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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cactot" data-source="post: 4121230" data-attributes="member: 13700">thrusting weapons such as the spear are also extra easy to use with a shield, which are both extremely cheap and easy to make and increase survivability exponentially.  Infact, i would put my money on a unarmored spear + medium/large shield warrior over a light/medium armored shield-less warrior (unless that warrior was using a flail... those things are bitches against shield users) given equal training.The dynamic changes with the advent of armor that can easily stop a spear thrust (eg. plate armor).  I have always wondered about the popularity of the sword, historically it was more of a status symbol in most cultures than a true battle weapon.  Most successful western armies based their foundation on either spears (pretty much every melee army in history) or axes (for example the francicsa, which france is named after).  The big exception is Rome who's soldiers focused on shield+gladius, though they still relied on spears for a variety of purposes also.  The celts (whom the romans got the gladius from) and the vikings were also known for their swords, but their armies were not typically composed primarily of sword users.  The Japanese are also extremely well known for their swords, but ironically the samurai had their origins as horse archers, not swordsmen.  Also, even through the samurai period the conscript armies that made up most of the military were armed with spears and polearms rather than swords.</blockquote>

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