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Hey guys, SnapJelly here to tell you: how much did medieval swords weigh? How heavy are swords?
The weight of Greatswords, longswords, sabres, rapiers and katanas are often misjudged, people think that they are way too heavy or way too light so I’m just gonna tell you the truth!

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43 COMMENTS

  4. Take a glass of water, hold it up in front of you and keep it there. after about 5 minutes, you will understand that it is not about a big number, 2 kg is heavy as shit after a while. sure in a fight you keep your arm moving, and take it down as soon as you can. but the weight will still be noticeable after a while if you're not used to it.

  8. The reason videogames have slower swords is mostly because it's hard to find a good balance between making attacks feel like they have weight(with appropriate reactions when you hit someone like hit stun) making attacks reactable for average players who are trying to have fun and not notice to miniscule movements at peak human 200ms reactiontimes. Which is what realistic sword combat would require. Or on the other end of the spectrum just make every attack super fast but keep the impact low which just feels weightless and like your attacks have no oomph.

    Dark Souls style very slow melee combat just feels better in a video game where an attack is just one button press instead of a complicated Set of movements that your whole body is involved in and where you have to learn new mechanics constantly and dont practise in the same kind of circumstances for months or even years like in real combat.

  10. One big thing is that modern rifles are mostly heavier than swords. Rifles in WW2 almost all weighed over 4 kilos with the famous M1 Garand approaching 5 kilos. Only ceremonial swords reach that number. More modern guns like the AK-47 and M-16 assault rifles still weighs about 4 kilos. Even the Colt 1911 pistol weighs about as much as an arming sword.
    A greatsword is lighter than an M-16. Maybe you should tell that to people.

  13. im pretty sure that arming sword you have is balanced poorly, not differently. a one handed sword has no business having a POB more than 2-3 in. and if i were to give an approximation it looks like its sitting at about 5-7 in. it also seems like its POB is only as high as it is because it looks like it has absolutely ZERO distal taper.

  18. I think super-heavy swords in fiction is also meant to signify the heroes' strength. Even the ancient epic 'Beowulf' had the hero wielding an oversized sword described as too heavy for most men to lift.

  22. On the topic of that example you gave, I spoke to James Elmslie (of the Elmslie typology on single handed medieval swords) and this was the overall gist of the situation.

    Overall length: 2.13m
    Weight: 6.6kg
    Make: Passau, 15th C.

    Folklore claims it was the sword of Pier Gerlofs Donia (ca. 1480–1520) who was a Frisian rebel leader and pirate. He self styled himself as "king of Friesland, duke of Sneek, count of Sloten, baron of Hindelopen and captain-general of the Zuiderzee".

    The alleged owner apparently was 210cm tall, however this is still considered a paratschwert or bearing sword. It is too large and too heavy to be an effective weapon, as it sacrifices speed for size to a great degree.

    The truth is much less fun:

    This sword (which currently resides within the Fries museum) has absolutely no connection to Piers Donia. It is a parade sword, carried at the front of religious festivals which walked through the city, and it is dated to around 1420 – fully a century before Donia's death.

    It is one of two matching swords found in the attic of the city hall of leeuwarden in the netherlands in 1791, and there are another two swords of almost exactly the same proportions, with matching distinctive octagonal pommels in the collection of the Royal Armouries, currently exhibited in the Tower of London.' They have been recorded in inventories of the Tower since 1421. The sword associated with Donia is, without any question, a parade sword that pre-dates him by a century.

    ALSO, the second sword down on your wall behind you looks a lot like an indian made wallhanger, or at best a 19th century tourist piece from the indian subcontinent. Just FYI.

  23. I think shitty choreography in the movies has just been the standard because directors want the audience to see every little move, and for a long time camaras couldn't record fast enough to get more than a blur. Watch the making of Jet Li's Fearless, they had to have him slow down even after they bought new cameras because otherwise he just looked like a ghost.

  25. good morning snapjelly. I did not really catch the name of the dutch exception i just could not make any word of it haha. Would you mind telling me who it was ? just a name is fine so i can google him.

    Met vriendelijke groet,

    Juul

  27. Ever hear of the straw that broke the Camels back? It is a given that you do not curry that sword only. You have al shorts of things you need on a campaign, food water extra clothing , to name but a few essentials. On top of all that hauling around a 3-3.5 kg sword could be the difference between being tired in the end of the day and being exhausted.
    The weigh is not in and of itself heavy, but lug the fucker around all day plus whatever else you need , and i guaranty you it will feel like it weighs a ton after a while.

  28. if i would make a medieval movie i would definitly ask you wether it is historically correct or not because i don't want you to make a video about it in which you say it is not

    post scriptum: nice video (as always)

  33. Remember that the sword is like light duty or back up First choice is bow, spear, throwing or poking. Pikes and pole arms.
    Distance is your friend! Close combat is dangerous. Against armor axes and hammers work better than swords.
    But swords are just COOL. 🙂

  38. The #1 problem is a lot of finds/burials have ceremonial swords that are way heavier than combat/practical swords. This is the same for some shields, axes, etc.

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