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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Theron" data-source="post: 1759324" data-attributes="member: 2326">First, let me say no.  Second, still no.  I've handled and fought in replica medieval armour for nearly 20 years.  I've held authentic medieval swords.  The average weight of a medieval longsword was about 3.5 lbs.  A full kit of gothic plate armour (not tourney plate) weighs about 65 lbs, tops.  That's less weight than a WWII US Paratrooper carried into battle and a whole heck of a lot better distributed. Medieval armies were also seldom composed of untrained conscripts.  Most of the foot were townsmen and members of the guilds whose military duty was akin to being in the National Guard.  They trained at least once a month.  The pay records are all there.  You don't conscript your peasants and farmers unless you're desperate, because 1) they can't fight worth a darn, and 2) when they die or run off everybody starves. Your point about a knight being better trained is rather self-evident.  The conrois of the 13th century Kingdom of Syria trained as a unit three to four times a week.  That's a pretty impressive standard of preparedness even by the standards of today's military.  See above regarding my experience.  To a point, you're preaching to the choir.   However, I am not speaking strictly of the battlefield, nor am I everyone is wearing the best possible protection.  Typically medieval/renaissance people did not truck around in armour all the time. Which is one major reason why the sword remained the most popular weapon among the upper classes, particularly as a symbol and for civilian wear.  Walking around in field plate in a city was a major no-no.  Carrying a sword was just your right according to your station. The key is choosing the right tool for the job.  No warrior with half a brain took a rapier on to a battlefield.  A basic understanding the interaction of weapons vs. conditions vs. various means of self-protection isn't brain surgery, but it seems to be beyond the ken of too many writers I've encountered over the years. Meh...it's just my own brand of snobbery, I suppose.</blockquote>

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