Rich Morris' Comics - YAFGC and The ComixBlog

I understand that a lot of the forum goers are somehow experts on historical re-enactment so i wanted to ask for recommendations: i need to learn about medieval swordmanship. I understand there is a lot of misinformation going around, so is there a good, perhaps a definitive book on how swords (or/and bows) were used and cared for?

Thank you in advance. I promise not to hack anyone based on the info you give me .

Umm... could you be a bit more specific as to what area of the Medieval world you wanted to study?
For example, the Germanic sword styles are quite different from what the Turks were doing, and both are different from what the Scottish Highlanders were doing during that time...

Also, were you (or perhaps a character for your game?) thinking of using just one sword, or adding something else (shield, dagger, second sword, etc.)?

A hero in a fantasy novel actually. I want to portray a guy with a greatsword, but i understand that in real life even the strongest of warriors could not swing a greatsword for long or even carry one around without a horse.
Battle scenes will not be the focal point but i cannot write a warrior without knowing some basic stuff and i would rather get them from a book than the internet.

Basically, a zweihander was used almost exclusively for beating down pike hedges. People then figured out it was easier to stand back with archers or crossbowmen and shred the pikes that way.

Then gunpowder made the scene.

That's the story in a nutshell.

It might be best to start with Burton's Book of the Sword, if you haven't already.

I hadn't heard of it to be honest, but I am going to take a look at it now. What do i follow it up with?

Hmm. Tricky. Many of my books are library discards, which means you not only need to find a English language book, but an older English language book.

I'll take a look, but don't hold your breath--I probably can't help beyond the Burton.

Well, except to point you towards the ARMA website, since last I checked they had a bibliography-type section.

That will do, thanks .

For an introduction to swordfighting, I find video more approachable than the ancient texts.
So, here are some videos of a Germanic school of 2-handed sword fighting.
Use google translate if necessary.

You also might want to consider other swords for your character.

Viel Spaß

That is way better than my books. The most recent of which, besides the Burton reprint (Dover), is 1946.

Thank you guys. These are going to be really useful -as long as i do not get lost in the text instead of writing. You know, for "research".

I suppose I should put some of the titles up, since I have no idea if any of these have been reprinted. It's been a long time since I read these, so i honestly don't remember how good or bad they were.

Oakeshott's Archaeology of Weapons remains pretty much the top of the heap. I know this one will be reprinted again and again. Heck, it might be an e-book.

Alfred Hutton has a few books on fencing and technique. I found them a bit dry, if memory serves.

There's also Ralph Payne-Gallwey's Book of the Crossbow, which I got for the siege engines.

And there's a couple books on castles by Viollet-le-Duc, which I really need to find a better translation on.