Spear and shield in dual

[Alexis Sicard]

Is the weapon combination shield and spear was efficient against a shield and arming sword combination ?
i talk about one to one situation, not in a shield wall battle
Thanks

[Stacy Clifford]

It's difficult to say since the historical manuals don't really cover shields very much, and spear & shield in particular were largely out of favor by the time people started writing things down. A spear in one hand doesn't have as much agility as a sword, so it would probably have a poorer defense, but if coordinated with good shield work then it could still be quite ferocious. Personally I think the sword would have a bit of an edge due to its versatility, but I would not underestimate spear & shield considering it remained a popular combination for several thousand years.

It's also worth considering what armor the combatants are wearing. One-handed spear would be much more effective against maille armor than plate, and indeed seems to have fallen out of use as plate armor became more common. Using a spear in two hands allows for better aim, greater reach and more power, so it remained more useful against tougher armors.

[Alexis Sicard]

hmmm ok , so its impossible to know
i will assume it can be use in one to one by throwing it in the beginning of the fight.
perhaps it was used by viking when the fighter was too poor to buy even an axe

[Tomm Skotner]

We have tried out the combination quite a bit over the years. We have been using spears of a length between 150 cm. and 200 cm. in one hand. And we have also tried out using spears in two hands, and that allows for longer spears. We have tried spears reaching up to 300 cm.

And although to begin with - and against an inexperienced swordsman - the spear seems to have an advantage, there is very little a spearman can do to stop a swordsman who has learned to deal with thrusting attacks, particularly if he has got a shield (or a buckler). The spear has to stab to do any damage. And once the swordsman gets past the point it is pretty useless. It is easily controlled and it is very hard to foreshorten it faster than the swordsman can charge the spearman.

A twohanded spear can put up more of a fight. And that is mostly because then the spear can be used to defend against a sword at close range more effectively than when it is held in one hand.

So far we have concluded that a lone spearman being charged by a swordsman has got his best chance if he drops the spear and draws his own sword, provided he has got time to do that before the swordsman is on top of him. If not, he had better have a knife on him and try to close with the swordsman on the way in. But all in all, against a trained swordsman who keeps his head cool it is a very hard match for a spear.

[Stacy Clifford]

hmmm ok , so its impossible to know
i will assume it can be use in one to one by throwing it in the beginning of the fight.
perhaps it was used by viking when the fighter was too poor to buy even an axe

No, not impossible to know, it's just not a widely practiced combination because written sources don't cover it. Tomm's experience with it is similar to what I would expect. Spear was a very popular weapon with the Vikings, not a last resort for the poor, but it was not necessarily considered a good dueling weapon, especially against a shield. Spear & shield is excellent for fighting in formation, and probably works just fine when you're raiding the coastline and facing running battles and scattered resistance, but it has distinct disadvantages in single combat. Flails aren't good for single combat either, but they were still used on the battlefield. Some weapons simply work better in some contexts than others, and good warriors knew when to use them and when not to.

[Alexis Sicard]

Ok nice, is there a good book on this subject ? medieval techniques for eatch weapon combinaison , and if its was usefull in single combat ?
i need information on flail, falchons, bec de corbin and many others weapons is there a good source book for this ?
many thanks !

[Stacy Clifford]

No one book covers everything; that's why we study so many different historical manuals. The most complete manual covering the largest number of weapons is by Paulus Hector Mair, but it's so large that nobody has yet completely translated all of it that I know of (and there are multiple versions). Of course if you can read old German or Latin, go for it. Even that manual doesn't cover everything though.

Since you mentioned that you are designing a game in another post, it would help to know a bit more about the game in order to help you get the right information. Is the game meant to be historical or fantasy? Is it restricted to a particular time period (like the Viking age), or does it span the whole Medieval/Renaissance era? What works for a Spanish conquistador in the 1500s might get a Norman knight killed in the First Crusade, or vice versa, so knowing the context in which you are using this information is important.

[Alexis Sicard]

My game would be 800s to 1500s technologies so i need to know the maximum classics techniques and general use of usual weapons of this eras.
But after few month of studies i think its too wide and i will focus on the first castles era 1000s - to 1100s.

in 1000 CE to 1100 CE i already know that elite warriors wears knee-length hauberks with attached mail coifs and very often use rounded shield or some time kite shield for the "knights"

[Kody Tench]

Achille. Marozzo covers spear and rotella. And from what I've seen spear has a few advantages over swords, the reach advantage plus ease of learning to use a spear, and a spear can be extremely. Nimble.

But then again all my experience. Is in partisan spear. I recommended. Achille Marozzo opera Nova it's free on the wiktenauer.

[Alexis Sicard]

hmmm anybody have a video about spear and rotella ? Because in one on one fight i believe spear is just throw in the beginning of the fight and then come to axe, sword or mace fight.
Yeah spear is perhaps easy to learn , because there is only trust options.

In a one to one fight without shield i prefer the spear , but with an enemy with a large rounded shield i think i will prefer a swing weapon because the first blow will be difficult to be the last.
So i think i need to overwhelm with strong and rapid strike up and down the shield meanwhile circling around him.
Because, with the lance, if you want to be in the right range you have to go back after each attack.

perhaps one to one fight was very rare and it was always like 5 or more people against same numbers, so in this configuration men can be close to each other with spears.

It's a tricky question for me because i need to write a combat system for my game :-p

[Kody Tench]

Spear is also used to slice with the bladed edges and to strike with. As one would use a staff. Spear is basically staff with perks of being able to cut and stab in addition to bludgeoning.

In addition marozzo details about 4 types of spear and how to use them it is almost always described as 1 on 1 in his manual. Feel free to email me if you want to know more. Magenight@gmail.com

[Alexis Sicard]

ok i find this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzNr1iAJ ... =endscreen

look at 4:30