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The Sword And The Spear – Tools Of Another Age

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.

Of all melee weapons, the sword is the one that has captured the hearts of the public. The weapon of duelists even in places that preferred other weapons for way, there is something inherently special about the sword that makes it a staple of popular culture.

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.

The sword isn’t the only melee weapon to talk about though. The spear in particular needs special mention; a weapon regarded by many to be superior to the sword in every way except for being easy to carry. There is an old saying: To defeat a spear user takes three times the skill it would take to defeat a similarly talented sword wielder.

For this reason, polearms have served as the primary weapons of the vast majority of armies since the dawn of human history. The relative ease of making simple spears, combined with their high efficiency, makes it hard to find a weapon more suitable for the armies of ages 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.

One key use of bludgeons is as a tool to defeat heavily armored foes. An enemy that a sword can barely scratch can be destroyed completely by a mace or warhammer. There were even several time periods where, because of how common heavy armor was, maces and flails overshadowed swords as knights preferred sidearms.

Finally, lets give a bit of recognition to shields. While not strictly speaking a weapon, a shield is almost unmatched for value in a melee fight, even if they aren’t particularly popular in modern movies and culture.

A well constructed shield can deflect almost any attack, and in the hands of a skilled fighter can even be used offensively to great effect. It may be popular in movies to wield two swords, but I’ll take a shield over a second weapon any day.

That’s all I have to say about melee weapons today. I hope you’ve learned a little about the weapons that defined our history for so many years, and that you give them at least a little respect even in a world with guns and bombs.

If you still want to read more about ancient weapons, you should to read my article about Roman Swords and other weapons of the Roman Legions. Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.