Though today we live in an age where such weapons are considered by many to simply be the pathetic tools of a technologically inferior age, there is something noble about swords and other melee weapons of days gone by.
The sword in particular has a special place in the hearts of many. Perhaps it is because it is the preferred weapon of duelists, and we find something special about the idea of two men facing off, skill against skill.
The role of the sword as a duelists weapon has been cemented in the public perception…and it is for this reason that even in modern movies, it is not at all a surprise when the hero and the villain end everything with a sword fight, forgoing pistols and revolvers and opting instead for rapiers and katana.
But let’s not ignore the other weapons of ages past. For example, the spear. Despite the somewhat weaker popularity of it in pop culture, it is a fact that a spear is almost universally considered superior to the sword; there is a saying that a swordsman most possess three times the skill of a man wielding a polearm to best him.
It is for this reason that polearms, from lances to pikes to glaives, have almost always served as the primary weapon of armies everywhere. Add in the relative ease of producing a spear, and it is no wonder they were so popular with the armies of days past.
The last of the popular melee weapon types is bludgeoning and bashing weapons. Maces, morningstars, flails, even some bladed weapons such as axes fall into this territory. While these weapons have their own flaws, their simple efficiency means they cannot be ignored.
In particular, a bludgeoning weapon can have devastating effect when employed against armored foes. It is for this reason that at several points in history, western knights preferred maces and flails over swords as their sidearms.
Though not really a weapon, I feel this article would be incomplete without a mention of shields. Despite being even less popular in popular culture than other melee fighting weapons, the fact remains that the man with a shield is often the last man standing.
A skilled fighter can defeat almost any attack with a good shield in his hands, and the best can use them as a brutally effective bludgeon. Dual-wielding may be popular in movies and games, but I’ll take a shield for my off hand any day in real life.
I hope you’ve learned a little about melee weapons. While they are hardly practical in a world where gunpowder and more rule an ever more technological battlefield, we can’t forget the weapons that defined the world for centuries.
If you still want to learn more about ancient arms, you should to read my article about Roman Swords and other arms of the Roman Legions.
