Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Hand and Wagner Sword and Shield

    Uploaded by

    KingKLR
    18 views15 pages

    Original Title

    Hand_and_Wagner_Sword_and_Shield

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    18 views15 pages

    Hand and Wagner Sword and Shield

    Uploaded by

    KingKLR

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 15
    HAND & WAGNER: TALHOFFER'S SWORD AND DU. FOR RECONS ELLING SHIELD AS A MODEL STRUCTING EARLY MEDIEVAL SWORD AND SHIELD TECHNIQUES By Stephen Hand a snd Paul Wagner gure 1 Tao at fens ae shies a tl humdi hs sod e figure the Oe Word Introduction ‘the last decade, great advances have been made inthe understanding of historical western weapon play. The systematic study of historical fencing, imanuals has revealed the correct method of using 2 large number of historical European weapons. A hotable exception has been what is seen by many 2s ‘he quintessential medieval combination, sword and large shield In fact, the combination of sword and shield became lisinclly uncommon wth the widespread introduction ‘fplate armour inthe 14centry.Issasourcecf some itriation that the fal in popularity of sword ad shiek! Corresponds withthe rive so popularity ofthe fencing manual, our prime source forthe reconstruction of Iisorial western scordsmanship. ‘Sword and shied is the single most popular weapon Combination amongst thousands of Early and High Medieval re-enactors? These people often dismiss historical swordsmanship as being irrelevant to their chosen weapon or historical period. A credible reconstruction of Early Medieval sword and shield technique would goa long way towards dispelling this Scepticism amongst re-enactors This could have many benefits for students of historical swordsmanship, not Teast of which would be the possibility of making the mnoxie world's most visible manifestation of historical Swordstnanshipa lot more historically accurate, er ate 128 te Outside Ward. Theft gd git hand No surviving manual tells us how a Viking or & Crusader used his shield, We do, however, have a Tange boy of iconic evidence, Unfortunatly, we have inowey of telling how accurate individual iistrations ‘Of medieval combat ar, Inthe absence of frm kdeaof how shiclds were actualy used we ean pick up a few basic stances, but realy, no more, What wened to put thisiconic evidence nto perspective isa fencing treatise fnswordand lageshield. But no treatise orfechtbuch {kiss for sword and shield or does it? ‘One ofthe features of many German fcthcher of the {Ue and 15" centuries ia section on judicial dueling. German judicial duels were fought with a range of ‘weapons, often alongside enormous spiked shields “The unusual nature ofthese shields has prevented historical fencing researchers from seeing the obvious That that these fubucher contain almost ou detailed commentary on fighting wth werd and large Shield “The mos detailed section on swordand dueling shield is found in Talhotfer’s Fechibuch of 1467. The section fon sword and shield includes 23 plates. These plates Sand these accompanying textform the core ofthis paper ‘TaloffersFeehtbuch wasrecently translated by Mark Rector’ and. Mark's translation is used throughout ‘The illustrations from this elton are used by kind permission of Lionel Leventhal. te publisher. SPADA 1 72 (Once Talhofers techniques have been analyzed, they will be compared with other evidence for European sword and shield use, notably the iconic record A Note on Shields, Targets and Buetlers ‘Although no surviving manuals exist telling us hose medieval shields were used, the same can not be said of the buckler, a small shield held by a single handle. MS 1357, currently the oldest known fencing treatise describes combat with sword and buckle. It Js the most complete work on the sword and buckler. The authors have worked extensively with L33 and consider it to contain a super’ and effective system. However, they also consider the large shields of the Early and High Middle Ages to be a distinct weapon. ‘Anyane who does not believe this should attempt the techniques described in MS 133 with a large round, kite or heater shield. There are many techniques that are simply physically impossible with larger shields ‘The central tenet of 133 (thatthe arm must be covered in attack) is still valid when using larger shields However, covering the sword arm with the buckler exposes the rest ofthe body, something whichis not truewith arge shields, There aresome instances where techniques and principles drawn from 33 may provide possiblesolutions to situations noteovered by Talhoffer (for example, an attack to the lower legs ~ not really an issue with Talhoffer’s duelling shields), However, such speculation is beyond the scope ofthis paper, and in general 133 Is not seen as a valid model for large shield use ‘The Target, a medium sized shield held on the arm by straps (enarmes), shares (inthe opinion af the authors) some of the characteristics ofthe buckler and some of the large shield. Therefore examples of target use from fencing manuals and! the conic record willbe includes Jn the section comparing Talhotfer’s shield se with that shoven in other sources Moving to large shields, the closest shields in terms of form and function to those shown in Talhotfer are undoubtedly the large oval centre grip shields uses i ancient times (se Figures 28 and 28). Not quite so closely related, but more mportantbecause ofthe many thousands of Eaely Medieval Re-enactors around the ‘world are the large round centre grip shields used by Vikings and Saxons. This isthe style of shield used by the authors in the photo reconstructions at Figures 5 to 14. Shields held onto the arm with straps, such fs the kite and large heater shields of the 11°-15 ‘centuries are es lonely relate to Talhoffers slelds The straps lint how frewy the shield can be road, though as shown below, thereisconsiderableevidene of strapped shiolds being used according to the same basic principles as Talhotfer's dueling shields, even SWORD & SHIELD if the mechanics of individual techniques must of necessity be somewhat different. The Teclninues Allof the techniques described by Talhofferfor use with sword and dueling shield are of course practical with that weapon combination, However, the purpose ofthis paperisnottoreconsructTalhofe'sstyleofswordand ‘dueling shield (in which few people are interested) but rather fousethatasa kasi for reconstructing Early and High Medieval sword and large shield (in which many peopleare interested). Therefore, only thoee techniques found to be practical in fencing with Early and High Medieval swords and shields” will be discussed Notably, those techniques shown in plates 140, 149 and 150° would only be possible with a shield with an ‘elongate hanale that can be held in both hands, Other techniques which re-use already established principles Ihave also been omitted (For example the technique in plate 148 where the shield has been discarded by one fencer. The concept thatthe shield canbe discarded in 'mid-fight as already been established in plates 136 and 137, which wil be discussed below). should also be noted that Talhoffer's techniques are for single combat, specifically judicial duels. Some of them would inthe author opinion, be almestsuiccal ina shield wall or equivalent. This willbe discussed further inthe section below, comparing Talhotfer with the conicevidence for Early and High Medieval sword and shield combat. Stances Talhotfer illustrates two basic shield wards which are combined with two different sword positions. He does not name any ofthese Wards. Unlike sword and bbucker, the sword and shield are moved independently and hence the most useful system of nomenclature seems to be one which treats the sword and shield separately. “Thefirst of Tlhoffer sthield wards hasbuen christened the Outside Ward ater Zachary Wylde ouside guard forbacksword, broads word andl quarterstff. The ward i so-named because it protects the outside line, In fencing the outside in isthe line outside the weapon, to the right of the weapon for aright hander and to the left ofthe weapon fora eft hander, A the shield is held by arighthancler in the lefthand, the ouside line is tothe left ofthe shield and the Outside Wad is that ward which protets against attacks coming from the left Talhoffer' frst sword and shield plate shows both ‘combatants in the Outside Ward. The shies are held tothe ftof the body angled inwards at approximately 230 degree angle and are engages, The engagement (ofthe shields closes each fencer soutside line, Neither SPADA 73 HAND & WAGNER fencer may strike the ther from this pestion without moving his shield. Hf the lds ae not bold engaged, the inside line ls vulnerable. Taboffer illustrates two ‘examples of a fencer exploiting the faulty Outside Ward of his opponent, and these will be discussed teow Note thatthe legs ofboth fencers are outside the line of theirshields,Thismay be to brace the shield fang prevent it being rotated by pressure against the tengagement, However the legs ofthe combatants in “Talhofter's Plate 104, the fist plate ofthe section oo shield and wooden mace, ae inside the line of theie Shields (as the lg of the man in figure 2) so the “igificancecf these eg positions is uncertain and may indeed be irelovant when using shields which do not fextend t the ground), “The second shield ward shown by Talhotfer has been named the Inside Ward, again after the ward used by Zachary Wylde for backsword, broadsword and {quorterstalP, The Inside Ward unsurprisingly protects the inside ine, recalling that for aight handed person thie the line to the right oftheir shield. This ward is shown in igure. Atno point does Talhoffer illustrate shields engaged in this ward, but he does describe Several instances where a failure to engage leaves one fencer open to an attack by his opponent ‘The two sword wards shown by Talhoffer are single handed versions of the Ocis (Ox) and Pug (Plow) ‘wards of longsword pla: These are shoven in figore 4 respectively by the fencers on the right and let Ih experimentation by the authors with the shorter, broader swords used in the Early Medieval period it ‘vas found that more cutting orientated wards were also uvelul, These included rom Dao (Silver's Open Ward and Marozzo's Guardia Alta)” Neveshut (Fiore ‘de Liber’sPosta di Coda lunga distesa),” Zornhub™as \wellas wards only seen in Eaely Meceval iconography. ‘These other wards will be discussed in more detail below: ig, 2 Tote ate 130 The sr oh is i shit Inte Nar. Thee on he igh af ad at ering his ince ion bing sak Basic Principles (Opening and Closing the ln of tack Because the twoshveld wards each covera ine of attack, combat with Talholfer's duelling shields revolves round closing a line of tack while opening a line Of attack ogainet the opposing fencer Thiss achieved by changing the shield trom one ward tothe other From the basic engaged stance shown inigure ether fencer can step forward, turning their shield from the ig. “alhster ite 131 ‘Outsieto the Inside Wards, Ascanbeseen nthe figure below the rotation of the shield covers the inside line ofthe alackng fencer. As the shield has boen rotated, the opposing sword and shield are bound out tothe attcker' righ leaving the defender completely open iis inside linen this instance the attacker thrusts, ‘Dut rovers (cuts from lft oright)-are also eflectve tb Father Pate 188 [A similar attack using et is shown in Plate 14. The attacker has turned his shield into the Inside Ward, ‘but has notatempted 1 bind his opponent's sword or shied. stead hehascut downwards with an Obethaw {a cut from above) onto his opponent’ wrist, cutting of his hands SPADA 1 74 SWORD & SHIELD. ‘This rotation ofthe shield from the outside to the inside Tine can also be used as a defence, although Talhotfer docs not useitin that way althoughsee the discussion of Di Grassi’s sword and round target below). Ifa fencer refuses to engage shields inthe Outside Ward hhe may attack tothe unprotected right side, oF inside line. The defender charges his shield into the Inside Ward, binding the attacker’ sword away to his right and closing his inside lin, Simultaneously he may attack tothe head or right side ofthe body with a cut Sr thrust, Against trained opponent the opportunity touse this dofence should not arise (whieh s probably ‘why Talhofier doesn't mention i), but against those unfamiliar with Talhoffer'ssyle its extremely eecive and therefore worthy of mention ‘i et a ig, Pa is One Rar Sten & Figds Stephen attecks Peal’ epost aside Fig 1 Pau rene by Wind counterdrstn. Fig IL Fro he pston igure Ped ats Inde Ward acum Sipe’ expe ont SPADA 75 HAND & WAGNER. Fig. 12: Seo ges hs eld to Ouse Wr and ots fc kof e's. Fig. 1 Te authors re not engaged Tig. He Pal attacks by changing his ward tad opening Stephen's outside ie Talhofter does not mention commencing the inside Ward but i isan obvious extrapolation from the techniques he does show (also soe the discussion of Di Grass sword and target below). fone combatant isin the Inside Ward and the other isin the Outside Ward, several possiblitios arise, Ether combatant ean allow his opponent to threaten his exposed line, drawing an attack totha ine. Hemay then poss forward, changing his shield into the opposite ward, vigorously stiking his opponents shield aside and attacking with the sword t the exposed side or back lfboth comatantsarein Inside War they may engage shields, though vith the shields across the body, this brings them closer together than an engagement in Fig. 15: Talhoter Plate 133 (Outside Ward. Is therefore more likely that iF both combatants arin ide Ward they will noteengaged Justas attacks and defences can be made from Outside ‘Ward by changingthe ward and opening the inside ine to attack, so from Inside Ward attacks and defences can be made by changing the ward and opening the ‘ulsie line to attack, Tathotfer doespot show the Inside Ward being used asa ‘ward toliein twould appear that avoid mismatched "wards and the absence of shield engagement, which results when both combatants are in aside War Outside Ward was the standard ward. Ithis is true then we would expect to sce the Outside Wand depicted farmareoftenin the iconic record. Asstated below this ‘indeed what found ‘Techniques to avoid being shield bound (Once theshield has been rotated intothe apposite ward and the opposing sword and shield has been bound, the fights effectively over. Therefore countersexit prevent this fom happening An attack made by rotating the shield into th Inside War ion fective ican close the ise line by binding the defenders sword and shield across to 8 right. Therefore Talholfrs responoe to such an attack istodraw backsword and shel so that they cannot be i Fig, 16: Talhoffer Plate 146 ‘The fencer onthe e's inside fine and ‘he fencer onthe rights outside ine sare bod pen and he ase attack is succesful SPADA L 76 bound. As the attacker turns his shield into the Inside Ward, he exposes his left side as shoven in figure 15. The caption to this pate reads, “The combatant on the right tris to thrast behind his ‘opponent'sshild. The combatant on the let drawshis shield back, avoiding the attack, andl counters with 2 thrust from below." ‘Talhoffershowsa response tothisdefence, Theatacker «an throw his shield atthe defender once he realises that his shield bind has been unsuccessful, Talhofer wits, “Both combatants stand unprotected, The combatant fn the right can throw his shield at his opponent to force him aveay"" So, rather than relying on out thrusting your opponent snclose distance you can use your now useless shield ssamisile, Inthe nextplate Talofler shows the result ‘oF the shield throw, “The combatant on the right throws his sis at his ‘opponent and shoveshim away; forcing him o crouch, 50 he may’ hew him upon his ead and back Lethe attacker uts to theinside line while changing his shield tothe Inside Ward, the defender can respond by simultaneously changing his shield into the Inside Ward. The defender must crave his shield back as he changes his ward, to avoid his shield being bound by thatof the attacker, The attacker's shield pivotsaround, meeting no resisance while the defender shield blocks theattacker’s cu. There will nove bea gap between the ‘nyo shields. the defender can now cut down into this gap with an Oberhau tothe attacker's head, Talhoffer The combatant on the eft cuts closely between the ‘wo shield, striking his opponent onthe head. tried tocut crosswise and am undone!" Fig. 17: Talhotfer Plate 141 SWORD & SHIELD With shields smallor shan Tothoffer's the defender can simply cut over the shields not even waiting unt the _attacker has completed his ation. “Another defence agains! the shield bind isto interpose the sword between the shields, to prevent the shield being pivoted. Talhofer’s caption to the plate below reads, “The combatant on the lft i going to pivot his shield and cut at his opponent. However, the combatant on the right interposes his sword between the shields and stands just as serongiy."® Fig 18: Talhoer Plate 129, “The hey to this technique to brace the sword with the ede of the shield. The effect ofthis is to upset the balance ofthe atacker giving the initiative ta the defender. Te was stated above that a shield bind is successful, the fight i effectively over The exception to this san itoresting technique that seems to run contrary tthe logical use ofthe shield t involves throwing the shield away’ Ifthe shields bound, butnet the sword then the defender can obviously parry dhe incoming atack with hs sword. If the defenders shield is stil bound then itis of nouse to him, sole may simply discard it This frooshislefthand to pl aside theatlackers shield The dofender ther ripostes, striking the attacker. A Fig. 19: Talholfer Pate 136, “The figure on the tet has warded his cpponent’s Worst, discerded his shield ‘and sping his opponent’ shld aside fn proportion for uf he a SPADA L 77 HAND & WAGNER: However, there is a twist to this technique. As the ‘combatant on the right fels his shield being gripped, hhecan discard itand use his eft hand ogeip the elbow ‘of te combatant on te et Talhotfer writes, “This, however, is how the fight ends: the ‘combatant on the right drops his shield and fraps his opporent bythe elbow turns him Sov and thrusts him through the neck." (Obviously while a centre gripped shied can be easily iscarded, this would not be an option available to Someone using strapped shield Additional Attacking Techniques thor inetades two ational attacking techniques tobe used when bath combatants aren Outside Ward. The first must be done when the shields fare not engaged, The attacker passes forward s if he intends to attack directly into the shield He then hicks the bottom left corner of the defenders shield causing itto pivot arounctinto the Inside Ward. The attacker an ‘henthrust the defender though the boy. The counter tothissto simply drawback the shield so thatthe kick misses and eu the attacker’ leg of Fig. 20 —Talhotter S Plait q If one combatant holds his shield too open while “engaging in the outside ward, his opponent can thrust thio witha Punta Riversa (9 thrst fom the le) ‘The attacker brings his sword to the left of his own. shield and thrusts between his opponent’ sword and shield, Because the defender’s arm is not extended, {he attacker can gain opposition against his blade, the distance betwoen the target and the defenders blade being very sm Summary of Techniques ‘What are the hey points in Taofter's style? Firstly the shield is use to close a potential line of attack, ‘usally the outside line. This is done by the shield being interposed between the defender's body and the attacker's weapon. Opponents shields can be engaged inexaclythesamemanneras swords. AMCs fare made by binding with the shied, cesing your line ‘oF attack while opening the apponent’s same ine, For Fig. 21: Talbotfer Plate 145 ‘example rotating the shield from Outside Ward into Inside Ward closes your inside line and opens your ‘opponents (os for example in figures 3 and 4). The Fine basic principe fsthat the shield maybe discarded ifit stound, although obviously this last option i not avallableto those using large shields held on the am with straps. Comparison with ter Sources other Fencing Treatises Talhoffer's techniques are all very well, but what evidence exists to suggest that they were used With lnything other than German dueling shields? The reason that we ae examining Talhotfer in theirs place istecaise there arent any fencing manuals descr bing carly medieval sword and shield combat. There are, however, later manuals which describe sword and shield, One of these is Giacomo Di Grass Ragione ij Adaprar of 1570 translate into English in 159 a5 income Di Gross etre Arte of Dice Di Grassi ilstrates one basic ware with sword and oun target pada ct rotella®) which bears striking ‘ovemblance tothe Outside Ward (se figure 1) The Shield is held to the let of the body and is angled inwards at approximately 30 degrees DiGraos describes this stance in increible detail, The ey points of his description are given below, Fig. 22: Di Grassi (1570) p.79 SPADA L 78 “OF the maner how to holde the round Target aman wouldesobearetherounde Target that itmay couer the whole bode, and yet nothing, hinder him from seeing his enimie, which isa matter of great importance iis requisite, that Ine beare it towards the enimie, not with the ‘conuexe or utward parte thereo,..Therelore, ite would holde the said Target, that it may. weil defend all hat part the bodie, which from the knee wpwardes, and that he maie ee hhisenemie, itis requisite tht he bear his arm, ifnot right, yet at least bowed so lite that in theelbowe there be famed! so bluntan angleor ‘corner, that his eyebeames passing neere that part ofthe circumference ofthe Target, which {is neore his hand, may see his enemie from the head to the fot. And by holding the sade ‘conueve partein this manner, itshall ware all the left se, and the circumference neere the ‘hance shall withthe least motion defend the right side, the head and the thighes”™ To sword 8 SHIELD low and putting the shield into his head, but if C should be a wary person, he wouldn't move atthe feint with the shield, but at the sane time he'l thrust atthe right shouleer of the foe, retiring with a reverso in guard of O, from where he could go the grapple shown in ‘Tand Qin two ways. The ist wil go withthe right foot behind the lef and with a feinted ‘mandrtto to the legs ofthe enemy, so that he parriesand also tries roverso the thelegs and atthe same time turning the sword inside, of true edge and continuing withthe right foot and passing with the left foot, 30 hell come to grapple. The other way will be used if, being ‘Unable to tur the sword inside because ofthe speed of the part, or because ofthe size ofthe weapon, he'll ower the guard of the swore ‘withthe tip up, closing with the right foot and following with the left foot; and ifhe would like to close, he could, before finishing the cutting feing, turn the hand dovensice up, covering with the shiold the Hine (authors” emphasis) to his own right knee for fear ofthe adversary’s reverse, andclosing with the point Allof which sa convolute way oftelling the reader to hel finizh the play ‘old the target a in the illustration, NNote thatthe target doesnot pass completely into the ‘As well as holding his shield inthe Outside Ward, Di Inside Ward. Because the targetis heldn thearm with Grassi describes, both offensive and defensive binels, straps, the rimor“circumference” as Di Grass puts similar to those described above, An offensive bind use 4 close the inske lite rather than the fae of the 1made in conjunction witha thrust from the igh ward shield (as used by Talhofer) Although the principle (thesameas Talhoffer’s Ochs ~sev above) is described of closing the line is identical with dueling shield or below. target the manner in which this iscaried out isrotably dlffrent between the differnt styles of shiek, This is “That which remaineth to be done, is to animportant point to remember in any reconstruction thrust forcibly with the sworde: and when with Kite or heater shill, ‘one perceiueth that the point therof is ented Within the circumference of the enimios Target, Talhoffer didnot describe the se of the same bind as ‘Wis necessary that he encrease a left pace, and a defence, but Di Grassi does. with the circumference of his ovene Target, to beat off the enimies sworde and Target, to the Te defence of ehh warde at sor & round fend, it suffer the thrust s0 given of force 10 ‘Target For the detending ofthe thrust of the enter in. And (hauing so beaten and! enfred) to high warde, it ie most sure standing at the continue on the thrust in the straight lye, wit the encrease ofa pace ofthe right Foote» As the thrust passes bythe opponent's shield rim the Fig. 23 attacker makes a pass forward with hislef fot, beating ‘Agrippa (1553) his opponent's sword and shield away to his right. Chapter XXL Abin withthe A very similar technique is described by Agrippa target. “1f0 wantsto wound C, hecould doa fein to the face, advancing the right foot behind the eft tocausehim to move, lowering he tipand moving tothe right ofthe enemy, to attack C SPADA 1 7 HAND & WAGNER Towe warde, and to endewour to ouercome ‘he enimie, by the same skill by the which he bimselfe would obtain the victri. Inthe very same ime, thathe deliveret his thrust, aman ‘ust suddenly encrease a slope pace with the Tefte foe, beating of the enemies Target with hisowne,and dining ofa thrust perforcewith the increase ofa pace ofthe vightfoote. And with this manner of defence being done with Such nimblenesse ass required, hee doth also Safely strike the enimie, who cannot strike him againe, because, by meanes of the saide slope pace he carried out ofthe Iyne i the which the enimie pretended to strike-”™ {As the attacker turns his shied to close the inside line anc eat the defendersshield aside the defender takes {slope pace forward and left with his lit foot taking imac of the line of he attack and turing his shield fo close the inside line [although as described above laost certainly not completely into an Inside Ward). ‘This beats the attacker's shield out tothe defender’s right opening the atacker up toa thris. (Other alan nastersllustate similar wards. Marozz0 shows a ward very similar 9 Di Grass, the only difference being the fact that he has his weight a lot further forward (Fig. 24). However, Marozzo also shows both the target ancl larger shield in Mediury ‘Ward? indicating that his style of shield use is not identical fo Talhofier's. Capo Fert shows the rotella, for round target covering the outside ine in both his ilustrations of sword and rotlla (Fig 23). ‘The Scottish fencer MeBane also illustrates and describes the Outside Ward. He states, This Target is of great use to those who rightly understand it, but #0 unexperienced People is often Fig 25 Capo Pero 1610 Pate a2 very Fatal, by blinding themselves with i, for want Of rightly understanding it. Therefore who has mine fouse it must take care to have it upon an Edge, 5038 to Cover his Lelt-side from which isa defence against Bal? (vest of word obscured any weapon” “The presence of Talhotfer’s wards, and in somecases, his techniques in Marozzo, Agripps, Di Grass, Capo Ferro and MeBane illustrate that the stances and techniques described by Talhoffer were not restricted to combat with elaborate duelling shied, However i stlldoes not demonstrate that Early and High Medieval shields were use in this manner. re 159 Century Pictorial Evidence ‘There exstalarge number ofilustrations, carvings showing warsions fighting on foot withsword and large Shield, If the extrapolation of Talhafier’s techniques tuck tocarlir shield useis valid then we might expect toseeTolhoffers Outside and inside Wards illustrated, particularly in Early and High Medieval sources, While Tathoter's wards are indoed illustrated by far the most common ward shoven has the shield held close tothe body withthe face of the shield towards the ‘opponent fig. 27) ln keeping with the use of Wylde’ {erminolgy of Outside and Inside Wards tis proposed ‘hat this ward be called the Medium Ward, There isa very good reason for using this ward, While Talhotter’s wards may beexcellentin single combat they uncover the body unnecessarily in mass combat where the _majority of threats come from comiatants other than the one immediately in front of you. In this situation 8 passive defence i likely to be more succesful than anactive defence. The problem with Medium Wards that tis impossible to attack from it without uncovering the sword arm. (One way around thisis to move te shield int Outside oFlnside Wand asanattack is made However, Medium Ward is a very limited ward, and experience shows that two vaguely competent fighters in Medium Ward can bash away at each other in relative safety (atleast Until their arms tire). It i unsurprising that Medium Ward is the most common ward shown in medieval iconography, because battle scenes are far more commonly depicted than single combat. ‘One ofthe earliest depictions of Talhoffer’s wards is that of a Celtic warrior from 6 century BC Slovenia Another Celtic warrior is shown in a carving from (Osuna, Spain dated to around 300BC. The large La Tene era Celtic shield is perhaps the closet battlefield ‘equivalent to Talhoter’s great dulling shields, o itis "unsurpring that it should be held similarly While it may be argued that these depictions are the resultof artistic license, the ollawing two figuresshow that artists were happy to show diferent figures using different wards. In these Farly Medieval depictions, both Medium and Outside Wards are shown lustrations of shields being used in single combat bbecome more common from 1100. Inthe following illustrations from the early to mid twelfth century the combatants ar all in Outside Ward, regardless of whether they are carrying kite or round shields, ‘The appearance ofthe Outside Ward by itself doesn’t provide strong evidence that people were fighting in ‘Talhotfe’s style by forexample, pivoting theshield inta Fig. 27: Teo 1 coutury Enghsoarios inthe “shod wal!” syle Medium Ward, fiom Cotton MS Cleopatra C2 80 SWORD & SHIELD i La Fig, 28: Celtic warior with sxe, jevelins and shield in Outs Wandfom 6° century BC Sleenia Fig. 2% Celtic tarior in Outside War, fom Osuna, Spain 300 BC. Fig. 30 Animal headed Picts ‘gods atte Mediu ‘nud Outside Wer, (Class I stone at ‘Murthy, Perse, century Fig. 31: Novdhumbrianwariorsaoance on “Eq the archer” om the cared whale Frans Cast, 8 century SPADA 1 81 HAND & WAGNER Inside Ward to close the line of attack. Figure 34, also ftom 12 century Francedistinely showsone combatant (dhe igure on the eft) holding his shield inthe Inside Ward. However the two combatants are shown using lls, and this perhaps represents some form of ron Fig. 92: A Norma Gali rclaes slingstone in he forehead, from the St Etienne Bie ADIOS. Bi. 5 Muni, Dijon, Ms ¥ 188, 5R. France) Fig. 33: Teo fool sales 1130-40, Card Rolin site exterior oF Abbey cur, Atay, France lethalcompetition, or judicial del Figures 34-97 show remarkably similar combats with shield and mace oF pick between unarmoured combatant. The siilarty between the engagemedt ofthe shields in figure38 and that shoven by Talhotfer (Mastated herein igure 1) {s striking. One ilem worthy of note i the position in ‘which almostall the figures for example, both men in figures 35nd 37) areholding their maces the postion of the let hand figure's sword i figure 331 also in thisward), Thisiea postion charactensticof medieval iconography and represents a ward nat (tothe authors [knoveledge)showrsinany fencing manual or fchtbuch, ‘Based on expevimentation this ward seems to perform ‘hesame role a on Dah (om ther} (or vom Tag Ringeck or Meyerare sources) enabling powerful Hows to bestruck tothe upper body snd in particular under the shield tothe lft side ofthe opponent. Raising the arm forms an Oc: Wd as shown by the right hand ‘combatant in figure I, protecting the head andllowing ‘thrust {A remarkably similar scene is depicted on a late 12" ‘century cathedral door in Skil. Figure 38 shows two figures fighting with targets inthe Outside Ware, The right hand figure seems to be striking between the Stilds asi the Tet hand combatant in figure 17, >) Fg, 34: 12% century © Caro Copia, sta shure, St Pere de Fe, County of Saintonge, France Fig 25 Jaa RK ‘combat in a tate ‘ reentury Frond PSN GD Se mascrp tat. | Koy) VIN Mes Ms 210, 18 - FHV, nancies SN YN Fone) —— Je 2S Fig. 36 Manuscript raving, northern France: late 12" century. (Bib. Manic, Me. 12/ f2V, "St Omer France) Fig 97:13" contr judiciat ‘oma fron ety bey. Dre gure si Inside ward, and the ight figure ‘appear fo be ep andi ‘Outside ward, Throughout the 12° and 13% centuries the Outside sand Inside Wards continue to appear in iconography. Figures 39 and 40 show combatants in the Outs ‘Ward while figure 41 shows the Inside Ward. Figure 42's interesting. The figure on the left has changed his shield int Inside Ward, deflecting th point of his ‘opponent’ sword outside the line. While the shields ‘may be dravin In this way 19 show off both coats of arms, this does pot mean thatthe artist ignored reality {achieve send. Infact the deflection of therightmost figure’s sword suggests thatthe artist was trying (0 justify showing he figure on the let in Inside Ward. SPADA 1 82 SWORD & SHIELD that shown by Talhoffer was in use much earlier. This ilustration is also very close to the parry with the tage om Mane sh Fug 25: Late ofsuchan undstal coi br amiga historical continuity. panel from the nee brozr do ofthe nent figur, from the ery 18 entry sh ; nes figure, fom the ary 16 centary shows TraniCathedral ‘two-hands being used on the sword, indicating that in Sicily the shield is beginning to be considered less important defensively. Figure 45 shows Italian infantrymen, again using Outside Ward. Large oval shields are used to ‘The following illustration rom the early 18%century, close the outside line. shows a similar action. The figure on the right, lft hander, has changed his shield into the Inside Ward, deflecting the axe cut outta hi left, Hissword gunn it ‘morereminiscentof Talhotfer than earlier illustrations This is perhaps the clearest parallel to Talhoffer an the strongest evidence tha a combat style similar #0 Fig 49:Englsh Manuscript, cary 14" contury (British Libary, Ms. Roy. 16.6.V1, £172, London, England) Fig. 38: Two night »

    You might also like