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Robert Morgan




Location: Sunny SoCal
Joined: 10 Sep 2012

Posts: 90

PostPosted: Thu 15 Jun, 2017 3:25 pm    Post subject: Carrying multiple weapons at the same time?         Reply with quote

Hi all,

Just curious if you could point me to any period illustrations showing men at arms and knights in the medieval period carrying more than one weapon? For example, two swords, a falchion and an arming sword, etc. I'm not saying dual wielding, just referencing a very well-equipped knight, for example, who might be packing a little extra. Or, where a knight in a prebattle situation might be choosing between multiple swords. I know I've seen some but can't find them in my image library.

Many thanks,

Bob
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Karl Knisley




PostPosted: Thu 15 Jun, 2017 6:09 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Well...there`s this guy.


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Graham Shearlaw





Joined: 24 Oct 2011
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PostPosted: Thu 15 Jun, 2017 7:07 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

No that doesn't happen just like you don't see people with 2 rifles today.
All swords are much of the same, there no reason to carry 2.
Now you might carry a small short sword and a big two handed sword.
But the short sword is a back up weapon.
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Ben Joy




Location: Missouri
Joined: 21 May 2010
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PostPosted: Thu 15 Jun, 2017 11:43 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Are you specifically looking for two+ swords, or just multiple weapons in general?

German man-at-arms 1498 by Albrecht Dürer was a quick Google Find clearly showing a Lance and Sword (link is Wikipedia, but it's a better quality copy of the image from a dozen versions I saw):


Wikipedia link clearly showing a spear and sword. 16th century Icelandic man-at-arms. Picture is to depict Eiríkr Rauđi, who is equipped somewhat anachronistically, from the 17th century book Groenlandia by Arngrímur Jónsson:


thearma.org essay on leg wounds HERE states this is from a German 15th century manuscript and shows a knight with axe and sword:


These are all just quick google image search. I'm sure you could find more with a bit more digging. I'm sure there's also plenty of other people on these forums who could give you more information. However, again, specificity over whether you're looking for specifically multiple swords, or any combinations of multiple weapons would help in the providing images and whether what you're looking for exists.

"Men take only their needs into consideration, never their abilities." -Napoleon Bonaparte
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Craig Peters




PostPosted: Thu 15 Jun, 2017 11:51 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

For a post-medieval example that clearly has elements of "fantasy" (but not in the modern sense of the word!) check out Paulus Hector Mair's Geschlechterbuch der Stadt Augsburg

http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/bsb00...p;seite=10
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Benjamin H. Abbott




Location: New Mexico
Joined: 28 Feb 2004

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PostPosted: Fri 16 Jun, 2017 6:49 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

It was common for cavalry soldiers to carry lots of weapons. For example, some 16th-century Spanish men-at-arms carried lance, estoc, arming sword, hammer, and dagger. Lance, sword, and mace was the iconic French standard for men-at-arms. Turkish and other steppe-style cavalry might carry bow, lance, saber, mace, and dagger, sometimes with an arquebus as well.
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Gary John





Joined: 24 Jun 2013
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PostPosted: Fri 16 Jun, 2017 10:01 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

There is an old Persian (I believe) instruction manuscript that instructs Calvary men to use first their lance in battle, then their mace, and lastly their sword.
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Henry O.





Joined: 18 Jun 2016

Posts: 189

PostPosted: Sat 17 Jun, 2017 1:47 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Here's the portion of the Bayeux Tapestry which shows the saxon on the far left carrying a spear, sword, shield, and daneaxe.



The 13th century Scandinavian "King's Mirror" recommended that a knight have two swords, one worn on his belt and one attached to the saddle. I seem to recall there was a myArmoury thread with a couple of depictions that showed this but I can't seem to find it.
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Sean Manning




Location: Austria
Joined: 23 Mar 2008

Posts: 853

PostPosted: Sun 18 Jun, 2017 2:35 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Benjamin H. Abbott wrote:
It was common for cavalry soldiers to carry lots of weapons. For example, some 16th-century Spanish men-at-arms carried lance, estoc, arming sword, hammer, and dagger. Lance, sword, and mace was the iconic French standard for men-at-arms. Turkish and other steppe-style cavalry might carry bow, lance, saber, mace, and dagger, sometimes with an arquebus as well.

That goes back to the Late Bronze Age when you can see chariots festooned with all kinds of spare weapons from hatchets and quivers of darts to spears. In the renaissance rich men often had a train of servants to carry a rotella, some staff weapons and firearms, etc. (Or think of "gun bearers" in the Raj and 19th century expeditions to Africa). There are also a few cases where festooning yourself with impractical numbers of weapons becomes 'cool' ... Ruel Macareng talked about that.

But if they have to carry/handle them themselves, the vast majority of men pretty quickly pare down the list to no more than two sidearms, a shield, and a long staff weapon (or bundle of small ones), and carrying two slightly-different swords is more bothersome and less practical than carrying a long sword and a short dagger.
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Mark Moore




Location: East backwoods-assed Texas
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PostPosted: Sun 18 Jun, 2017 3:53 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I, myself, wouldn't feel comfortable--for lack of a better term--without going into battle with not at least a shield, spear, dagger, sword, and maybe an axe....not to mention armor. The spear would be the first line of attack, followed by shield and axe, with the sword as a last-ditch effort. The dagger would be the 'coup-de-gras' for any fallen foe. Old-school, baby. Wink Way old.....McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Eric S




Location: new orleans
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PostPosted: Mon 19 Jun, 2017 3:04 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Gary John wrote:
There is an old Persian (I believe) instruction manuscript that instructs Calvary men to use first their lance in battle, then their mace, and lastly their sword.
Not uncommon in Indo-Persia for a warrior to carry multiple weapons.



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Graham Shearlaw





Joined: 24 Oct 2011
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PostPosted: Thu 22 Jun, 2017 11:05 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Firearms are a different matter as the reload times for muzzle loaders make carrying a spare pistol a wise idea.
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