaah, good night everybody!"

[@FirestreakRodimusPr]

Keep it going Shad, I learn something new every video.

[@MrClied]

KZbin gets called out and suddenly Shad is back on my feed. Pure coincidence I'm sure.

[@michaelhughes7718]

I got three recommendations today, odd that.

[@redman9527]

This channel is the best I could watch every day

[@yojimbo26]

The legend of Grutte Pier is just that, a legend. He was a Frisian equivalent of an English Fyrdman who resisted a Holland invasion together with a bunch of other farmers and local nobility and won at Harlingen where the Hollanders landed. The sword stored in the Frisian museum to this day is undoubtedly a bearing sword and highly likely not even his. But I guess it gave us Guts from Berserk and the legend that massive swords could cut down multiple people in one swing. So let us be thankful.

[@belugrb4798]

Tachi mainly was using from Horseback guys

[@gabriel_ito8247]

At 8:15 an interesting point, in Shinkage ryu, the Odachi/nodachi is used somewhat like a spear. Mainly because the founder was a spearman. Also, we wrap a bit of the blade to hold it a bit higher, to around a third of the overall length. Outside of this, there’s also plenty of horseback use of these blades.

[@steamworks3823]

I dont know what changed but i am getting your videos reccomended again. Its great!

[@lordfrostwind3151]

Giant swords will always hold a special place in my heart, driving my brother to insanity in Soul Calibur 2 as Nightmare with a sword that can hit half the screen. He deserved it for playing Link.

[@frantiseksima6340]

In Czech folklore there is a legend, or rather a story that describes that one of the Czech medieval kings (I can't remember his name off the top of my head but I'm sure it existed) decided which soldiers would go into battle or not, based on whether they were taller than the crossguard of his sword was from the ground. I think it was said somewhere that he himself was of great stature for medieval times, and the cross guard was humped at the height of the king's shoulders.

[@Zurkan0802]

Hey Shad, love the Show, keep it up and f the algorithm. ^^

[@fictionvstheuniverse5418]

the flamberge is my personal favorite sword of all time. so dang cool.

[@NGC-7635]

For a horse I think take a swing at the ankles while also attempting to duck any attacks from the horse rider.

[@sharkchaos5160]

Great video.

[@hannahvasby-burnie2477]

You guys read my mind, I was literally just daydreaming about the historical accuracy of giant swords (and wondering whether i could justify starting swordfighting lessons)!

[@Tootongtaoako]

I believe that Kojiro Sasaki was one of the few famous wielders of the nodachi. He was famed the lenght of his sword that when Musashi Miyamoto challenged him , Musashi carved out his boat's oar into a longer wooden sword and came late throwing Kojiro off. Musashi ended up killing Kojiro. By the way two characters of ff7 are based off Kojiro and Musashi: Cloud and Sephiroth.

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

Indeed. (Also his personal "oar" was really more of a gigantic axe handle than a boat oar or wooden sword)

[@jackbishop8610]

I forgot the full list of tbings Musashi did, he came waaaaassy late, at sunset, from the water with the sun on his back.

[@TONEDEAFSOUND]

magara naoitoka takes that title he used a nodachi that was 7feet long in the blade and fought against oda nobunaga

[@vast634]

A sword that long looks like it was primarily ment to use on horseback.

[@bigolbearthejammydodger6527]

the kick off - is common is some staff technique - european and oriental. its genuinely effective.

[@marting1056]

on the horse topic: we allways tried to aim at the head, the horse will step back shy away to avoid the blade/speerhead, if you try to step it in the chest it will often rise on the backhoof, come down and you may be under it

[@devinm.6149]

Going for the horse's legs makes the most sense to me, if you're striking the horse, since they're possibly the thinnest parts of the horse.

[@danielbarnhizer676]

The bearing sword of King Jan Sobieski III presented after the battle of Vienna and housed in Krakow is stunning.

[@jasemac5391]

Love your channel Shad, that’s all 👍🏻🇦🇺

[@kevinirwin6422]

You only need to cut the tendons in the back of the horses' leg.

[@saphcal]

Sephiroth's Masamune has been really exaggerated overtime. In official artwork for the original PS1 game his sword was only a bit longer than he was tall and iirc his official height was 6'1".

[@saphcal]

@@Alcogod yeah no hes never been that tall, but his sword has varied in length wildly between games.

[@saphcal]

@@Alcogod yes. cloud is just not very tall.

[@melvinbrumski1446]

Who’s gonna volunteer to swing a giant sword while riding a motorcycle for the real final fantasy experience?

[@walkir2662]

German RPG system TDE has a sword so big we always called it a Dreihänder (three-hander), yeah. And a soldier with a Zweihänder was literally called a Doppelsöldner (double mercenary) due to the extra pay (which is called *Sold*, where Söldner comes from)

[@jamesklinicke9384]

Great job honestly comparing these giant blades.

[@kristianferencik8685]

Whoever is playing chicken with a fully charging horse is going to become a pancake, whether the horse dies or not.

[@blizzardstormer5076]

super cool, i have a weapons review request if you do those?

[@matthewward6132]

You can get the overboard sized swords in D&D by having someone able to wield weapons a size category above their real size. Goliaths are a perfect example.

[@nicholasschrader7179]

"It's a thick boy and a chopper!"

[@Alkaris]

I'm sure you can probably ethically source horse bones from somewhere to test the theory on it's cutting ability on horse bones, take like a big bone piece like a Femur or something, make a mold out of it, then encase that bone mold into ballistic gel with fake blood pocketed between the layers of the ballistic gel.

[@TheRezro]

Regard big sword trope. That is Japanese thing! Cavalry was used in really limited scale in Japan due to terrain. But when it could be utilized, it basically become a super weapon. To counter it series of anti-cavalry swords and later large katana was designed. Later it was replaced odachi what was ritualistic weapon stored in shrines. And in a sense preserving/showcasing skills of the smith, then actually being useful in combat. European Greats swords weren't actually as big and heavy as people think. And generally they were used to deal with enemies armed with pikes. The actual big swords were usually used by executioners. As decapitating noble with axe was seen as disrespectful. But swords usually were too light to cut off head effectively. So special swords were designed for this job.

[@Benjamin-nf2ir]

I love you guys

[@Your_Degenerate]

One of the aspects of Castlevania Symphony of the Night I enjoyed was the wealth of weapons you could collect throughout the game. Many mentioned in this video are available to cut down the undead on your path to Dracula.

[@GGBlaster]

3:05 I heard “Sword of War” and for no logical reason immediately thought about some grumpy old Spartan sword living in a cabin in Midgard.

[@josuesepulveda6850]

The Bearing sword category should be a thing in fantasy...great idea Shad.

[@seaside3218]

8:52 you don’t have to chop of the leg, you just have to damage it sufficiently enough to disrupt or incapacitate the horses ability to walk or run, which considering the horse is carrying a person who is most likely wearing heavy armor, wouldn’t be that difficult when they’re running straight into a sharpened metal weapon.

[@RiverRockXIII]

I need more giant swords in my life. Im training my body back up to using my heavy ass hammers again

[@lloydlicht1302]

The nodachi (odachi) were actually used against calvary, or even on horseback. They're big swords with long tsuka. I'd like to see it in use on horseback...it's a big boy. Big wide swings and hard chops, good for taking down horses.

[@MrMiguella]

I've seen art work showing the nodachi being used to attack riders rather than the horse itself.

[@kuronoch.1441]

In one particular artwork, there was even a man swinging the nodachi from horseback.

[@meganfoster8838]

Hey, Shad, do you have a video (or could you make one) explaining all the different types of sword (bastard, great, etc.)?

[@JoeEmb776]

"horse bones are THICK!" Out of context just sounds psychotic to know that off the top of your head

[@mikeforester3963]

15:00 Also known historically as "Bidenhänder" (from German "beide Hände", both hands) or colloquially named "Gassenhauer" (alley hewer) because vanguard troops quite literally chopped an alley, a breach, into enemy formations with these behemoths.

[@brettevans278]

Im with Shad. I grew up with horses, and the "side-step, chop legs" would be my go-to.

[@Seriously_Unserious]

I'm working on a medieval fantasy where I have a gnollish character who gets a longword which he uses more as a arming or hand and half sword as he's 7'2 and a fair bit stronger then an average human.

[@jordantrottier3882]

Gentlemen. Standing in the middle of a field holding edged lighting rods while a lighting storm is blowing in...perhaps not the best idea you guys have had. Great video though as always. Stay safe.

[@TheUnseenGate]

9:51 Long Boy and Thick Boy!😂 This reminds me of Sir Alonne and Fume Knight who pretty much uses the two weapon models displayed here and they’re from the same DLC 😂 Also 11:40 “Zhan Ma Dao” or “斩马刀” which just translates to 斩=Cut, 马=horse, 刀=single edged blade ❤

[@LordPhoton-rl4ot]

Claymore is also a good anime (other than the ending) and an even better manga :D

[@xaviersavierhardt3331]

Didn't even get this in my notifications, till now.

[@stevenread1676]

When you need a Derrick to get a sword off the floor, you know it's a little too big 🤣

[@franohmsford7548]

In D&D Hobgoblins+Flinds {average height 6'6"}, Bugbears {7'}, Gnolls {7'6"} and even Verbeeg {8'6" to 10'} would be candidates for Practical Bearing Sword use over a more standard Great Sword. Storm Giants might be found with Bearing Swords as well but to them it's just a Dagger :) Orcs like men and Sylvan Elves average 5'9" to 6' but a larger Orog {6'6"} or especially large Half-Orc might be a candidate as of course would be men and Sylvan Elves in the 6'6" range. Ogres might prefer a tree branch or rock to throw but Half-Ogres {8'6"} and Ogrillons {6'6"} would be candidates for the Bearing Sword too.

[@a_fuckin_spacemarine7514]

The biggest sword on display in museums is only 6kg. A strong, well conditioned human is more than capable of wielding that in combat, especially if its balanced correctly.

[@lorddestructive]

well not really. the heaviest one i know is the odachi norimitsu that weights 14.5kg. its just insane

[@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812]

@@lorddestructive to be fair there are heavier swords, but they are much shorter training swords, maybe 3-4 ft in overall length. Also the extremely long ones very well may have been training swords too, similar to the long pole in kung fu. (A 20+ foot staff used for training)

[@kuronoch.1441]

​​@@willtherealrustyschacklefo3812 Mind you, the longest sword documented sword to be used in battle (that I know exist) had a 7'2" blade and weighs 7 kg. It was wielded by a giant of a man... 6'11" tall. (Yeah he's short compared to most NBA centers.) But then again, that was a Japanese guy, so he towers compared to a normal Japanese person at the time.

[@booshmcfadden7638]

@@kuronoch.1441 Grute Pierre (from Denmark, I think) had a 7' sword that weighed ~7kg or 15lbs.

[@kuronoch.1441]

​@@booshmcfadden7638Yeah, and the one I am referring to is named Magara Naotaka, a samurai in the service of the Asakura clan in the Sengoku period.

[@billbo3590]

Cool looking sword.

[@bigfuzzy84]

So in the consideration, the true advantage is the versatility of the weapon. Of course skill of the wielder is important but that's not the issue here. In any weapon, physics is key. Speed times mass equals force. If you could handle a large or heavy sword quickly and efficiently, it would smash though the defenses of a smaller sword, but it would take a larger person who already has an advantage

[@elenarfatespeaker]

As far as Shad's comments about huge swords being in fantasy, and his comments about Elden Ring: In FromSoftware;s games, there are Greatswords as a category, but also Ultra Greatswords. I think Shad may have missed this detail. In a Dark Souls or Elden Ring, those swords that are being swung as if the player can barely manage, are often Ultra Greatswords. They even often have excessive in-game weights, triple or more the weight of a sword of more typical size would be. In other words, this is already being done by some. Shad may not have noticed, because they aren't being referred to as Bearing Swords: of course, as soon as you use it to successfully attack someone, it is, by definition, no longer a Bearing Sword, but an Arming Sword (at least if you're speaking English as opposed to Category Tyrant).

[@simon-pierrelussier2775]

8:54 "It's so bad at cutting, you're not going to get through a leg" As you said, you don't need to get through a leg to injure a horse, but you also don't need a big swing to injure it, it's already coming at you at 30-50 km/h during a charge. The most important thing is that you're out of reach of the cavalryman while able to cut the horse.

[@stevenmitchell6347]

Long or thick? SHE says thickness is MOST important! 😂

[@Cr0wsMurd3r]

Hah, as a ChaseTheBro follower I really found it fun that you seemed to use footage from his videos for the Elden Ring example. And I really wish FromSoft would hire some HEMA people for the western style swords, the ineptitude with which some bigger swords are used really hurt my soul.

[@robinderoos1166]

And dont forget that a giant with bearing sword is great at scaring the enemy